Vapers Digest 19th January

Friday’s News at a glance:

Is WHO Really Doing Good for Human Health? – SMOK Appeals FDA Denial in Fifth Circuit Court – Harvard Health Stands by Misleading Article – Embracing Harm Reduction – Health Minister Worryingly Out of Touch – Vaping Under Threat – IBVTA responds to UCL study – All Change As Industry Under Scrutiny – Nicotine Is Not A Culprit – Vaping remains society’s “most potent weapon” – Australia’s Misguided Vape Ban – Italy launches disposable e-cig recycling pilot programme – Does E-Cigarette Use Increase the Risk of Myocardial Infarction? – Bans on flavored vapes won’t reduce smoking rates – TPA’s Good COP To Be Held in Panama City

UK Parliament Backbench Debate:

Is WHO Really Doing Good for Human Health? – Charlotte Yu

A backbench debate was held on Jan 18 in the UK Parliament as the tenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (COP10) is scheduled to take place in Panama from February 5 to 10, and the UK will be sending a delegation.

The debate, initiated by Members of Parliament Andrew Lewer, Mr. Virendra Sharma, and Martyn Day, aimed to challenge the WHO’s opposition to e-cigarettes, focusing on the regulation of e-cigarettes in the UK, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the differing stances of the organization and the UK government on e-cigarettes.

SMOK Appeals FDA Denial

In Fifth Circuit Court – Jim McDonald

The manufacturer of SMOK vaping products and a Texas vape distributor have appealed FDA marketing denial orders (MDOs) issued earlier this week for 22 SMOK hardware products. The petition for review was filed yesterday in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals by lawyers for Shenzhen IVPS Technology Co., Ltd. and Dallas-based Worldwide Vape Distribution.

The appeal charges the MDO is arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, and not supported by substantial evidence. The plaintiffs ask the court to set aside and vacate the FDA denial, and to stay FDA enforcement until the court decides the case.

Appeal Filed Against FDA’s Marketing Denial Order on SMOK Products

Harvard Stands by Misleading Article …

On Vaping and “Popcorn Lung” – Kiran Sidhu

Objections to an article published by Harvard Health saw a tweet taken down and a review conducted. But the article, which misleadingly links nicotine vapes to “popcorn lung” and “EVALI,” remains online.

The article—titled “Popcorn lung: What is it, and who is at risk?”—was originally published on December 21 by Harvard Health, the consumer health information division of Harvard University’s medical school. The Harvard Health X account, which has 2.5 million followers, soon tweeted it out, quoting a line from the piece: “Experts say it’s possible that using e-cigarettes and vaping can cause popcorn lung.”

Interview on @NewstalkFM with @Clive_Bates

“Vaping remains society’s “most potent weapon” in its fight against smoking – and we shouldn’t be trying to regulate them out of existence”https://t.co/3bsUtvjYJp

— European Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (@europethra) January 18, 2024

1/ Video 🧵of some positive statements at Westminster Hall debate on #FCTC #COP10 ⤵️

— Michael Landl (@LandlMichael) January 19, 2024

Embracing Harm Reduction

A Classical Liberal Approach to Public Health in Argentina

Martin Cullip – The Daily Pouch

Javier Milei’s unexpected triumph in Argentina’s presidential run-off marks a paradigm shift in the country’s political landscape. His commitment to classical liberalism, with an emphasis on the fundamental rights of life, liberty, and property, opens up new possibilities for policy reforms that align with individual freedom and economic growth. One area that demands attention is tobacco control, where embracing harm reduction can not only improve public health, and subsequently public finances, but also demonstrate a pragmatic approach consistent with Milei’s vision for a more prosperous Argentina.

Five from Dave Cross, Planet of the Vapes:

Health Minister Worryingly Out of Touch

Andrea Leadsom, the government’s new Health Minister, is worryingly out of touch according to the UK Vaping Industry Association’s Director General. Just a week ago, the Northamptonshire South MP told the House of Commons that children’s teeth are “about four-and-half years old” by the time they are three, now she’s telling the country that nicotine kills.

The Government is currently considering legislation that might restrict certain vapes. Andrea Leadsom cosponsored a Bill to ban disposable vapes last year. On Thursday 11th January, the House of Commons debated a “Smokefree Future”.

Vaping Under Threat

The government looks set to launch an all-out attack on vaping in an effort to reduce teen vaping as it gears up for a general election later this year. Conservative Party right-wingers are set to oppose measures such as the generational ban on cigarette sales, but a new tax on vape products look troublingly real. In addition, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs plans to crack down on the collection and treatment of disposables.

The government announced its intention to focus on smoking and vaping in the King’s Speech at the opening of Parliament.

IBVTA responds to UCL study

The Independent British Vape Trade Association has responded to University College London research and said the findings show the Government’s smoke-free ambition is stalling. Using data obtained from adults participating in the Smoking Toolkit Study, the research team concluded that reductions in smoking prevalence among middle-aged adults and sustained increases in quit attempts and cessation among smokers have been offset by a sustained rise in smoking among young adults.

Upon analysing the results, the team concluded in the research: “As a result, the rate of decline in adult smoking prevalence in England has stagnated. Changes in use of support predominantly occurred in the early stages of the pandemic and have since returned to usual levels.”

All Change As Industry Under Scrutiny

Vapers were telling the industry it needed to get its house in order as far back as 2014. Companies stealing intellectual property and branding for eLiquid names and packaging was always going to lead the sector down a business cul-de-sac. Booming business and constant expansions bred overconfidence, poor marketing practices and product design riled decision makers. Now, in 2024, the entire UK vape market faces an existential crisis.

The UK Government has its critics, but it has been world leading when it comes to tobacco harm reduction and vaping. Opting for a soft touch implementation of the EU’s Tobacco Products Directive, vapes have been encouraged as a smoking cessation aid.

Nicotine Is Not A Culprit

Bengt Wiberg is a man on a mission and that task is to change opinions about tobacco-free nicotine pouches. Through the ‘EU for snus’ initiative, Wiberg is attempting to challenge the European Union’s “unscientific” approach to snus that “favours politics over science”. It is a fight being replicated in Canada by retired anaesthesiologist John Oyston.

Bengt Wiberg says: “If more people used nicotine the way we do in Sweden, we could save many lives from premature death each year. Nicotine itself does not cause cancer. It’s the smoke and tar in cigarettes that are harmful.”

Vaping remains “most potent weapon”

In its fight against smoking – James Wilson

In a bid to discourage people from using them, the World Health Organisation has urged Governments to ban flavoured vapes and treat them more like tobacco.

Some controls have already been introduced; last month, the Government banned the sale of e-cigarettes to those under the age of 18. Britain’s NHS has recommended people who are trying to stop smoking use vapes as an alternative way to inhale nicotine.

On Newstalk Breakfast, the former director of the UK’s Action on Smoking and Health Clive Barnes said in the rush to regulate, it is important to “keep our eye on the main prize” – which is reducing the number of people who use tobacco.

Does India Have A Misinformation…

Problem? | Featuring Samrat Chowdhery | #GFNNews

A vaping literacy problem may lie at the heart of India’s hardline approach to vaping. Could improved tobacco harm reduction education amongst medical professionals and policy makers help shift India away from the WHO’s prohibitionist anti-vaping stance? Samrat Chowdhery joins us to discuss this and more!

A Puff In The Wrong Direction:

Australia’s Misguided Vape Ban – CAPHRA

In a controversial move that has left public health advocates and consumers in a cloud of disbelief, the Australian Government has decided to effectively ban vapes, a decision that flies in the face of harm reduction evidence and the rights of smokers seeking safer alternatives.

“While the details of the new regulations are shrouded in smoke, reports suggest that Australians may now face up to $150 for a prescription to access vaping products,” said Nancy Loucas, a public health policy expert and passionate advocate for tobacco harm reduction and executive coordinator of CAPHRA.

Italy launches disposable recycling pilot

ECigIntelligence

In light of the growing popularity of disposable e-cigarettes, Italy has recently launched its pilot recycling programme.

The initiative involves the Italian Tobacconists Federation (FIT), which is the local branch of the international distributor Logista, and the Ministry of Environment and Energy Security (MASE).

Launched in November, the Recycle-Cig pilot programme is currently operational only in Rome and Milan, but plans are to eventually involve more than 60,000 points-of-sale in the national territory.

Does E-Cigarette Use Increase the Risk

Of Myocardial Infarction? – PubPeer

Floe Foxon, Riccardo Polosa, Ray S. Niaura, K. Michael Cummings, Michael Siegel, and Neal Benowitz

We read with interest the article by Alzahrani [1], which reports that e-cigarette use increases the risks of cardiovascular disease, including myocardial infarction and stroke, in subjects who never smoked cigarettes. Alzahrani [1] analyzed data from 2014 to 2021 of the annual National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), which includes 139,697 people, but only 1,237 of these were people who had never smoked and who currently used e-cigarettes.

The research question posed is an important one, since the number of people who have never smoked and who report using e-cigarettes appears to have increased in recent years. However, we are concerned that the methods used in the Alzahrani study [1] make the reported findings highly suspect and the conclusion reached unlikely.

Bans on vapes won’t reduce smoking rates

Elizabeth Hicks | The Detroit News

Michigan may again attempt to ban flavored vaping products while also increasing taxes for consumers on all nicotine products. This may seem like a common sense way to steer youth away from nicotine products or even reduce adult smoking rates, but the unintended consequences only exacerbate these issues.

It’s estimated that 763,000 adult consumers in Michigan use vaping products, a nicotine delivery system that is 95% less harmful than smoking combustible tobacco.

TPA’s Good COP To Be Held in Panama

Lindsey Stroud

With less than a month away from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) postponed 10th Conference of the Parties (COP10) of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is pleased to announce details of our own Good (Conference of the People) COP conference war room.

Good COP will feature nearly two dozen tobacco harm reduction experts, representing 11 different countries and highlighting some of the leading experts on consumer issues, national and global policies, and the science surrounding harm reduction.

On this Day…2023

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

“Next Time It Could Be You”-

The McCarthyism in Tobacco Control – Martin Cullip

At the end of November, an extraordinary episode caused outrage: the expulsion of Karl Erik Lund from a conference on e-cigarettes held in France. Dr. Lund is one of the world’s most prominent researchers on tobacco harm reduction. Currently with the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, he has published important papers about snus and has testified on behalf of plaintiffs suing the tobacco industry. He has received a preventative medicine award from the Norwegian Medical Association, among many other roles and accolades.

Yet on November 26, the French Cancer Research Institute (INCa) removed Lund from his position as co-chair of the conference’s scientific committee, canceled his presentation and banned him from even attending, despite the fact he was one of the organizers.

Global survey of consumer organizations

Advocating for safer nicotine products

Tomasz Jerzyński, Jessica Harding, Gerry V. Stimson

The study investigated the role and activities of organizations that advocate for the adoption of and access to safer nicotine products (SNPs), such as nicotine vaping products (e-cigarettes), Swedish-style snus, nontobacco nicotine pouches, and heated tobacco products, as safer alternatives to combustible cigarettes and other high-risk tobacco products, following a harm reduction approach. The aim was to map the number and locations of nicotine consumer organizations globally and describe their history, legal status, membership, structure, objectives, working methods and activities, and funding.

We identified active organizations through the use of existing networks and referrals. All identified organizations were contacted and asked to fill in an online self-completion survey through the representatives of the organizations. The data collected were cleaned and anonymized. Categorization and analysis of variable distributions were carried out. Responses to open–ended questions were analyzed qualitatively.