Vapers Digest 1st September

Monday’s News at a glance:

Dr Cox Discusses Review ~ Firebombing Highlights Policy Failures ~ Is the nicotine industry about to eat itself? ~ Doctors’ Confusion About Nicotine Risks Could be Costing Lives, Study Finds ~ Global Forum on Nicotine 2025: Experts Call for Strengthening Scientific Communications to Reduce Tobacco Risks ~ Rethinking “Dual Use” of Nicotine ~ The Biggest Tobacco Bust in Queensland History Proves One Thing: Prohibition Breeds Crime ~ The Prohibitionist Delusion – Vaping Is for Enjoying Nicotine, Not Just Quitting ~ Could Vapers Be Denied NHS IVF ~ California Unflavored Tobacco List Will Launch in January ~ International public health experts warn about high nicotine taxation ~ Public health: Letter of experts to the president of the European Commission calling against high taxation of tobacco alternatives ~ RFK Jr. is right on nicotine pouches, while Canada barrels ahead with bad policy ~ Is Trump Administration Blocking a Vaping Campaign Promise? ~ Smoke-free products slash toxic exposure for smokers and bystanders, new research shows ~ Disposable Ban, Lasting Consequences: The Rise of Illicit Vapes After the UK Ban ~ Indonesia Will Not Follow Singapore’s Move to Ban Vape, Says BNN Head ~ Foreigners caught vaping may have passes revoked, be banned from re-entering Singapore ~ E-cigarettes help smokers quit: prof calls for science-based policies in SA ~ Up in smoke: War on illegal vapes a flop ~ Netizens slam Ong Ye Kung’s ‘flawed explanation’ on vape ban and cigarette legality ~ Altria, Reynolds moving new products to market without FDA OK ~ SHIFTING FIREPOWER – Tobacco Control’s Self-Serving Reinvention | GFN.TV Interviews

Two From Dave Cross, Planet Of The Vapes

Dr Cox Discusses Review

On Wednesday, 20 August, Lewis Goodall addressed the latest umbrella study looking at the ramification of vaping in teens on his LBC radio show. “Children who vape, apparently, are three times more likely to go on to be smokers, according to new analysis,” he said by way of introduction. Vape and harm reduction expert Professor Sharon Cox was on hand to deliver perspective to the station’s listeners.

Firebombing Highlights Policy Failures

Tobacco harm reduction advocates at the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates are demanding urgent change as a result of Australia’s “tobacco wars”. They say the firebombing chaos down under exposes global policy failures and are calling on the World Health Organisation (WHO) to include nicotine consumers in future discussions.

Is the nicotine industry about to eat itself?

Simon Clark, Talking Liberties

In my previous post (Another own goal by the vaping lobby?) I addressed what I considered to be an extraordinary statement by an online vape retailer.

According to the head of external affairs at Haypp:

“Vaping on public transport can be disruptive for other passengers and, in some cases, harmful for those with respiratory issues or illnesses. It can also increase the risk of fires in enclosed spaces.”

Doctors’ Confusion About Nicotine Risks Could be Costing Lives, Study Finds

Taylor Millard, DC Journal

A new study finds that American doctors are withholding potentially life-saving information from patients who smoke, in part because of a lack of guidance from the Food and Drug Administration.

Smoking rates among U.S. adults have plummeted over the past half-century — from 42 percent in 1965 to about 12 percent today, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Global Forum on Nicotine 2025: Experts Call for Strengthening Scientific Communications to Reduce Tobacco Risks

Daily News Egypt

The Polish capital, Warsaw, earlier this summer hosted the 12th edition of the Global Forum on Nicotine (GFN), featuring the participation of over 40 international experts. The discussions focused on one of the most pressing public health issues today: the growing spread of misinformation about low-risk nicotine products and its impact on global health policies.

This year’s forum was held under the theme: “Challenging Perceptions – Effective Communication for Tobacco Harm Reduction”, highlighting the importance of adopting a transparent, evidence-based scientific dialogue that empowers consumers to make informed decisions about using nicotine products within harm reduction strategies.

Rethinking “Dual Use” of Nicotine

Skip Murray, Skip’s Corner – Let’s Talk!

Another way to look at dual use, harm reduction, and support for people who smoke.

When I first started vaping, it wasn’t about quitting smoking. I believed I’d never be able to stop, so there was no point in trying anymore. After failing so many times, I wasn’t willing to risk feeling like a failure again. Internalizing failure can be deeply damaging to one’s well-being.

The Biggest Tobacco Bust in Queensland History Proves One Thing: Prohibition Breeds Crime

Al Gor, Australia Let’s Improve Vaping Education (A.L.I.V.E.)

This week, the headlines shouted “historic bust.” Thirty million cigarettes. Nearly 400,000 vapes. Tons of loose tobacco. Over a million dollars in cash. All were seized in a blitz of raids across Brisbane’s north.

It looked like a law enforcement blockbuster: Border Force officers hauling crates, police parading their finds, politicians lining up for photo ops. Acting Premier Jarrod Bleijie declared it “proof” the government was winning the war on illicit tobacco and vaping.

Two From The Daily Pouch

The Prohibitionist Delusion – Vaping Is for Enjoying Nicotine, Not Just Quitting

Martin Cullip

Like other uninformed commenters before her, a New Zealand academic has made the common (and tedious) mistake of thinking she knows what vaping is about by saying, “I know there is a big black market for vaping in Australia, but at least they’re sending the right message: that vaping should be for smoking cessation and not for recreational use.”

Could Vapers Be Denied NHS IVF

Joseph Hart

Merseyside and Cheshire NHS services have recently announced a raft of restrictions on publicly-funded IVF, one of which denies treatment to those who vape. Does the data support this exclusion, or is this another example of vapers being treated like second-class citizens?

California Unflavored Tobacco List Will Launch in January

Jim McDonald, Vaping 360

Beginning Jan. 1, 2026, California retailers will be limited to selling only vape, nicotine pouch and tobacco products included on the state’s new Unflavored Tobacco List. All other products will be illegal and subject to enforcement.

Click to visit Danish Vapers Association

Two From EuReporter

International public health experts warn about high nicotine taxation

Colin Stevens

Today (1 September), a coalition of 83 international top experts in public health, nicotine dependence, and tobacco control has sent an open letter to the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, warning against the proposed plan to impose new taxes on less harmful nicotine products like e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and nicotine pouches.

Public health: Letter of experts to the president of the European Commission calling against high taxation of tobacco alternatives

A coalition of 83 leading international experts in public health, nicotine dependence, and tobacco control has sent an open letter to the President of the European Commission and European Commissioners, warning against a proposed plan to impose new taxes on less harmful nicotine products like e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and nicotine pouches.

RFK Jr. is right on nicotine pouches, while Canada barrels ahead with bad policy

David Clement, Juno News

RFK Jr, America’s Health and Human Services Secretary has a laundry list of wildly false views. He’s suggested that WIFI causes ‘leaky brain’ and cancer, that pesticides and chemicals make children transgender, that HIV does not cause AIDS, and that Lyme Disease is a bioweapon. These views might be surprising to some, but not to others, especially when he’s publicly stated that “A worm … got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died.”

Is Trump Administration Blocking a Vaping Campaign Promise?

Jared Whitley, NewsMax

During the first year of any new U.S. presidential administration, change is abundant.

Like many of my conservative comrades, I believe the noticeable shift our nation has experienced over the past five months under President Donald J. Trump to be positive.

Since taking office, President Trump has prioritized the elimination of the Deep State influence on our government processes and outputs.

Smoke-free products slash toxic exposure for smokers and bystanders, new research shows

Ali Anderson, Clearing The Air

Smoke-free products like vapes, heated tobacco products (HTPs) and nicotine pouches expose users to far fewer harmful chemicals than cigarettes

Chemical exposure from HTPs is estimated to be 40 to 50 times lower than from cigarettes; for vapes, 100 to 500 times lower

Using HTPs outdoors produces half the air pollution of cigarettes and doesn’t raise harmful chemicals in users or bystanders

Biomarker studies confirm that smokers who switch to smoke-free products carry much lower levels of toxic substances in their bodies

Disposable Ban, Lasting Consequences: The Rise of Illicit Vapes After the UK Ban

Indonesia Will Not Follow Singapore’s Move to Ban Vape, Says BNN Head

Intan Setiawanty, Tempo

The Indonesian National Narcotics Agency (BNN) confirmed that it will not follow Singapore‘s move to ban the use of vape and equate its position with narcotics.

BNN Chief Marthinus Hukom said Indonesia opts for tightening supervision on vape liquid containing hazardous substances.

Foreigners caught vaping may have passes revoked, be banned from re-entering Singapore

Zaihan Mohamed Yusof, The Straights Times

Foreigners who are caught vaping risk having their passes revoked, being deported and banned from re-entering Singapore, under stiffer measures that will kick in from Sept 1.

The authorities announced on Aug 28 that foreigners caught with e-vaporisers will have their vapes seized, and they will be fined.

E-cigarettes help smokers quit: prof calls for science-based policies in SA

Nivashni Nair, Times Live

A leading Italian physician has weighed in on South Africa’s Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill, calling on parliament to adopt science-based tobacco harm reduction policies.

Prof Riccardo Polosa, who leads the Centre of Excellence for Harm Reduction at the University of Catania and has more than two decades of experience in smoking cessation, told the parliamentary portfolio committee on health on Friday that policymakers should seriously consider “evidence-based tobacco harm reduction strategies”.

Up in smoke: War on illegal vapes a flop

Rory Williams, The Daily Telegraph

Australia’s war on illicit vapes is failing, with new figures revealing the push to steer smokers and vapers into the legal market is barely making a dent. Freedom of Information documents obtained by The Daily Telegraph show there have been fewer than 8000 therapeutic vape sales through pharmacies every month this year despite Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) estimates that 450,000 people would move from illegal to legal channels under a scheme introduced by the federal government last year.

Netizens slam Ong Ye Kung’s ‘flawed explanation’ on vape ban and cigarette legality

The Online Citizen

Health Minister Ong Ye Kung has defended Singapore’s ban on vapes, responding to public questions on why cigarettes remain legal while vaping is prohibited.

“There is an impression that vapes appear to be less harmful than cigarettes. But actually, it’s not,” Ong said.

He explained that while cigarettes are consumed stick by stick — with some smokers stopping once a stick is finished — vape pods can last a whole day or longer, increasing the risk of continuous use.

Altria, Reynolds moving new products to market without FDA OK

Dave Ress, Richmond Times-Dispatch

It can take years for the Food and Drug Administration to say yes or no to a new tobacco product, and the nation’s two big tobacco companies are getting tired of waiting.

Both Altria, which makes the nation’s biggest selling cigarette brand, Marlboro, at the Philip Morris USA plant in South Richmond, and Reynolds American, which makes No. 2 Newport and No. 3 Camel, have decided to launch smokeless alternative products they argue represent reduced health risks, without waiting for formal FDA marketing orders.

SHIFTING FIREPOWER – Tobacco Control’s Self-Serving Reinvention | GFN.TV Interviews

Global Forum on Nicotine

Institutions like WHO, regulators, and NGOs are hostile to harm reduction and have shifted their firepower from smoking to safer nicotine alternatives, says Clive Bates, international tobacco control policy expert. Shot on location at GFN 2025 in Warsaw, Bates describes public health’s “war on nicotine” as a misguided, ideological crusade that betrays its original mission of reducing smoking-related disease and death.

On this day…2023

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

ETHRA August News roundup

European Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates

ETHRA’s monthly roundup of news: ETHRA letter to SANT – CAPHRA Shadow Report – ASH Mythbuster – Norwegian vape flavour ban consultation – Flavours under threat in nicotine pouch regulation – German tobacco control anti-THR report – Large-scale study finds #THRworks. Read on for more…

Harry’s blog 120: Bent as a boomerang:

Vaping politics in Australia – Harry Shapiro

Dr Colin Mendelsohn is a well-respected tobacco harm reduction expert who wrote an article for the Australian website Education HQ advising schools on strategies to deal with vaping among students.

Visit Nicotine Science & Policy for more News from around the World