Vapers Digest 11th June

Wednesday’s News at a glance:

Flemish Anti-Vape Campaign ~ Strong Defence of Pouches Launched ~ BMA Welcomes Disposables Ban ~ To Bring Tobacco Harm Reduction to Prisons, We Need Outside Allies ~ Bulgaria’s blanket ban on vapes awaits Brussels approval ~ Fifth of vapers will return to smoking due to UK disposables ban, new survey finds ~ Mission Creep ~ The Anti-Nicotine Grift Has Found Its Way to Web3 ~ Global Action announces structural changes ~ India’s Vape Ban: A Case Study in Unintended Consequences ~ In Good Health: The latest on vaping regulations ~ Vaping growth falters as Big Tobacco hunts for lifeline ~ First vape, next cake? The slippery slope of selective bans ~ There’s one vice RFK Jr. isn’t talking about ~ Op-Ed: SHORT-SIGHTED AND INEFFECTIVE – VAPE BANS ARE NOT THE ANSWER ~ IS THIS THE KEY TO REDUCING SMOKING RATES IN MEXICO?

Three from Dave Cross, Planet of the Vapes

Flemish Anti-Vape Campaign

Flemish anti-cancer organisation Kom Op Tegen Kanker has launched a senseless campaign demanding the Belgian government takes urgent action to clamp down on vaping. It is challenging politicians to take “urgent action to protect young people from vapes” following the screening of a TV documentary titled “Generation Vape”. Needless to say, adult smokers and ex-smokers will be the ones overlooked.

Strong Defence of Pouches Launched

The Swedish government has formally issued a strong defence of nicotine pouches in a bid to halt excessive restrictions on safer alternatives to cigarettes across Europe. In a statement to the European Commission, it says: “Cigarettes and smoking tobacco pose a greater health risk than smokeless tobacco and nicotine products such as snus.”

BMA Welcomes Disposables Ban

The British Medical Association (BMA) has welcomed the disposables/single-use vape ban, calling it a “welcome advance in the fight against youth vaping”. The BMA’s board of science chair, Professor David Strain, spoke about a “war” on vaping. Action on Smoking and Health’s Hazel Cheeseman has also made some disturbing comments.

To Bring Tobacco Harm Reduction to Prisons, We Need Outside Allies

Jonathan Kirkpatrick, Filter

Harm reduction efforts outside prison often involve lawyers and other experts identifying policy that is weak from more than one angle—policies which, if attacked properly, can yield wins for harm reduction.

The same could be true here. I don’t have access to tobacco harm reduction (THR) strategy meetings. If I did, I would be urging the targeting of prison policies that are vulnerable because they cost money, as well as lives.

Two From Clearing The Air

Bulgaria’s blanket ban on vapes awaits Brussels approval

Ali Anderson

Bulgaria is on the brink of banning all vapes with the crackdown awaiting the go-ahead from Brussels.

The move has sparked concern among harm reduction advocates, who warn it could reverse hard-won progress in reducing smoking rates.

The proposed legislation – which would outlaw the sale, use, and advertising of all vapes – passed its first reading in Parliament back in February with overwhelming support: 197 MPs voted in favour. The Bill also targets energy drinks marketed to minors.

Fifth of vapers will return to smoking due to UK disposables ban, new survey finds

Tim Hong

Nearly one in five (18 per cent) people who use disposable vapes say they will return to smoking following the ban, a new poll has revealed.

Yorkshire Cancer Research, which commissioned the survey, is calling on the government to ensure vapes remain accessible and affordable to people who want to quit smoking.

“We must ensure that the transition away from disposable vapes does not lead to an increase in smoking,” said Dr Stuart Griffiths, Director of Research, Policy and Impact at Yorkshire Cancer Research.

Mission Creep

Skip Murray, Skip’s Corner – Let’s Talk!

It started with a war on “tobacco,” meaning smoking and harmful forms of oral tobacco, and then……the focus shifted to vaping, but not as a means to help adults stop smoking. It became all about the youth initiation of nicotine. Even though there’s no tobacco in vapes (and other products), they are all being called “tobacco.” Some people want to see the use of all of these products come to an end. It is the new “end game.” It sickeningly feels like the War on Drugs 2.0.

The Anti-Nicotine Grift Has Found Its Way to Web3

Joseph Hart, The Daily Pouch

Between July 1976 and July 1977, New York was terrified by a series of grisly murders. Six people were killed, with seven others injured, as the killer primarily targeted young women and couples in parked cars.

The media called it the “Summer of Sam”. His real name was David Berkowitz. When the police knocked on Berkowitz’s apartment door to arrest him, reports suggest he simply said, “How come it took you so long?”

Global Action to End Smoking

Global Action to End Smoking, whose mission is to end combustible tobacco use – the leading preventable cause of death globally – has announced the restructuring of our leadership, operations and staffing, to focus on our innovative grantmaking and sustainably fund our operations into the future.

India’s Vape Ban: A Case Study in Unintended Consequences

Samrat Chowdhery, 2 Firsts

Five years after India’s vape ban, illicit sales are booming and smokers are denied safer alternatives. In this exclusive piece for 2Firsts, AVI Director Samrat Chowdhery explores the policy’s unintended consequences and calls for regulatory reform. The economic consequences of the PECA extend far beyond the creation of a black market. The decision to prohibit rather than regulate has resulted in substantial foregone revenue, deterred investment, and significantly impacted both the potential vaping industry and the established tobacco sector.

In Good Health: The latest on vaping regulations

Avery Jessa Chapnick, The1A

Disposable nicotine vapes in fruity flavors are easy to find – even though they’re unauthorized by the FDA, making them technically illegal.

According to a recent study published in the journal Tobacco Control, only 14 percent of vapes on the market in 2024 were authorized by the government.

And while the U.S. regulatory system is struggling to play catch-up, the United Kingdom is taking action. As of June 1, the country banned all disposable e-cigarettes.

Vaping growth falters as Big Tobacco hunts for lifeline

Marianna Giusti, Mari Novik, Clara Murray, Financial Times

Growth in sales of e-cigarettes is faltering on both sides of the Atlantic, challenging forecasts that vaping devices will become the dominant alternative to smoking and provide a sustainable lifeline for big tobacco. British American Tobacco, the FTSE 100 group behind Vuse e-cigarettes, said last week it expected sales of its vaping devices to fall by a mid-teens percentage globally in the first half of the year.

First vape, next cake? The slippery slope of selective bans

Oleh Pendapat, Malaysia Gazette

The recent calls for a nationwide vape ban has been hogging headlines. Just recently, Segamat MP R. Yuneswaran urged the federal government to impose a blanket ban, citing rising healthcare costs and increasing youth vaping rates.

Meanwhile, states such as Selangor, Kelantan, Johor, Negeri Sembilan and Terengganu have already moved ahead with bans of their own or are debating similar measures.

There’s one vice RFK Jr. isn’t talking about

Danny Nguyen, David Lim, Politico

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made it his mission to remind Americans that they need to get off the couch and lay off the junk food. But there’s one vice he’s not talking about: smoking.

That’s troubled anti-smoking activists, researchers who focus on the diseases tobacco causes and Democrats in Congress who point out that smoking, despite a marked decline in recent years, still leads to more preventable deaths than anything else.

Op-Ed: SHORT-SIGHTED AND INEFFECTIVE – VAPE BANS ARE NOT THE ANSWER

Dato Adzwan Abdul Manas, Tobacco Reporter

Across Malaysia, we’re witnessing a growing wave of state-led attempts to ban vape products, with Perlis, Terengganu, and Kedah – all governed by opposition parties – announcing prohibitions, with Penang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan reportedly considering the same.

Publicly, leaders and MPs are now echoing calls for a nationwide ban, citing concerns over vape products laced with drugs and growing concern over youth vaping.

IS THIS THE KEY TO REDUCING SMOKING RATES IN MEXICO?

Global Forum on Nicotine

Despite rising smoking rates Mexico still heavily restricts access to safer nicotine products, leaving few options for Mexico’s. But could healthcare professionals be the key to stem Mexico’s smoking dilemma? Marcela Madrazo joins us to highlight this alternative approach to THR in Mexico.

On this day…2015

A look back at how things have moved on or otherwise…

Going smokefree? Gone smokefree

Vapers in Power – Paul Barnes

Break out the party balloons, those crazy assed poppers where you find the streamer stuff and end caps for years afterwards. Let’s have some jelly and ice-cream, trifle, and maybe, just maybe we’ll have some beers or cider if you prefer. It is time for a little celebration! Why am I in such a good mood? Well, grab a drink and I’ll tell you. Might want to turn the music down a bit first…..

CDC Lying About Financial Conflicts of Interest..

And Failing to Disclose Big Pharma Funding When It Releases Statements About E-Cigarettes

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) makes a multitude of recommendations regarding the prevention and treatment of a variety of diseases and adverse health conditions. Many of these recommendations involve the promotion of specific pharmaceutical products, such as antibiotics, vaccines, or smoking cessation drugs….

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