Vapers Digest 12th July

Wednesday’s News at a glance:

Ohio’s 69% Vaping Tax Fails – E-Juice On Your Skin: Should You Worry? – Love Island bosses ship over boxes of electronic cigarettes – Mendelsohn Delivers Chapman a 1-2 – Doctors plead for e-cigarette reforms – DOH eyes inclusion of vapes, e-cigarettes in nat’l smoking ban – Vaping e-cigs in jail should continue – Report on public hearing of e-cigarette inquiry – UK Gov Clamps Down on E Cig Tank Extensions – NSP Daily Digest

Ohio’s 69% Vaping Tax Fails

Churnmag

Today, bullies hide behind government offices and use exorbitant taxes or regulations to unfairly treat those who vape in the US. These bullies are government elected officials from local and state levels who take advantage that currently, no federal excise tax exists on vaping products. Whether for money or morality, there is no excuse for the sin tax nor the unjust stigma towards those who vape instead of smoking cigarettes.

Why are we at the juncture? One cause is the lack of federal excise tax. This creates a situation where taxation methods vary greatly across states and localities. Some cities choose to regulate access to products such as flavors, while others choose to regulate concentrations. States like Ohio tried to implement excessive and outrageous taxes on vaping products to discourage its use while making profits at the same time.

E-Juice On Your Skin: Should You Worry?

Vaping360

It’s easy to see why new vapers panic when they accidentally get some e-juice on their skin. You can hardly pick up an e-juice bottle without seeing a mess of warnings about avoiding contact with the liquid, keeping it away from children and pets, and even calling poison control centers if you get some e-juice on your skin or swallow some.

When you see all this, being a bit worried about spilling e-juice on yourself is totally understandable.

But warnings are often more about covering companies’ backs legally than really informing consumers. The question is: will getting a drop or two of e-juice on your skin really do you any harm? Should vapers really be worried about getting e-juice on their skin?

Love Island bosses ship over boxes of electronic cigarettes to stop islanders smoking

The Sun

A source told The Sun Online: “They’re now being given normal cigarettes and vape sticks so they can make a choice.”

In tonight’s show, Marcel Somerville will be one of the first islanders to put down his packet of cigarettes and start vaping.

The sexy dating show got more complaints about the contestants smoking than it did about their X-rated bedroom antics.

Smoking has landed 24 complaints to the board after viewers felt watching the love rivals on the show puffing away glorified the addiction.

By comparison, the saucy sex scenes have only caused enough outrage for 15 complaints – even after two islanders had sex on the sofa in the living room as another couple slept next to them.

A spokesperson for the show defended the choice to show the islanders lighting up however, and said they the scenes were only kept in if they were considered “important to the narrative” of the show.

Mendelsohn Delivers Chapman a 1-2

Mawsley, Planet of the Vapes

Clive Bates’ takedown of Australian anti-vape activist Simon Chapman, last week, was savage. It must have been painful for him to wake up afterwards to discover that Doctor Colin Mendelsohn had a pro-vape piece in the same Sydney Morning Herald. Unlike Chapman, Mendelsohn actually works in a university and specialises in tobacco harm reduction. He is a tobacco treatment specialist and a conjoint associate professor in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at the University of New South Wales.

While Bates’ polemic focussed on taking apart Chapman’s weak arguments, Mendelsohn has spoken out in favour of vaping. Electronic cigarettes, he argues, are a vital part of the mix to combat smoking addiction and the resulting related diseases.

He begins his piece: “Some tobacco control activists [who on earth can he mean?] are so blinded by a commitment to destroy the tobacco industry that they can’t see the potential of a life-saving, harm reduction alternative, e-cigarettes.”

Doctors plead for e-cigarette reforms

SBS AU

Australia must make it as easy as possible for smokers to get their hands on e-cigarettes, doctors and a giant tobacco company have told federal parliamentarians.

Doctors who’ve become advocates for drug law reform say Australia must not “sacrifice” smokers who can’t quit by denying them a safer alternative.

They say Australia must follow the US and the UK and give smokers easy access to vastly less harmful e-cigarettes – or nicotine vaping products – so they can get their hit without the toxic smoke that does so much harm to the human body.

E-cigarette devices are legal in Australia but the sale and possession of the nicotine used in them is illegal.

Retired doctor Dr Alex Wodak, who now heads the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation, has told a federal parliamentary committee that must change.

DOH eyes inclusion of vapes, e-cigarettes in nat’l smoking ban

GMA Network

The Department of Health (DOH) is planning to move for the inclusion of vape and e-cigarettes in the national smoking ban, a report on 24 Oras said Tuesday.

The report said the DOH wants to prohibit the use of vapes and e-cigarettes in enclosed and public areas like bars and restaurants.

Citing the World Health Organization, the DOH said the use of vapes and e-cigarettes is likewise dangerous to one’s health.

The Philippine Medical Association has expressed its support to the DOH’s proposal, although the E-Cigarette Industry Association is opposing it.

Dick's Law pullquote https://t.co/Sdxc1oiCRj pic.twitter.com/MIsS70N6In

— Dick Puddlecote (@Dick_Puddlecote) December 21, 2016

Vaping e-cigs in jail should continue

14 News

Henderson County Jailer Amy Brady wants the city commission to reconsider the recently amended smoking ordinance.

The new rule, which was passed in June, bans people from using electronic cigarettes inside public places within city limits, which includes the jail.

Jailer Brady says if they have to stop selling the correctional e-cigs to inmates, they’ll lose a lot of funding for resources.

But, Brady says, it’s really not about the money.

“It’s used as a leverage tool,” Brady told us. “You can take those away from people that do not obey the rules and cause trouble. Or, you can give them as a reward for those who are trying to help and want to better themselves,” she said.

Report on public hearing of e-cigarette inquiry

Dr Colin Mendelsohn

The first public hearing for the federal parliamentary inquiry into e-cigarettes was held today at Parliament House in Sydney. Witnesses were Dr Alex Wodak, Dr Attila Danko, A/Prof Colin Mendelsohn and Dr Sandra Costigan, a toxicologist from Nicoventures, the e-cigarette subsidiary of British American Tobacco.

We were told that Professor Simon Chapman and the TGA refused to attend because a representative of the Tobacco Industry was present. This was very disappointing as we would have like the opportunity to discuss Professor Chapman’s views on e-cigarettes in person. He has also previously declined to participate in a public debate with us.

UK Gov Clamps Down on E Cig Tank Extensions

Neil H, E-Cig Click

If you thought the TRPR was bad enough as it stands right now things look likely to get even worse as the MHRA has decided to get tough on tank sizes.

Some of us might say spitefully so given EU vapers and sellers are the ones being penalized and it ain’t just tank sizes either as you’ll see later.

The MHRA is the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency – yeah I know e-cigs aren’t a medical product but hey neither are they a tobacco product!

But it’s this agency the UK Government has placed responsibility for the totally unclear mess known as the TRPR – Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016/7.

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