In the News February 19th

Fridays News at a glance:

Disingenuous sensationalist shitsheet bastards – Stop With The Bullying, George – A Civilised Event – The Unexplained Dangers of Vaping – Are e-cigarettes safe? – Is my e-cig going to explode in my face? – Ecigs help British smokers quit – Jocelyn Davies Interview – Vapers’ vote may influence Presidential election – Serious ethical concerns about public health research conduct – Petition Demanding Facebook Remove Vaping From Tobacco Category Breaches 10,000 – Residents in South Derbyshire needing health support will be asked to stop smoking in their own home – Vaping isn’t smoking- Effect of continuous smoking reduction – Nicotine Science and Policy Daily Digest – Friday, 19 February 2016

Disingenuous sensationalist shitsheet bastards

Dave Dorn – The Sun Also Rises

Here’s the thing. A Lithium-ion battery stories a lot of power for its size. That’s why they’re so popular and now fit in all sorts of things – from cameras to so-called hover boards, from DECT phones to torches, from LED lights to, apparently, the kind of things lonely ladies use to brighten their evenings.

Stop With The Bullying, George

Dick Puddlecote

ASH often say that they “do not attack smokers or condemn smoking”, but – with a budget coming up – it’s that time of year where ASH always attack smokers.

They’ll be pulling every string they can think of to sway the Chancellor into massively increasing duty on tobacco, which – as J S Mill observed – is a form of prohibition.

“Every increase of cost is a prohibition, to those whose means do not come up to the augmented price”

Tobacco duty rises over and above inflation are nothing less than bullying….

A Civilised Event

Abi Cottrill – Vapers in Power

I had the opportunity on Thursday night to attend an event hosted by the Merseyside Skeptics Society. The guest speaker was Robin Ireland, and the topic looked interesting:

“Why vapers think that e-cigarettes will lead to the ending of cigarette smoking and why their optimism may be misplaced.”

Here is how the event was described on the Facebook invitation….

The Unexplained Dangers of Vaping

Dave Cross – Stealth Vape

Choosing to get on the ecig means doing the research, finding out how safe it is and then balancing the risks. We would like to congratulate Rip Trippers in being brave enough to run the gauntlet of online dissatisfaction. The only problem we can identify is that Rip only touched upon the tip of the iceberg that we, as responsible people, feel it is important for all would-be vapers to be aware of….

Are e-cigarettes safe?

Electrical Safety First

The number of people using electronic cigarettes has increased dramatically in recent years – but this rise in use has also seen a rise in safety concerns.

Worries about possible health implications aside, there have been a number of reported incidents involving e-cigarette chargers, including numerous alarming reports of chargers that have exploding whilst in use.

Is my e-cig going to explode in my face?

Matt Boucher – Northern Life

Let’s dispel the myth that electronic cigarettes blow up on people out of nowhere.

Surely by now, the vast majority of folks are aware that electronic cigarettes are a thing, and that they are here to stay. Through social media, news outlets, and blogs, one can discover a vast amount of conflicting information on the topic.

Residents in South Derbyshire

Needing health support will be asked to stop smoking in their own home –  Antoine Omisore – Burton Mail

Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is aiming to deliver healthcare services in smoke-free environments from Wednesday, March 9, as part of national ‘No Smoking Day’.

Patients and visitors will not be allowed to smoke or use an e-cigarette anywhere on trust-owned premises, including wards, grounds, doorways and car parks.

Ecigs help British smokers quit

Jérôme Harlay – PGVG

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) released the last figures for adult smoking and e-cigarette patterns in Great Britain.

British vapers are 2.2 million and represent 4% of the population. More than half of them (53%) reported using the electronic cigarette to quit smoking….

Jocelyn Davies Interview

Rhydian Mann chats with Jocelyn Davies – Plaid Cymru AM

Vapers’ vote may influence Presidential election

Ghyslain Armand – PGVG

The American Conservative, Grover Norquist, founder of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) is certain that the results of the upcoming US presidential election will be influenced by the vaping community.

He says that “Lifestyle issues win because of the power of the political support behind them”.

Serious ethical concerns about public health research conduct:

The case of vape convention air quality measurement – Carl V. Phillips

A recent paper in Tobacco Control (official version; unpaywalled version thanks to the wonderful Sci-Hub), “Electronic cigarette use and indoor air quality in a natural setting”, in which Eric K Soule, Sarah F Maloney, Tory R Spindle, Alyssa K Rudy, Marzena M Hiler, and Caroline O Cobb, of Thomas Eissenberg’s FDA-funded shop at Virginia Commonwealth University, reports on the researchers’ surreptitious observations at a vape convention. The research methods employed are extremely troubling to me and many others.

Petition Demanding Facebook Remove Vaping From Tobacco Category Breaches 10,000

Guy Bentley – Daily Caller

More than 10,000 people have signed a Change.org petition urging Facebook to change its definition of a tobacco product to exclude vaping products.

Started by Kevin Price, the petition gathered 10,072 signatures at the time of this report’s publishing. The petition is addressed to Facebook Chief Executive and Co-Founder Mark Zuckerberg and reads:

Vaping isn’t smoking

For purposes of N.Y. state ban on smoking in many public places – Eugene Volokh – Washington Post

New York bans smoking in many public places — but does that cover “vaping,” which is to say use of “e-cigarettes” that produce nicotine-infused vapor? No, said a New York trial court earlier this month, in People v. Thomas, which involved vaping on a subway platform. The New York public smoking statute defines “smoking” as:

“the burning of a lighted cigar, cigarette, pipe or any other matter or substance which contains tobacco.”

Effect of continuous smoking reduction

And abstinence on blood pressure and heart rate in smokers switching to electronic cigarettes – Dr Farsalinos

We present prospective blood pressure (BP) and hear rate (HR) changes in smokers invited to switch to e-cigarettes in the ECLAT study. BP and HR changes were compared among (1) different study groups (users of high, low, and zero nicotine products) and (2) pooled continuous smoking phenotype classification (same phenotype from week 12 to -52), with participants classified as quitters