Vapers Digest 15th December
Monday’s News at a glance:
Summit Highlights Failure ~ ASH Hides Nicotine Briefing ~ Met Nabs 1200 Vapes ~ Prevalence & Characteristics of E-Cigarette and Nicotine Pouch Use Among United States Military Veteran Smokers ~ From harm reduction to harm elimination ~ Why Governments Prefer Cigarette Revenue over Safer Alternatives ~ From Smoking to Snus and Pouches: The Nordic Blueprint Saving Millions of Lives ~ IRVINE: Clearing the air on e-cigarettes ~ Study challenges ‘gateway’ claims finding vapes involved in only 5% of teen smoking starts ~ Restricting vape options makes dual users more likely to choose cigarettes, new U.S. study finds ~ MP BAILEY: Liberal War on Nicotine Pouches ~ Policymakers must lead: Africa cannot ignore safer nicotine alternatives any longer ~ Mexico threatens eight years of jail in crackdown on vape sales ~ INSIDE TOBACCO HARM REDUCTION IN 2025
Three From Dave Cross, Planet Of The Vapes
Summit Highlights Failure
International health experts met in Berlin on Monday 24th November to confront one of Germany’s most urgent public-health challenges: a stalled smoking rate that continues to claim 130,000 lives every year. Many of those lives, the experts warned, are being needlessly lost because of Germany’s misguided rules on tobacco-free oral nicotine pouches.
ASH Hides Nicotine Briefing
Action on Smoking and Health has produced a briefing document on the health effects of nicotine but, unlike its other briefing documents, it has not said anything about it. Hidden away on the anti-smoking charity’s website, the product of a number of notable experts in the field, the work has been described as a “very good briefing” but harm reduction advocates.
Met Nabs 1200 Vapes
Inbetween arresting peaceful OAPs and seizing tractors, the Metropolitan Police has been able to crack down on illicit goods, money laundering and exploitation. As part of its targeting of high street crime, police officers seized illicit goods and suspected illegal cash as part of “the drive to make high streets safer and tackle crime which impacts local communities”.
Prevalence & Characteristics of E-Cigarette and Nicotine Pouch Use Among United States Military Veteran Smokers
Military Medicine, Oxford Academic
IntroductionThe recent growth of Alternative Nicotine Products (ANP), such as e-cigarettes and Nicotine Pouches (NPs), raises concerns for groups with heightened health-risks from tobacco/nicotine products, like U.S. military veterans. Considering, and given the limited available data on veteran ANP use, we explored the prevalence, perceptions, and use characteristics of two ANP types (e-cigarettes and NPs) in this population.
From harm reduction to harm elimination
Christopher Snowdon, Velvet Glove Iron Fist
After the WHO anti-nicotine conference last month, I wrote…
It is very clear that the Bloomberg/WHO approach from now on will be to demonise nicotine and portray harm reduction as an industry scam.
This will require some sharp U-turns given that nicotine products are on the WHO’s list of essential medicines and “harm reduction” is an explicit part of the WHO’s definition of tobacco control, but we’re dealing with seasoned liars who face no pushback from the media so they have every chance of success.
Why Governments Prefer Cigarette Revenue over Safer Alternatives
Roger Bate, Brownstone Institute
n December 2024, Congress did something unusual: it introduced a bill that openly acknowledges tobacco harm reduction. The POUCH Act of 2024, sponsored by Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI) and co-sponsored by Rep. Don Davis (D-NC), aims to prevent states and cities from banning or restricting FDA–authorized lower-risk products, including modern nicotine pouches and vaping products.
It is a modest bill, but one that finally moves federal policy in a sensible direction. The basic premise is straightforward: if the FDA has determined that a product is appropriate for the protection of public health, states should not be allowed to ban it for political, fiscal, or ideological reasons.
From Smoking to Snus and Pouches: The Nordic Blueprint Saving Millions of Lives
Diane Caruana, Vaping Post
As world governments continue to debate how best to reduce smoking, some pursue punitive measures such as sweeping bans, and extreme taxation, despite decades of evidence showing that these approaches often fail. Others, like several Nordic countries, have chosen a more pragmatic and science-based approach, by allowing adult smokers access to safer nicotine alternatives. Yet while the latter has produced the most dramatic and sustained declines in smoking ever recorded in Europe, it has also been the subject of constant controversy and scrutiny, as many seem to view it a way of indulging addiction.
Ian Irvine, Western Standard
The best and the brightest were arrayed in London last week for the thirteenth annual E-Cigarette Summit. I had the pleasure of listening and learning in the hallowed halls of the Royal College of Physicians.
The findings and recommendations of the scholars were virtually unanimous: e-cigs are a reliable and low-risk off-ramp for smokers wanting to quit; kids should be deterred from accessing them; governments should set modest tax rates and get clear messaging out to the public on relative risk.
Two From Ali Anderson, Clearing The Air
Study challenges ‘gateway’ claims finding vapes involved in only 5% of teen smoking starts
New review finds vaping involved in just 5.3% of teen cigarette experimentation in analysed cohorts
Most ‘gateway’ studies excluded nearly two thirds of teen vapers and three quarters of new smokers from their main analysis
Study design prevents detecting any potential ‘diversion’ effect, where vaping may displace cigarette uptake
They warn that over-regulating vapes on ‘gateway’ grounds “may be detrimental to public health and tobacco control”
Restricting vape options makes dual users more likely to choose cigarettes, new U.S. study finds
In a lab study of 41 adults who both smoke and vape, limiting vape flavour and device options made cigarettes more likely to be chosen
When only a tobacco-flavoured vape was available, people chose cigarettes more often and vaped less
Even when non-tobacco flavours were allowed, having to switch to a less familiar device still pushed people toward cigarettes
The authors say policies that narrow vape options may unintentionally increase smoking among adults who use both products
MP BAILEY: Liberal War on Nicotine Pouches
Burton Bailey, MP Red Deer, Juno News
The Liberal war on nicotine pouches is not about safety, it’s about control from a government that can’t make sense of its own absurd double standard.
Nicotine pouches are small, tobacco-free microfiber packets containing pharmaceutical-grade nicotine. There is no smoke, no combustion, no inhalation, and no spitting. They are used around the world as a tool to quit smoking.
Policymakers must lead: Africa cannot ignore safer nicotine alternatives any longer
Joseph Magero, Environews Nigeria
As another year ends, it’s important to reflect on Africa’s position in the global fight against smoking-related diseases. Unfortunately, the familiar pattern continues: while the rest of the world adopts modern harm reduction strategies, Africa remains significantly behind, stuck in outdated methods that don’t address current public health needs.
Across Europe, North America, and parts of Asia, safer nicotine alternatives such as nicotine pouches, e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and snus have been widely available for years.
Mexico threatens eight years of jail in crackdown on vape sales
Reuters
Mexico’s Senate has passed legal reforms that could impose up to eight years in jail and fines of up to 226,000 pesos ($12,500) for the production or sale of vapes and electronic cigarettes, a massive ramp-up of enforcement measures that critics call overly restrictive.
The changes to the General Health Law, ratified late Wednesday by pro-government senators after clearing the lower house on Tuesday, now await enactment by President Claudia Sheinbaum, who supports the legislation.
INSIDE TOBACCO HARM REDUCTION IN 2025
Global Forum on Nicotine
Join us for a fast-moving roundup of the most significant tobacco harm reduction developments of 2025. From FCTC COP11 controversies and global bans to new scientific insights, advocacy efforts, and major policy shifts, Will Godfrey breaks down the year’s biggest stories. Discover where progress is being made, where setbacks continue, and how real-world consumers are shaping the future of safer nicotine.
A look back at how things have moved on or otherwise…
Smoking Cessation, Weight Gain & Vapes
Kiran Sidhu
The benefits of smoking cessation are numerous and indisputable. But one of the few negatives can be undesired weight gain after you quit. Adding to the seriousness of this, the fear of gaining weight may prevent people from quitting cigarettes—and is often cited as a reason for resumption of smoking among people who did quit.
The Slow-Moving Train Wreck
Of Australian Vaping Policy
After nearly a decade advocating for vaping as a tobacco harm reduction strategy in Australia, I am stepping away from the field to retire. Witnessing Australia’s descent over these years, from its former status as a global leader in tobacco control to the current slow-moving train wreck, has been profoundly distressing.
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