In the News February 26th

Fridays News at a glance:

18 years to kick a habit – Battery Safety – I vape, therefore I am: How vaping evolved from a smoking-cessation aid into a lifestyle – Don’t Abandon Hope, Vapers! There’s Light in the Darkness – Utah’s E-Cigarette Tax ‘Boggles The Mind’ And Could Prevent Smokers Quitting – Senate vote puts Califf among e-cig world’s most powerful – Summary of the Public Health (Wales) Bill – Effective global tobacco control: Time to engage health professionals, listen to smokers, and support harm reduction – Vaping & E-Cigarettes Stir Opposition to WV Tobacco Tax – Nicotine Science and Policy Daily Digest – Friday, 26 February 2016

18 years to kick a habit

Dave Dorn – The Sun Also Rises

The year I was born – 1955 – the smoking prevalence in the UK was, reportedly, over 80%. Basically every adult, pretty much, smoked. Hardly surprising given the hardships of recovering from WWII, rebuilding businesses, homes, families and so on.

By 1973, when I was eighteen, that figure was closer to 40%. And 1973 is a bit of a flagship year. It is the year when NRT was introduced, the very first, ever, licensed medicinal stop smoking therapy.

Battery Safety

ECITA

The batteries in electronic cigarettes have a chemistry that is known as Lithium-ion (Li-ion). Li-ion batteries offer extremely high energy density (they store a lot of power in a small space), which is why they have been adopted for use in small, power-hungry devices such as mobile phones, laptops and electronic cigarettes. The high energy density enables a small battery to provide a useful amount of power, but if something causes the battery to fail in a way that releases this power quickly, the results can be dramatic, and dangerous.

I vape, therefore I am:

How vaping evolved from a smoking-cessation aid into a lifestyle

It jarred against his crisp tux and stylish stubble, but there was no mistaking the object in Leonardo DiCaprio’s hand at the SAG Awards in January. That was a vape pen, which turns liquid nicotine into vapour.

When photos of the incongruous image began to emerge, the mockery was swift and slightly delirious.

Don’t Abandon Hope, Vapers!

There’s Light in the Darkness – Gil Ross – ACSH

I haven’t written on tobacco harm reduction in quite a while, so catching up for lost time now is no longer possible, too much water has flowed under the bridge. But among the ongoing, pervasive campaigns of deception and misleading assertions coming from all the official policy makers and “public health” authorities trying to dissuade smokers from switching to safer reduced-harm products

Utah’s E-Cigarette Tax

‘Boggles The Mind’ And Could Prevent Smokers Quitting – Guy Bentley

Raising the vaping age to 21 and introducing a massive tax increase on e-cigarettes could prevent adults from quitting smoking and may harm public health, according to the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

Utah State Rep. Paul Ray is pushing to raise the tax on e-cigarettes by 86 percent and House Bill 157 would increase the age of vaping from 18 to 21. The two-pronged approach is intended to tackle a surge in teen vaping…

Senate vote puts Califf among e-cig world’s most powerful

Barnaby Page – ECig Intelligence

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly confirmed Robert Califf as the new commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the federal agency responsible for the much-anticipated regulation of e-cigarettes.
With the outcome never in doubt, senators voted 89-4 in favour of approving Barack Obama’s pick to head the FDA.

Summary of the Public Health (Wales) Bill

Statistics and pie charts from responses to Public Health Wales Bill

As part of the Health and Social Care Committee consultation on the Public Health (Wales) Bill the
Outreach Team conducted a survey in both online and paper-based formats. Participants were asked a
range of questions relating to banning the use of e-cigarettes in enclosed places

Effective global tobacco control:

Time to engage health professionals, listen to smokers, and support harm reduction – Derek Yach

It was a very long night before negotiations on the first treaty of the World Health Organization (WHO) – the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) – concluded at 4.10am March 1, 2003 (1). A sense of history, accomplishment and hope for better health pervaded the Palais des Nations in Geneva as governments unanimously adopted text that would transform tobacco control for decades..

Vaping & E-Cigarettes Stir Opposition to WV Tobacco Tax

You might say vape store owners are burning mad. Even though they offer an alternative to smoking, they are caught in a bill that raises the tobacco tax on smokers up to $1 per pack. Some vape liquids contain nicotine; and some don’t. Many customers use them to quit real cigarettes.