Vapers Digest 13th May
Monday’s News at a glance:
The Chamber of Misinformation – UKVIA Predicts Car Crash – Sunak’s capitulation on vaping illustrates how the UK government has descended into abject farce – Landmark report proves nicotine use does NOT lead to tobacco-related disease – In the Ugly Nicotine Debate, Being Kind Isn’t Just Right—It’s Effective – Sweden’s Success: A Blueprint for THR – Harm Reduction Policies Are Adopted Inconsistently – After decades fighting Big Tobacco – FDA’s vape regulation failures jeopardize public health
Two from Dave Cross, Planet of the Vapes:
The Chamber of Misinformation
The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) has railed against the “so-called stakeholders” who presented oral evidence to the Tobacco & Vapes Bill committee. The trade body accuses them of having “a vested interest” in the Bill’s passage through the legislative process and declares that this “was one of the most one-sided Bill Committee hearings ever to take place both in terms of the membership of the committee and those giving evidence.”
UKVIA stated: “No representatives from the vaping industry. No representation from the millions of vapers. Not one MP who opposed the Bill on the Committee. The result: The Tobacco and Vapes Bill committee hearing turned into the ‘Chamber of Misinformation’.”
UKVIA Predicts Car Crash
The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) is predicting an impending car crash as the government admits the absence of a risk assessment of environmental impact of black market vapes. UKVIA says the government must urgently get a grip on its vape policy after it emerged that it has failed to carry out yet another vital risk assessment into the very real potential dangers posed by new regulations.
UKVIA says: “It is now abundantly clear that the government is walking blindly into an environmental catastrophe that will be a lot worse post disposables ban because of its lack of due diligence on this matter.
“The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is leading on implementing the ban on disposable vapes which will come into force in April next year and cites environmental concerns for doing so.
Sunak’s capitulation on vaping
Illustrates how the UK government has descended into abject farce
Martin Cullip – The Daily Pouch
Rishi Sunak’s government is facing a monumental collapse (or even political oblivion) in the next General Election, due by January 2025 at the latest. One of its Members of Parliament has just defected to Labour and YouGov polling shows that the Conservative party is only three percentage points ahead of Reform. Emblematic of how the bungling government has surrendered an 80-seat majority in 2019 through inept policymaking is its systematic destruction of saving lives by being the leader in tobacco harm reduction (THR). Promoting THR is one of the very few things the government had actually done very well up until now.
The UK was previously the world leader in THR, that is attracting people who smoke away from combustible tobacco (which will kill them) to reduced risk nicotine products which will help them live longer and healthier lives.
At the 2024 BayesiaLab Spring Conference, Ray Niaura and Violet Xu from NYU’s College of Global Public Health presented their research on the effectiveness of e-cigarettes in helping smokers quit. You can watch Ray’s talk in full on our website.https://t.co/9oERTo97OC
— Bayesia (@BayesianNetwork) May 11, 2024
Landmark report proves nicotine use…
Does NOT lead to tobacco-related disease – Ali Anderson
A new landmark report – ‘No Smoke, Less Harm’ – proves that nicotine use does NOT lead to tobacco-related disease. The study shows that Sweden has dramatically lower rates of tobacco-related deaths and health issues than other European nations – despite similar levels of nicotine intake.
In Sweden, one in four adults use nicotine daily, the same as across Europe. However, the Scandinavian country reports a massive 41 per cent lower incidence of lung cancer and fewer than HALF the tobacco-related deaths of 24 out of 26 of its European peers.
The positive impact of nicotine alternatives This stark contrast is attributed to the widespread adoption of smoke-free nicotine products such as snus, nicotine pouches and vapes.
In the Ugly Nicotine Debate…
Being Kind Isn’t Just Right—It’s Effective
Kim “Skip” Murray
Going to school as an autistic kid sometimes felt like a never-ending nightmare. Spitballs hitting me in the back of the head, being tripped in the hallway, having my books knocked out of my arms, and the constant name-calling and ridicule.
I sat in the boat with my grandpa one lazy summer afternoon when the fish weren’t biting. My family knew me as excessively talkative. That day, my grandpa commented that I was unusually quiet, and asked what was wrong. I shook my head, and tried to stare at the lake so he didn’t see my tears.
Sweden’s Success: A Blueprint for THR
Allison Boughner
In a world grappling with the devastating consequences of tobacco use, innovative strategies are essential to mitigate its impacts effectively. Among the global community, Sweden stands out as a beacon of success in tobacco harm reduction, demonstrating the effectiveness of the “No Smoke, Less Harm” approach.
This report delves into Sweden’s remarkable journey towards reducing tobacco-related harm by embracing smoke-free alternatives containing nicotine. Compared to other European nations grappling with similar levels of tobacco consumption, Sweden has achieved unparalleled success in improving public health outcomes.
Harm Reduction Policies…
Are Adopted Inconsistently Across Substances
Stacey McKenna
Most potential harms attributable to substance use stem from two distinct causes of risk: the substance itself (including how it is used) and the prohibition of the substances or related equipment. Harm reduction has been shown to effectively mitigate the risks associated with a wide range of behaviors and substances. Some common harm reduction interventions include:
RSI examined state harm reduction policies targeting three substances: tobacco, opioids, and cannabis.
After decades fighting Big Tobacco…
Cliff Douglas now leads a foundation funded by his former adversaries
Does it trouble you to answer that question?” one of New York’s highest paid attorneys asked Cliff Douglas, then a 36-year-old activist who had found himself at the center of a $10 billion libel lawsuit brought by the cigarette giant Philip Morris.
Philip Morris’ lawyer Herbert Wachtell demanded to know: Were cigarette companies intentionally killing people?
“I believe the companies are knowingly producing products that do kill people,” Douglas replied.
FDA’s vape regulation failures…
Jeopardize public health
As campaign season continues to heat up, both parties are fighting to differentiate themselves in the eyes of the American voter. Yet despite deep political division, recent controversy in the area of public health showed that both parties agree on one thing: the FDA Center for Tobacco Products is failing the American people and jeopardizing American lives.
On April 11, the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability held a hearing, “Oversight of the Food and Drug Administration,” to question FDA Commissioner Robert Califf on the agency’s activity across a range of areas. The most heated discussion centered around the FDA’s failure to effectively regulate the exploding market for illegal vapes.
On this Day…2023
A look back at how things have moved on or otherwise…
Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
(FCTC) and the Conference of the Parties (COP): an explainer (updated April 2023)
Knowledge•Action•Change
From 20-25 November 2023, government delegations from around the world will meet in Panama City to discuss tobacco and nicotine policy at the Tenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Decisions taken at these meetings influence how international tobacco control policies are implemented at a national level. These decisions will be very significant in determining the future of safer nicotine products (SNP), such as nicotine vapes (e-cigarettes), snus, nicotine pouches and heated tobacco products. Consumer access to these products is crucial to realise the public health potential of tobacco harm reduction in the global fight against tobacco-related death and disease.
This GSTHR Briefing explains what the FCTC is, what COP meetings are and how they operate. It also ends with some preliminary notes on the upcoming COP 10 regarding discussions potentially relevant to SNP.
Lives will be saved…
If the WHO changes its view on e-cigarettes – Patrick Basham
The good news about reduced risk tobacco and nicotine products is the bad news is wrong. Regulated adult consumption of e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and snus is not as dangerous as smoking cigarettes.
Instead, it is a massive advancement in global public health. Anyone who argues otherwise is out of touch with both the science and the real-world evidence.
It is indeed true that most well-funded public health institutions and stakeholders are rabidly anti-tobacco harm reduction and predictably anti-vaping.
Visit Nicotine Science & Policy for more News from around the World
