Vapers Digest 16th July
Wednesday’s News at a glance:
Another Vaper Arrested in Thailand ~ Tax Survey Highlights Dangers ~ Politician Urged to Embrace Science ~ You Don’t Know Nicotine: Apple TV ~ expert reaction to study suggesting vapes are more effective for quitting smoking than gum or lozenges including in disadvantaged groups ~ My new white paper, “Tobacco Harm Reduction: Policy And Practice” published by the Hispanic Leadership Fund ~ Vaping Superior to Nicotine Replacement Therapy, Yet Another Study Shows ~ Vaping Better for Quitting Cigarettes Than Nicotine Replacement in Tough Population ~ How Policymakers in Africa Risk Fueling Illicit Trade in Vapes ~ Consumer groups criticize WHO-Bloomberg’s ‘war on harm reduction’ ~ Cessation Over Harm Reduction: WCTC 2025 Draws a Hard Line Against Less Harmful Nicotine Products ~ YDKN and Expertise ~ One-Million Dollar Ad Campaign Launched by VTA Urging Immediate Action to Protect Adult Access to Flavored Vapes from Government Overreach ~ VTA Ad Campaign Reminds Trump of Promise to “Save Vaping” ~ Minneapolis Council Passes Minimum Price Law for Vapes ~ My Dad Quit Cigarettes in 1984. To Doctors, He Was Always a “Smoker.” ~ Quit4Life SMS program in Zambia and Uganda: A Vital First Step, But Are We Giving Smokers Enough Options? ~ Vaping, Panic, and Prohibition: Why the UC-Davis Study Needs Context ~ Two Stories, One Country: The Deep Divide Between Cancer Council and Roy Morgan on Youth Smoking and Vaping ~ What the Latest Nicotine Ingestion Study Actually Shows ~ Vape industry says new data suggests concerns over youth vaping may have backfired ~ Would a tax on vapes lead to a decline in usage? ~ Health experts praise Swedish Finance Minister’s defence of nicotine pouches against EU ~ Trump Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Can Protect Access to Vaping ~ Vaping more effective at helping socially disadvantaged people quit smoking than NRT ~ Clearing The Air | Debunking Nicotine Bias from Bloomberg to Brussels ~ Kurt Dissects A Case of Misinformation Made By Dr. London ~ Battling misinformation from the newsroom to the Facebook comment section – Keynote | #GFN25
Four From Dave Cross, Planet of the Vapes
Another Vaper Arrested in Thailand
Thailand’s ban on vaping isn’t slowing the numbers of people using vapes, as they look to reduce their harm exposure from tobacco, but it has benefitted various police department’s ‘tea funds’. One ex-pat living in Bangkok has detailed how he was stopped, taken to a police station and fined 10,000 baht (around £225) for having a vape in his bag.
Tax Survey Highlights Dangers
The government in Croatia has conducted a “public consultation” for the Draft Regulation on the Excise Duty on Tobacco Products. Article 6 of the document shows the legislators are proposing a ridiculous tax rise of €0.20 per millilitre on e-liquids. Harm reduction advocates say this is a measure that would “dramatically increase prices for consumers who use vaping as a safer alternative to smoking”.
Politician Urged to Embrace Science
The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) has acknowledged President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s decision to retain Dr Teodoro Javier Herbosa as Secretary of Health in the Philippines, but it is calling for urgent reforms to align the Department of Health’s policies with global evidence on tobacco harm reduction.
You Don’t Know Nicotine: Apple TV
First, there was the film A Billion Lives, where Aaron Biebert documented how vapes could saved lives. His follow up was You Don’t Know Nicotine, a compelling documentary about nicotine, people, science and politics. For the first time, You Don’t Know Nicotine is now streaming on Apple TV.
How Policymakers in Africa Risk Fueling Illicit Trade in Vapes
Joseph Magero, World Vapers’ Alliance
As governments across Africa scramble to regulate the fast-evolving landscape of nicotine consumption, one pressing threat looms large on the horizon: the rise of illicit trade in vaping products. While policymakers often act intending to protect public health, especially youth, from the unknowns of new nicotine delivery systems, the unintended consequences of harsh, misaligned, or poorly enforced regulations could open the floodgates to black market activity.
Manila Standard
The World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA) has accused the World Health Organization (WHO) of ignoring consumer voices, while empowering influential individuals like American billionaire Michael Bloomberg to advocate for restrictive policies that limit safer alternatives for smokers.
Asia Harm Reduction Alliance (AsHRA)
The World Conference on Tobacco Control 2025 (WCTC) brought together global public health leaders to confront the ongoing tobacco epidemic, but for tobacco harm reduction advocates, the event highlighted a concerning resistance to innovation in cessation strategies.
While the conference reaffirmed global commitments to traditional tobacco control measures, taxation, advertising bans, and behavioural support, it largely dismissed the growing body of evidence supporting reduced-risk nicotine alternatives such as vapes, nicotine pouches, and heated tobacco products.
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