Vapers Digest 13th October

Friday’s News at a glance:

Government sets out next steps – Kids are buying illegal vapes illegally – Why a ban on disposable vapes is a dangerous strategy – Keeping track of disposables – Toys produce far more electronic waste – Government Announces Anti-Vape Steps – Follow Sweden, Sunak – Market Analysis shows Impact – ECigIntelligence Tracks Disposables – Commission to face European court – Who benefits and who loses out? – Plan to Raise Smoking Age Yearly in England – How effective are EU policies? – WHO Ignores People Who Smoke – Biden’s Cancer Moonshot – Improve public health – AVA Will Shut Down – New Tax Equity Bill – FDA Orders Vuse Alto Menthol Pods Off the Market – California Flavor Ban – COP10 to Reject Harm Reduction – Philip Morris lobbying – THR is a Human Rights Issue – The World is on Fire… Literally – India: How Far Can The Vape Ban Go?

Government sets out next steps…

To create ‘smokefree generation’

People of all ages are being invited to take part in a public consultation seeking views on plans to crack down on youth vaping by reducing the appeal, affordability and availability of vapes to our children.

The consultation launched today (12 October 2023) is open to anyone, of any age, in the UK and includes proposals to restrict child-friendly flavours and bright coloured packaging. People have 8 weeks to share their experiences and opinions and help shape future policy on vaping and smoking.

Kids are buying illegal vapes illegally

Christopher Snowdon, Velvet Glove Iron Fist

As the government opens an eight week public consultation on vaping and smoking regulation, the BBC runs a story about a 12 year old girl who was supposedly hospitalised as a result of vaping.

Never start vaping, says 12-year-old girl with lung damage

A 12-year-old girl who suffered a lung collapse and spent four days in an induced coma has told the BBC that children should never start vaping.

Sarah Griffin had asthma and was a heavy vaper when she was rushed to hospital with breathing problems a month ago.

There is always a frustrating lack of detail in articles such as this. There are a lot of vapers in Britain, but very few cases of lungs collapsing as a result, even among children. You don’t need to read between the lines too much to see that there may be more to this than meets the eye.

Why a ban on disposable vapes …

Is a dangerous strategy, by Dr Marina Murphy

News reports suggest that disposable (or single-use) vapes could be outlawed in the UK as part of a government crackdown on youth vaping.

In April, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) put out ‘a call for evidence to identify opportunities to reduce the number of children assessing and using vape products, while ensuring they are still readily available as a quit aid for adult smokers’.

No child should have access to vape products and no child should be vaping. But as was rightly pointed out in the objectives of this consultation, the solution cannot and should not be to take these products out of the hands of the adults who need them.

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Keeping track of the disposables scene:

How will it weather the regulatory storm? – Barnaby Page

At ECigIntelligence we estimate that disposables now account for nearly 40% of the global vape market — an astonishing figure when you consider that not so many years ago, the future was considered by many to lie in much higher-cost, refillable, customisable products.

But the dizzying growth rate that has led disposables to their current success also seems to be leading them into a perfect storm of regulatory and public unease, focused both on youth vaping rates and on the impact that disposable products of any kind have on the environment.

ECigIntelligence Tracks Disposables – Dave Cross POTV

Plan to Raise Smoking Age Yearly

In England Draws Mixed Reactions – Kiran Sidhu

Rishi Sunak, prime minister of the United Kingdom, wants to increase the age at which people can buy tobacco and cigarettes by one year, every year—from the current minimum of 18, to the point where sales are effectively prohibited altogether.

If passed, the proposed law will take effect in 2027. It will mean that anyone born on or after January 1, 2009—those who are currently under 15—will never be able to buy cigarettes legally in England.

The plan was unveiled at the governing Conservative Party’s annual conference in early October, where Sunak said, “If we want to do the right thing for our kids, we must try and stop teenagers taking up cigarettes in the first place.”

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Toys produce far more electronic waste

Than vapes – Chris Stokel-Walker

Toys are a much larger contributor to electronic waste than vapes, according to an analysis by the United Nations.

In advance of International E-Waste Day on 14 October, the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Forum collaborated with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research to quantify how much electronic waste the world disposes of without realising it has the potential to be recycled.

In all, 9 billion kilograms of so-called “invisible” e-waste is thrown away every year, worth nearly $10 billion, according to the analysis.

WHO Ignores People Who Smoke

During World Mental Health Day – Kim Murray

World Mental Health Day is observed on October 10th. This year’s theme is “Mental Health is a Universal Human Right.” Many people may not know that smoking rates are disproportionally high among people with mental health conditions. While the World Health Organization (WHO) is encouraging Member States and partners to accelerate efforts in mental health in a human-rights-based approach, they continue to march towards the prohibition of safer alternatives to smoking.

Tobacco harm reduction (THR) should also be a universal human/consumer right. Helping people with mental illnesses switch to safer alternatives to smoking would improve their quality of life and prolong their lives. The United Kingdom encourages everyone who hasn’t been able to quit smoking to try vaping in their  “swap to stop” campaign. That crusade includes people living with a mental illness.

Four from Dave Cross, Planet of the Vapes:

Government Announces Anti-Vape Steps

The government has launched a public consultation on youth vaping as part of measures to clamp down on vapes being promoted to children. When it comes to vaping, the steps put forward by Rebecca Pow, Steve Barclay, and Rishi Sunak, capitulate to emotive arguments to ban and about flavours and colours rather than relying on the bounty of research evidence.

The Government says: “People of all ages are being invited to take part in a public consultation seeking views on plans to crack down on youth vaping by reducing the appeal, affordability and availability of vapes to our children.

Follow Sweden, Sunak

Smoke Free Sweden says Prime Minister Rishi Sunak “must consider the Swedish approach to bringing down UK smoking rates”. It believes the UK must follow Sweden’s lead and continue to support alternatives to cigarettes to tackle smoking rates, the leading public health advocates have said.

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak is said to be considering a raft of new proposals aimed at stamping out smoking for good, including gradually increasing the legal smoking age.

Market Analysis shows Vape Impact

The global cigarette market is set to fall by a third by 2027 as health regulations crack down on smoking and reduced risk products see massive growth, according to an expert at market research company Euromonitor International. Only two regions, Asia Pacific and Latin America, saw growth in cigarette sales, Western Europe saw the largest cigarette decline in a decade, while North American sales saw biggest fall on record.

Shane MacGuill, Global Lead, Nicotine and Cannabis at Euromonitor International, said it was a tale of two tobacco markets in 2022 as a flat overall global cigarettes market was balanced by growth in only two regions, Asia Pacific and Latin America.

ECigIntelligence Tracks Disposables

Disposable e-cigarettes are now taking almost 40% of the vape sector, according to new analysis from ECigIntelligence. After an initial boom in the United States, the disposables market is now growing at a faster pace in other countries. Consumers are mainly attracted to disposables by convenience and low price, but there are variations in products internationally.

For example, due to restrictions on the amount of e-liquid that vape products in Europe’s TPD markets are allowed to have, the size of disposables has increased much more in non-TPD countries.

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Commission to face European court

Over tobacco law overreach – Nick Powell

The European Commission faces a major challenge over allegations that it has exceeded its powers by issuing a directive that attempts to make a law, rather than implement one passed by the EU’s co-legislators, the Council and the Parliament. The Irish High Court will refer to the European Court of Justice the Commission’s attempt to restrict the sale of heated tobacco products that offer cigarette smokers the chance to switch to a safer alternative, writes Political Editor Nick Powell.

The court case was brought by two companies involved in the sale and marketing of heated tobacco products in Ireland, PJ Carroll & Company and Nicoventures Trading.

Who benefits and who loses out…

In case of an EU-wide ban on nicotine pouches? – Antonia Di Lorenzo

A ban on nicotine pouches in the European Union does not seem far from becoming reality. Last week, a Swedish member of the European Parliament (MEP) – Charlie Weimers, from the European Conservatives and Reformists Group – received a “leaked” report from the European Commission’s bureaucrats, who apparently want to extend the EU-wide ban on snus to tobacco-free nicotine pouches.

Judging from the document, part of the preparatory work for the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) review, the Commission seems to consider pouches as a new oral tobacco product that might carry the same risks as snus, due to their similarities. Therefore, a possible ban on pouches would not be surprising.

How effective are EU policies

In the fight against tobacco?- Fabio Beatrice

700,000 people: that is the number of deaths registered every year in the European Union that can be attributed to smoking tobacco.

Indeed, smoking is the chief cause of preventable cancer, accounting for 27% of all tumors, as well as a significant number of cardiovascular diseases and respiratory problems. And while smokers seek nicotine first and foremost, it’s the burning of tobacco that is the main driver behind these staggering numbers. According to the IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer), combustible tobacco contains more than 70 certain carcinogenic and 7000 highly toxic substances.

Biden’s Cancer Moonshot

Showcases Tobacco Harm Reduction Ignorance – Lindsey Stroud

Recently, the Biden administration announced “new actions and commitments” under its Cancer Moonshot initiative. Unfortunately, the list of plans reemphasizes a gaping government blind spot.

In the United States, about 20 percent of all cancer cases, and around 30 percent of cancer deaths, are attributed to smoking. Nothing in the Moonshot plan meaningfully addresses this. At its core, it’s hampered by a willful refusal to embrace lifesaving technological advances in nicotine delivery.

Improve public health

By swapping Big Tobacco for Big Vape – Ian Irvine

Canadian smokers have been staring at warning labels on their cigarette packs for more than half a century. And while these labels have metastasized in size and grotesqueness over the years, millions of smokers still haven’t kicked the habit. Now Health Canada thinks one more warning will finally do the trick.

Starting next year, printed slogans such as “Poison in every puff” will be required on each and every cigarette. Canada is the first country to make such a move. Carolyn Bennett, federal minister for mental health and addictions when the new policy was announced, called it a “bold step.” Such confidence seems misplaced.

Three from Jim McDonald, Vaping 360:

AVA Will Shut Down, The Work Goes On

The American Vaping Association, an advocacy organization that represents both consumers and the independent industry, will end operations after nearly 10 years. The news was delivered in a letter to supporters from AVA President Gregory Conley.

The AVA, launched in 2014, has largely been a one-man operation, serving as a platform for Conley’s relentless efforts to defend and legitimize vaping. He made himself (and the AVA) the go-to source for mainstream media seeking the “vapers’ point-of-view.”

New Tax Equity Bill Would Make Vaping..

More Expensive Than Smoking

A new bill, introduced in both houses of Congress, would impose the first federal tax on vaping products and nicotine pouches. The bill’s authors say it is intended to harmonize the tax rate on all consumer nicotine products based on their nicotine content, but in reality it would make vaping more expensive than smoking cigarettes.

Thirty-three states and federal territories currently have some kind of vape tax, and many have taxes on nicotine pouches. But there is currently no federal tax on tobacco-free nicotine products like vapes.

FDA Orders Vuse Alto Menthol Pods

Off the Market

The FDA has rejected marketing applications for menthol-flavored refill pods for the Vuse Alto—the most popular flavor made for the Alto, which is the single most popular vaping device sold in the convenience store vape market. The Vuse Alto device and tobacco-flavored pods remain under review by the agency.

Marketing denial orders (MDOs) were issued for six Alto refill pods: both menthol and mixed berry flavors, each sold in three different nicotine strengths. Vuse manufacturer R.J. Reynolds must remove the popular menthol pods from store shelves immediately, or face FDA enforcement.

FDA Denies Marketing of Six Flavored Vuse Alto E-Cigarette Products Following Determination They Do Not Meet Public Health Standard

California Flavor Ban

Spawned Illicit Market

California’s 2022 ban on menthol cigarettes and flavored vapes has spawned a large, illicit marketplace for such products in the state, according to a study carried out WPSM Group.

The researchers collected 15,000 empty discarded cigarette packs and 4,529 vapor product packages from May 1 through June 28 in 10 California cities. The study shows that the flavor ban has had limited effect on the access or demand for flavored vapor products or menthol cigarettes throughout the entire state. The results of the study include:

COP10 to Reject Harm Reduction

Tobacco harm reduction will be absent at the 10th Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), according to new briefing paper published by the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction (GSTHR).

Scheduled for Nov. 20-23 in Panama City, COP10 will have a significant influence how tobacco policies are implemented at a national level, which in turn will determine the future of safer nicotine products such as e-cigarettes, heat-not-burn products and nicotine pouches.

Philip Morris lobbying to stop WHO ‘attack’

Philip Morris International (PMI), the tobacco and vaping company behind Marlboro cigarettes, is waging a big lobbying campaign to prevent countries from cracking down on vapes and similar products as part of a global treaty, a leaked email reveals.

The company, which has been increasingly focusing on smoke-free products as governments tighten regulations on cigarettes, made $10.19bn (£8.3bn) in revenues from products such as heated tobacco and electronic cigarettes in 2022.

THR is a Human Rights Issue

“Tobacco harm reduction is a human rights issue,” says Professor Konstantinos Farsalinos -a cardiologist and research fellow at the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center in Greece- at the 6th Summit on Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) in Athens.

Professor Farsalinos discussed the complex socio-political and ethical aspects of tobacco control in the 21st century, focusing on THR and the obligation of politicians, regulators, and scientists to have an open-minded, honest, and evidence-based approach beyond ideologies and prejudice.

Foundation for a Smoke-Free World

Names Clifford Douglas CEO as Global Voice in Smoking Cessation Work

The Foundation for a Smoke-Free World has named Clifford E. Douglas as President and Chief Executive Officer. Douglas has most recently served as Director of the University of Michigan Tobacco Research Network and as Adjunct Professor in the Department of Health Management and Policy at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Prior to that he was the American Cancer Society Vice President for Tobacco Control. Early in his career Douglas worked to eliminate smoking on airline flights and was an attorney and advisor in landmark lawsuits against tobacco manufacturers.

Douglas has also managed a $6 million campaign to eliminate smoking on college campuses, and worked to help Americans understand the relationship between smoking and Covid-19.

The World is on Fire… Literally

Allison Boughner

As we gear up for COP10 happening late this November the internet seems to be flooded with more baseless lies about tobacco harm reduction, attempting to prepare us for the WHO’s unscientific stance on nicotine products.

Gerry Stimson, director of the KAC makes this veracious statement on the messaging coming from the WHO and FCTC Secretariat.

“The WHO and FCTC Secretariat’s refusal to engage with evidence from multiple countries that have witnessed accelerated declines in smoking rates is unscientific and unjustifiable. …”

India: How Far Can The Vape Ban Go?

Liza Katsiashvili

Vaping is under the target of counterproductive restrictions globally, which is no news. However, the question is how far the prohibitionist approach can go and where it stops. Is there a chance for further restrictions to be implemented after an existing full-scale vape ban? Apparently, there is.

The Union Health Ministry of India recently clarified that possessing vapes is strictly prohibited. As a reminder, the government of India enacted a vape ban in 2019, which implied the prohibition of import, export, transport, sale, manufacture, distribution, storage and advertisement of vapes.

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On this Day…2022

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

NNA writes to the Secretary of State

New Nicotine Alliance

There have been reports this week that the new Secretary of State for Health, Thérèse Coffey, is delaying publication of the new tobacco control plan, along with rumours that the government is not minded to take forward recommendations contained in the summer’s independent tobacco review led by Dr Javed Khan.

In light of this, we have written to Ms Coffey today to re-emphasise our 20 recommendations for reducing smoking which rely on consumer choice, deregulation, competition and private sector innovation. We have also copied the letter to the Minister for Brexit Opportunities, Jacob Rees-Mogg, to highlight five quick wins which simply require scrapping of unnecessary and counterproductive EU regulations within the government’s Brexit Freedoms Bill proposals.  You can read the full letter here.

Coffey should promote alternatives

To cigarettes rather than nanny state intervention – Martin Cullip

There have been howls of protest from public health activists over press reports that Secretary of State for Health, Thérèse Coffey, may have backed out of a commitment to publish a tobacco control plan for England later in the year. The same knee-jerk activists have expressed dismay at rumours that the government will not act on recommendations contained in a government-commissioned independent review by Dr Javed Khan published in June.

Khan’s review demanded costly and punitive state interventions along with eye-watering tax increases as the country was entering a cost-of-living crisis. It also contained off-the-wall proposals such as banning the sale of cigarettes in supermarkets, raising the smoking age by a year every year, and painting cigarette sticks green.

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