Vapers Digest 15th May
Friday’s News at a glance:
Belgium Bans Vape Flavours ~ Parliamentary Matters ~ Nicotine Summit US 2026: Science Shapes the Path – Will Policy Catch Up? ~ Three Former WHO Directors Urge It to Back Tobacco Harm Reduction ~ Another Harm Reduction Journal Paper on How Vaping Helps Beat Smoking ~ expert reaction to the WHO report on nicotine pouches ~ Lies and damned lies ~ An Open Letter to the Architects of Australia’s Nicotine Chaos ~ What’s new in things to do? ~ It’s Spring at the CTP ~ Opinion: Canada’s nicotine policy needs a little principled pragmatism ~ Ban on flavoured vapes is nanny-statism and will fuel black-market, claims local TD ~ CTP Acting Director Statement: New Steps Forward in Accelerating Innovation and Efficiency in Product Review ~ The Makary Resignation and the Media’s Nicotine Blind Spot ~ FDA’s “Efficiency” Promise: I’m Still Skeptical ~ Juul Labs Submits Comments in Response to FDA’s Draft Guidance on Applications for Flavored E-Cigarettes ~ Safer Solutions: The FDA authorized flavored vapes. Now what? ~ 94% of smokers wrongly believe vaping is as harmful as cigarettes, new US study finds ~ New Zealand’s smoking rate has halved in six years – with vaping a major reason why ~ South Africa: 80% of Smokers Back Risk-Based Regulation ~ Vape and Tobacco Free Zones Consultation ~ Nicotine Overregulation and the Rise of Black Markets ~ THR Global – The Building Block Secret to Changing Tobacco Policy
Two From Dave Cross, Planet Of The Vapes
Belgium Bans Vape Flavours
In a move of striking foolishness, Belgium has banned flavoured vapes and bottles of flavoured eLiquids. The decision drew swift rebuke from international health experts, who warn the move will sabotage quit-smoking efforts and push former smokers back to smoking cigarettes. The ban will come into effect from September 2028 and only
Welcome to this week’s trip to Parliament – where Andrew Rosindell (Reform), Josh Babarinde (LibDem), and Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative) discover that the answer to any question they have about vaping, according to Sharon Hodgson, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care, is “The Tobacco and Vapes Bill”.
Nicotine Summit US 2026: Science Shapes the Path – Will Policy Catch Up?
Tobacco Harm Reduction
On the 8th of May, regulators, researchers, clinicians and advocates gathered in Washington D.C. for the Nicotine Summit US 2026, the first U.S. edition of the event formerly known as the E‑Cigarette Summit. Celebrating its tenth anniversary, the summit provided a platform for frank discussion about nicotine science, regulation and public health. Across the day, speakers returned to a central theme: science now offers a clear map of relative risks, but policy is not following..
Three Former WHO Directors Urge It to Back Tobacco Harm Reduction
Kiran Sidhu, Filter
Three former World Health Organization directors say the goal of reaching a global smoking rate below 5 percent by 2040 is achievable—if safer nicotine products are fully embraced. Their words are a clear rebuke to the WHO’s anti-tobacco harm reduction stance.
The three ex-directors penned an analysis, titled “Smoke-free nicotine products can accelerate the end of the smoking era,” which was published in Nature Health in late April.
Another Harm Reduction Journal Paper on How Vaping Helps Beat Smoking
Joseph Hart, The Daily Pouch
A new study reviews 214 papers and 22 randomised controlled trials on vaping and smoking cessation, finding strong evidence that vapes help smokers quit or reduce consumption.
Shout out to the ever-vigilant and entertaining @phil_w888 for catching this interesting study posted by Bündnis für Tabakfreien Genuss. The paper seems to have gone by the wayside among many, including the Canadian press. That detail is particularly galling because it was authored by Mimi M. Kim and colleagues at Thera‑Business, a research organisation based in Kanata, Ontario, Canada.
expert reaction to the WHO report on nicotine pouches
Dr Jamie Hartmann-Boyce,Prof Caitlin Notley, Dr Harry Tattan-Birch, Science Media Centre
Scientists comment on the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) report on nicotine pouches.
Lies and damned lies
Marc Gunther, The Best Laid Plans
As a senior at Brown University back in 1986, Michael Siegel wrote a thesis on the health effects of second-hand cigarette smoke, drafted a bill to ban smoking in workplaces and lobbied for it at the Rhode Island state legislature.
The bill passed—a nifty graduation present for Siegel, who has been an anti-smoking advocate ever since.
“We won, kicked Big Tobacco’s butts…and the legislature was on its way to becoming a national leader in the effort to make smoking history,” he says.
An Open Letter to the Architects of Australia’s Nicotine Chaos
Alan Gor
To the people who make quitting more complicated than smoking,
You probably think you are protecting us.
You stand at podiums and behind university logos. You sit on advisory boards, health committees, working groups, and ministerial roundtables. You appear on television warning about flavours, social media trends, and “renormalisation.” You speak endlessly about precaution, unintended consequences, and protecting children.
Two From Skip Murray, Skip’s Corner – Let’s Talk!
What’s new in things to do?
In a hurry? To quickly find additions to the previous Events post, look for the ones labeled NEW.
If you know of any missing events, please send them to me at: mnsmokefree (at) gmail (dot) com.
These newsletters are read by a variety of people. Academics, media, regulators, public health, industry, tobacco control, and people with lived experience are among my readership. There may be content you support and some you don’t. But if I’m going to preach that people like me should have a seat at the table, it is important to me to practice what I preach and offer a seat to as many perspectives as I can.
It’s Spring at the CTP
Spring is here! The season of renewal, change, and forward motion.
The last week and a half has been a busy one for the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. They are in moving forward mode.
Marty Makary, the head of the FDA, left the agency this week.
Last week, several CTP staff attended the Food & Drug Law Institute’s Annual Conference and the Nicotine Summit. Two weeks before that, they were at ATNF. I appreciate them attending conferences.
It has been a wonderful opportunity to meet many of them, tell them my story, and hear theirs. I got a little emotional during one of the sessions and impulsively walked up to the acting director of the CTP and gave him a hug!!!
Opinion: Canada’s nicotine policy needs a little principled pragmatism
Fred DeLorey, Financial Post
In the early 1990s, Canadian governments learned the hard way that public health policy cannot ignore market realities. High cigarette taxes, however well-intentioned, fuelled a booming contraband trade that threatened to overwhelm the legal market. In 1994, Jean Chrétien’s government made a difficult but pragmatic choice to cut tobacco taxes as part of a broader anti-smuggling plan. It reflected a simple truth: when legal markets stop working for consumers, illicit ones take over.
Ban on flavoured vapes is nanny-statism and will fuel black-market, claims local TD
Eoghan Murphy, Shannonside
The bill is making its way through the Oireachtas and was discussed at the health committee yesterday.
A local TD says a ban on flavoured vapes is nanny-statism – and will lead to a spike in black-market sales.Sinn Féin’s Sorca Clarke says she backs the planned ban on the sale of vapes to under-18s.
CTP Acting Director Statement: New Steps Forward in Accelerating Innovation and Efficiency in Product Review
Bret Koplow, Center for Tobacco Products, U.S. Food And Drug Administration
In a rapidly evolving environment like tobacco regulation, the FDA recognizes the need for communication and updates on the agency’s critical work protecting the public health. As the acting director for the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, I am pleased to provide some updates on CTP’s work.
Premarket application review is foundational to establishing a well-regulated marketplace. CTP is identifying and deploying lessons learned in the course of having taken action over the past five years on premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) for nearly 27 million tobacco products.
New Zealand’s smoking rate has halved in six years – with vaping a major reason why
New Zealand has cut its smoking rate almost in half in just six years, with vaping playing a central role in one of the world’s fastest declines in cigarette use.
A major new report on global tobacco harm reduction says New Zealand’s smoking rate fell to just 6.9 per cent in 2023/24 after the government openly embraced vaping as a less harmful alternative to smoking.
South Africa: 80% of Smokers Back Risk-Based Regulation
Tobacco Reporter
A new survey among adult smokers in South Africa found strong support for risk-based tobacco regulation, with eight in 10 respondents backing policies that differentiate between cigarettes and less harmful alternatives. The research suggests that while 71% of smokers currently plan to continue smoking, improved access to accurate information and appropriately regulated smoke-free products could more than double switching rates,
Vape and Tobacco Free Zones Consultation
Maelie Dawkins-Wood, Drug Science
The consultation document opens with the case for change, that “people deserve to live in a fairer UK, where everyone lives well for longer.” We agree with this statement. We do not agree that treating reduced risk products – vapes and heated tobacco products -in the same way as cigarette smoking will achieve this vision.
The Department of Health and Social Care is correct that smoking is a uniquely harmful way of consuming nicotine and remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the UK. It is estimated that two in three long-term smokers will die as a result of their smoking (NHS, 2023).
Nicotine Overregulation and the Rise of Black Markets
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
As governments increasingly turn to restrictive tobacco and tobacco harm reduction policies, it is important to remember that demand does not disappear, it simply shifts. This webinar explores how excessive regulation can fuel the growth of illicit markets, often with unintended and damaging consequences. Joined by International Advisor on Illicit Trade, Michael Ellis, we examine how poorly designed policies can create opportunities for both small-scale operators and large organized crime syndicates. The discussion highlights why smarter and evidence-based regulation is essential to avoid repeating the failures of prohibition.
THR Global – The Building Block Secret to Changing Tobacco Policy
Global Forum on Nicotine
In this episode of GFN News, we sit down with Kurt Yeo to discuss the launch of THR Global, a new platform designed to bridge the gap between personal experience and policy-grade evidence.
Kurt shares his powerful “Building Block” analogy, explaining why a “giant bag” of random testimonials often fails to move the needle. By extracting specific data points – like smoking history, failed quit attempts, and product usage – THR Global is turning individual stories into a structured, global evidence base that policy makers can no longer overlook.
On this day…2019!
A look back at how things have moved on or otherwise…
COULD SNUS BE THE SOLUTION TO AFRICA’S RISING SMOKING RATES?
Joseph Magero, Medium
You’ll be surprised to know that Sweden is the only country to have reached the WHO F.C.T.C goal of reducing cigarette smoking to less than 20% of the adult population. Sweden has one of the most effective anti-smoking policies in Europe, measured by the significant reduction of the numbers of smokers. Snus has played an important role in achieving this goal, since 54% of the snus consumers are ex-smokers.
Tobacco 21 Is Unstoppable, but U-Turns Are Unacceptable
Brad Rodu, Inside Sources
Walmart added momentum to the Tobacco 21 movement by announcing recently that it would raise the minimum age for tobacco sales in July. So far this year the number of T-21 states has doubled to 12, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has called for congressional action to implement the policy across the United States.
However, everyone is not in favor of curbing underage access — sort of.
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