Vapers Digest 15th August
Tuesday’s News at a glance:
Cruel But Sadly Not Unusual – There is no safe level of research – Senate bill seeks to ban e-cigarette use in schools – Park Ridge officials won’t reduce fine for underage possession of e-cigarettes – Newest vape shop in Peterborough opens amidst controversy – Smoking rates in Australia: what comes next? – Running out of steam – Nicotine In The News – UK e-liquid maker illegally dumps 700 containers of liquid – Upcoming Event – NSP Daily Digest
Cruel But Sadly Not Unusual
Dick Puddlecote
As you can see, she has already been suffering immensely with her dignity being stripped away by disease, and – since she is, to be blunt, very close to dying – had been confined to a bed in Norwich’s Priscilla Bacon Lodge which is where I went to meet her. We had a good chinwag for a few hours, during which she described truly astonishing behaviour by the staff which not only compounded the indignity, but was also unbelievably cruel!
You see, she switched from smoking to vaping three years ago, and had a small Ego CE4 type device. For those who don’t know what that is, it looks something like this.
There is no safe level of research
Headrambles
A phrase that is quite common these days is “there is no safe level of” followed by the target of the day.
Of course anyone with a modicum of sense will realise that this is bilge and that the dose makes the poison.
Tobacco Control have however managed to plumb new depths and are now claiming that a “social smoker” who may smoke three or four cigarettes a week runs the same risks as someone who gets through twenty or more a day.
Of course heavy smokers who are concerned about their health can take great solace from this – even if they cut back to one a day, they are running the same risks, therefore they may as well stick with the thirty or forty?
The article makes some rather strange claims and assumptions though – “To eliminate risks of cardiovascular disease, the only answer is not to ever start smoking or stop it completely.” So smoking is the sole cause of cardiovascular disease? Quitting smoking doesn’t reduce risks but eliminates them? I don’t think there is a single doctor on the face of the planet who would agree with that? [Unless of course they are a Tobacco Control fanatic].
Senate bill seeks to ban e-cigarette use in schools
Rappler
A Senate bill seeks to ban the use of electronic cigarettes in schools, government offices, public utility vehicles (PUVs), churches, and hospitals.
Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III filed Senate Bill 1538, seeking to regulate the use and sale of e-cigarettes following President Rodrigo Duterte’s nationwide smoking ban, which so far excludes the device.
The measure aims to prohibit indoor use of the product “in places of worship, hospitals or other healthcare centers, public conveyances, government offices, and educational or recreational facilities exclusively intended for minors.”
Use of e-cigarettes in other enclosed places not covered by the bill would be allowed, as long as the owner or manager would post the following statement “in a clear and conspicuous manner: Use of vaporized nicotine products is allowed inside.”
Park Ridge officials won’t reduce fine for underage possession of e-cigarettes
Chicago Tribune
An effort to reconsider a previously approved fine increase for youth caught using electronic smoking devices failed to get the necessary votes to pass at a recent Park Ridge City Council meeting.
At their July 17 meeting, city officials unanimously approved an ordinance that increased the fine from $100 to $500 for juveniles under the age of 18 caught possessing e-cigarettes and tobacco products. Those caught under the new ordinance would have the option to pay the fine or enroll in a “diversion and education program.”
First Ward Ald. John Moran requested the council take up the issue once again at the Aug. 7 meeting after he said he learned it would cost only about $125 to provide the program for each student. Teri Collins, a member of the high school District 207 Board of Education and the Maine Community Youth Assistance Foundation, told council members at their July meeting that children caught vaping would have the option to take roughly three-hour education classes at the Maine South High School.
Newest vape shop in Peterborough opens amidst controversy
Peterborough Examiner
The city’s newest vape shop is hosting its grand opening Saturday amidst the ongoing controversy regarding the regulation of e-cigarettes.
My Own Clouds is located in Charlotte Mews. It sells vape supplies and products.
Vaporizers or e-cigarettes are battery-powered devices used to heat e-liquids, which contain propylene glycol, glycerine, flavouring and sometimes nicotine.
E-cigarettes have been deemed less harmful than cigarettes, but aren’t regulated.
That means there’s no way of knowing exactly what’s in the e-liquid and that’s concerning, said Mary Pat Cannon, public health nurse with Peterborough Public Health.
“There needs to be consumer protection so the government can ensure the safety of what’s being marketed and sold to consumers,” she said.
The Ontario government is currently reviewing the regulation of e-cigarettes under the Smoke-Free Ontario Act.
Smoking rates in Australia: what comes next?
ABC RN Breakfast
New statistics have shown the number of smokers in Australia has grown — for the first time in decades.
While the numbers are small, it begs the question: what’s the next step in the bid to reduce smoking in Australia?
For some researchers, e-cigarattes could be the answer.
But others are sceptical, and want the government to bring back its big anti-smoking media campaigns.
So easy, even a mouse can do it!
You too can become an certified expert! pic.twitter.com/mJ3qu6r8HG— VladTheVaper (@Vlad6718) August 14, 2017
Running out of steam
Tobacco Reporter
The number of smokers in Australia has increased for the first time since anti-smoking campaigns were ramped up a generation ago, casting doubt on the effectiveness of cigarette tax increases, according to a story by Adam Creighton for The Australian.
Creighton quoted Dr. Colin Mendelsohn, an expert in public health at the University of New South Wales, as saying that an unexpected standstill in the national smoking rate since 2013 combined with a rapid population growth had pushed up the number of regular smokers by more than 21,000 to 2.4 million.
Mendelsohn said Australia’s “punitive and coercive” policies to curb smoking had “run out of steam”.
“For the first time ever, there has been no statistically significant reduction in the smoking rate, and an increase in the number of smokers in Australia,” he reportedly told The Australian, noting the nation’s smoking rate was now higher than the US’ smoking rate for the first time in a decade. “This is despite plain packaging and the most expensive cigarette prices in the world.”
Nicotine In The News
Harry Shapiro, NSP
The Washington Post has published a letter from the vice chair of the American Thoracic Society’s Tobacco Action Committee attacking the FDA for its more neutral position on new nicotine technologies, accusing the agency of promoting a switch from one addiction to another, underlining an ideological trope that lies at the heart of much of the response from many national and international so-called ‘health’ agencies.
In the letter highlighted by Dr Michael Siegel, which should have been headlined ‘What planet is she on? Oh right’. Dr Enid Neptune wrote: “As a physician who treats patients devastated by tobacco-caused lung disease, I was concerned by the Aug. 5 editorial “Breaking nicotine’s grip” which embraced Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb’s plan for regulating tobacco products. The commissioner seems unconcerned about switching one form of nicotine addiction with another. Nicotine in any form is bad for your health, adversely affecting neurological and cardiovascular systems and reproductive health. Evidence shows that nicotine can be a gateway drug. … The FDA’s job is to protect youths from all types of tobacco and nicotine addiction, not to negotiate which types of nicotine addiction it will allow.”
UK e-liquid maker illegally dumps 700 containers of liquid
Jim McDonald, Vaping360
A British e-liquid manufacturer has been fined £13,000 (about $16,900) after pleading guilty to illegally dumping more than 700 containers of an unknown liquid.
Rehise Khan is the owner of Blue Star E-Liquid Ltd. in Bolton, near Manchester. In addition to the fine, Khan received a 26-week jail sentence, but that was suspended. Most of the fine went to reimburse the property owners for the chemical cleanup.
Authorities found 744 empty containers behind the industrial park where Blue Star was operating at the time. A hazmat officer took control of the scene immediately, and the property owners spent more than £9,000 to clean up the chemicals.
According to a story in the Manchester Evening News, an investigation by the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service and a local environmental agency showed that the liquid was a “non-hazardous, acid-based starch,” rather than the propylene glycol they first suspected.
Upcoming Event
Tobacco harm reduction: how e-cigarettes and vaping devices have transformed tobacco control
This presentation will outline what we know and don’t know about e-cigarettes, drawing on a growing body of evidence from studies conducted at the University of Stirling, our partner Universities in the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies and international colleagues. This will include evidence on: safety and risks; health effects; trends in use; smoking cessation; and harm perceptions. The social and political factors that shape regulatory frameworks and public opinion on vaping will also be touched upon by both the presenter and the discussant, as well as the current policy context and future research opportunities
Featuring: Sir Kenneth Calman, Professor Linda Bauld and Martin Dockrell
Visit Nicotine Science & Policy for more News from around the World
