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Vapers Digest 20th April

Kevin CrowleyPosted on Posted in Latest News

Monday’s News at a glance:

Sweden Celebrated for Smoke Free Status ~ WHO’s Misinformation ‘Will Cost Lives’ ~ The Echo Chamber of “Industry Influence” ~ Using that word, “addiction.” ~ FDA Authorization of iQOS: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly ~ What’s new in things to do? ~ CAPHRA: Making NRTs Harder to Get is Public Health Madness ~ CoEHAR REPLICA study finds no significant evidence of vanillin-specific endothelial toxicity under standardized exposure-relevant conditions ~ Bloomberg’s influence on WHO, Vital Strategies blocks tobacco harm reduction: A Global Reproach ~ White House pushes for flavored vapes blocked by FDA head ~ White House Pushes for Flavored Vapes Blocked By FDA Head ~ Europe’s vape ban fantasy is fueling black markets and sending smokers back to cigarettes ~ Media Watch: NBC San Diego Far Too Uncritical on New Vaping Flavour Ban Research ~ FDA Renews Modified Status for IQOS Products ~ 13 State AGs Urge Credit Cards to Block Illicit Vape Sales ~ U.S. healthcare provider risk perceptions of tobacco and nicotine-containing products ~ UK tourists heading to France warned of £435 ‘on the spot’ fines ~ POLICY COLLAPSE | Vape Bans and Australia’s Illicit Tobacco Crisis

Two From Dave Cross, Planet Of The Vapes

Sweden Celebrated for Smoke Free Status

New data from Sweden’s leading public health research institute, CAN, confirms that daily smoking among adults has fallen to just 3.7%, well below the World Health Organization’s and European Union’s 5% smoke-free threshold. Smoking rates have been cut roughly in half since 2013, with declines seen across all age groups and both sexes.

WHO’s Misinformation ‘Will Cost Lives’

The international health experts at Smoke Free Sweden have criticised the World Health Organization (WHO) for describing safer nicotine products such as vapes as “a public health menace”, rather than recognising the role the reduced harm products play in accelerating quit attempts and a decline in smoking.

The Echo Chamber of “Industry Influence”

Alan Gor

There is a phrase that appears with almost ritualistic predictability in tobacco control: “industry influence.” It isn’t just overused; it has become a crutch. A reflex. A way to avoid doing the harder work of engaging with evidence that doesn’t cooperate. Instead of confronting inconvenient data, failed assumptions, or unintended consequences, the response is preloaded. If something doesn’t fit, it must be because the industry is pulling strings somewhere in the background.

Using that word, “addiction.”

Robert Innes

All too often, indeed depending on the audience, nicotine is being ill-defined. I have deliberately used the word, ‘ill,’ to illustrate the problem we meet nowadays when discussing ‘addiction.’ The definition of ‘ill-defined’ is clearly that we are seeing that a mistake is being made in our understanding of the word, ‘addiction.’ But words carry more than just their denotations… they have connotations and often, sometimes more often than not, these connotations give more meaning to the word than its denotation. As to, ‘ill-defined,’ the connotation is that it is not just a mistake in our perceived meaning of the word, but that it may be the result of a deliberate act.

FDA Authorization of iQOS: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Dr. Brad Rodu, Tobacco Truth

Clive Bates recently described his reactions to the FDA re-authorization of iQOS, Philip Morris International’s innovative heat-not-burn tobacco. The FDA action means that PMI can market the products in the U.S., and make claims the FDA deems “appropriate to promote the public health” under Section 911 of the Tobacco Control Act.  Clive’s description follows:

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CAPHRA: Making NRTs Harder to Get is Public Health Madness

Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates, Globe News Wire

CAPHRA believes that India risks making it harder for people who smoke to quit if they initiate a restriction on nicotine gums and lozenges, whilst cigarettes and other tobacco products remain widely available, after reports that regulators may tighten over-the-counter access to approved nicotine replacement products.

CAPHRA said the proposal would be a serious step backward for smoking cessation and public health.

CoEHAR REPLICA study finds no significant evidence of vanillin-specific endothelial toxicity under standardized exposure-relevant conditions

Center of Excellence for the acceleration of Harm Reduction (CoEHAR)

A new study from the REPLICA project at CoEHAR (University of Catania) calls into question previous claims about the vascular toxicity of vanillin in e-cigarette aerosols, highlighting the critical role of methodology and reproducibility in toxicological research.

Published in Cardiovascular Toxicology, the study conceptually replicated key experiments from a widely cited 2018 paper by Fetterman et al., which had suggested that vanillin could impair endothelial function.

UK tourists heading to France warned of £435 ‘on the spot’ fines

Neil Shaw, Jamie Brassington, Birmingham Live

Tourists heading to France are being warned about strict new rules that could result in on-the-spot fines of up to €500 – worth an equivalent of £435.

France remains one of the most popular destinations for UK tourists, but a nationwide ban on oral nicotine products, which came into force on April 1, 2026, is expected to catch out many visitors, reports MirrorOnline.

POLICY COLLAPSE | Vape Bans and Australia’s Illicit Tobacco Crisis

Global Forum on Nicotine

One of the world’s leading harm reduction advocates sees disaster unfolding in Australia. Sky-high tobacco taxes and sweeping restrictions on nicotine vaping were meant to reduce harm—but instead, they’ve fueled a booming illicit market, siphoned billions in public revenue, and triggered a wave of violence tied to organized crime. In this GFN Interviews, Dr. Alex Wodak explains how Australia’s approach has veered into “quasi prohibition,” driving demand into the black market and overwhelming enforcement.

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

Sticks & Stones

Simon Thurlow, Midnight Musings

The last week has seen an extraordinary spat break out across social media all because it has been revealed that some vape stores are going to start stocking IQOS. Then a whole new level of stupid was reached by the (over) reaction from certain quarters to the news that the New Nicotine Alliance supports this move.

Do Increased Cigarette Prices

Encourage Smokers to Quit? – Diane Caruana

A recent study published in BMJ, suggests that increasing the cost of a pack of cigarettes by 50% would encourage millions to quit smoking. However actual figures from Australia, which boasts some of the most expensive cigarette prices around the globe, seem to indicate otherwise.

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

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