Vapers Digest 22nd April

Monday’s News at a glance:

RCP Evidence Report – Promote vaping as an effective quitting aid – UK RCP –  Elfbar: Vape firm claims it will survive UK disposable ban – Curt Enzel: The Father of Nicotine Pouch – Government Vaping Prohibitions Are Making Cigarettes the Easier Alternative – International health experts condemn Canadian e-cigarette tax hike – Charting US Public Health’s Disastrous Mission Creep on Smoking – Iowa Legislature Passes PMTA Registry Bill – The FDA-CTP must repair their regulatory process – Rhode Island Gov. McKee’s proposed e-cigarette tax – Vermont Governor Takes the Right Approach – FDA Commissioner Denigrates Tobacco Harm Reduction

RCP Evidence Report

Dave Cross, Planet of the Vapes

The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) has published a new report that looks at the role e-cigarettes can play in preventing death, disability and inequalities from tobacco use. “E-cigarettes and harm reduction: An evidence review” looks at several themes, including how e-cigarettes can be used to support more people to make quit attempts while discouraging young people and never-smokers from taking up e-cigarette use.

The new report also examines trends in tobacco and vaping use, the effectiveness of e-cigarettes to treat tobacco addiction, and the differences in health effects of vaping in people who smoke, vape or do neither, the role of the tobacco industry in the rising use of e-cigarettes, and the ethical dilemmas presented by e-cigarettes.

Promote vaping as an effective quitting aid

Colin Mendelsohn

IN ITS LATEST COMPREHENSIVE REPORT, the prestigious UK Royal College of Physicians recommends that vaping nicotine should be promoted as an effective quitting aid, and that vaping poses only a small fraction of the risk of smoking.

The approach recommended is in stark contrast to Australia’s prohibitive approach. In Australia, there are substantial barriers to access by adult smokers and the risks of vaping are typically exaggerated.

Some of the key findings of the report are:

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Curt Enzel: The Father of Nicotine Pouch

Mark Oates

Curt Enzel sadly passed away in March this year. While Enzel might not be a household name, his work has had an incredible impact on millions of Swedes and others worldwide. In light of his passing, it’s a great time to celebrate the professor and his game-changing invention: the portioned snus pouch.

In the 1960s, snus was consumed very differently than it is today. It was still a moist, finely ground tobacco. However, it was sold loose.

To take the product, people would roll up the tobacco in a little ball and place it between the lip and gum.

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Vape firm claims it will survive UK ban

Ben King – BBC

The company behind two of the UK’s most popular vape brands says new reusable versions leave it “well-equipped” to deal with the upcoming ban on disposables, despite concerns over producers exploiting “loopholes”.

Elfbar and Lost Mary have already launched reusable versions of their popular disposable vapes. Elfbar said it was “addressing demand” for a tool to help smokers quit.

But critics say the vapes will not achieve the ban’s environmental aims. Councils have also warned that the UK government should not let producers exploit “loopholes” in the ban.

Government Vaping Prohibitions

Are Making Cigarettes the Easier Alternative

“The fact is they are vastly safer than smoking, and what I am here to say is, we need to stop this black market,” Dr Colin Mendelsohn told a NSW vaping inquiry last week.

“We are not going to stop it by enforcement and policing. We are only going to stop it by changing to a legal, regulated model.”

Mendelsohn, the founding chair of the Australian Tobacco Harm Reduction Association (ATHRA), made these comments during a 12 April hearing of the NSW Legislative Assembly Committee on Law and Safety inquiry into E-cigarette regulation and compliance in NSW.

International health experts condemn…

Canadian e-cigarette tax hike

Under the proposal, which was announced as part of the federal budget, e-cigarette taxes are set to increase by 12% from July 2024 onwards.

This move flies in the face of the approach adopted by Sweden, which has made alternative products more accessible and affordable by taxing them on a risk-proportionate basis. This was further reflected in a recent move by Swedish authorities to reduce the tax on snus even further.

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Charting US Public Health’s…

Disastrous Mission Creep on Smoking – Lindsey Stroud

In 1964, the United States surgeon general released the landmark Smoking and Health report, which highlighted smoking-related risks that were then little known. In the 60 years since, smoking rates have dramatically declined. Yet the US continues to struggle to eliminate smoking-related diseases, which still claim over 480,000 lives each year.

US public health agencies are resistant to adopting technological advancements which could reduce harms for tens of millions of people who are unable or unwilling to quit nicotine. These agencies are thereby not only betraying their mission statements, but disregarding decades of their own findings, thanks to a chronic case of mission creep.

Iowa Legislature Passes PMTA Bill

Jim McDonald

Both houses of the Iowa General Assembly have now passed HF 2677, a PMTA registry bill that will ban the sale of most vaping products in the state. The House overwhelmingly approved the bill on April 3, and the Senate passed it April 19 by a vote of 42-4.

The bill will now go to Governor Kim Reynolds to be signed or vetoed. The Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association (CASAA) has updated its call to action for HF 2677 to urge Gov. Reynolds to veto the bill.

The FDA-CTP must repair …

Their regulatory process to solve the illicit ENDS problem

In the past week, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf has been questioned twice by the U.S. House of Representatives: first during a House Oversight Committee hearing and then during a House Appropriations Committee hearing. Though both covered a wide range of FDA-centered activities, many questions were asked regarding the activities of the Center for Tobacco Products (CTP).

One bipartisan critique of the FDA is its inability to resolve the proliferation of illegal electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) in the marketplace.

Industry Plot?

FDA Commissioner Denigrates Tobacco Harm Reduction | RegWatch

Does the regulator responsible for overseeing tobacco products in the U.S. believe in the practice of tobacco harm reduction?
According to FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, the answer is a resounding no. Appearing before the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform, Califf repeatedly dismissed THR as an “industry term” and refused to answer questions on the topic.

Joining us today to discuss the ramifications of the commissioner’s testimony is Tony Abboud, executive director of the Vapor Technology Association. We review informed questioning by U.S. House Reps and take a deep dive into problematic responses by the commissioner.

McKee’s proposed e-cigarette tax

Is a bad approach to public health

One part of Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee’s proposed state budget is stirring up controversy: a tax on e-cigarettes, the most popular alternative to smoking traditional cigarettes. The state budget proposal is incredibly harsh, seeking to impose an 80 percent tax on e-cigarettes. If adopted, a tax like this could disincentivize people from using safer alternatives to traditional cigarettes.

Cigarette tax advocates use many popular arguments to make their case, arguing that taxes deter people from smoking, encourage people to quit, and cover the costs of smoking-related diseases in the healthcare system.

Vermont Governor …

Takes the Right Approach to Tobacco Harm Reduction

Despite the widely recognized and proven benefits of tobacco harm reduction products, states across the country have been passing legislation intended to make it more difficult to obtain those products. On April 3, 2024, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott vetoed S.18 which would ban the sale of products that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized, including tobacco harm reduction (THR) products, which are marketed as less harmful than traditional cigarettes, as well as flavored tobacco or nicotine products. The governor should be praised for a commonsense approach to legislating tobacco harm reduction products, and other states should follow his lead.

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On this Day…2023

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

Vaping Illegally

Dave Cross, Planet of the Vapes

Thailand is famous for being one of those countries that has chosen to ignore the ever-growing volume of scientific evidence and successes experienced by progressive nations when it comes to electronic cigarettes. Faced with the prospect of fines, jail, or being thrown out of the country, what did one British vaper discover when holidaying?

Packing for a trip always holds the potential to be a fraught process. The desire to ensure you have covered for every eventuality balanced against weight restrictions is exceptionally problematic when your vape, spare vape, spares for the spare vape, batteries and bottles of juice could land you with a £2500 fine or time inside the Bangkok Hilton – Bang Kwang Central Prison.

Will Thailand Soon Overturn ….

One of the World’s Harshest Vape Bans? – Kiran Sidhu

Thailand’s general elections on May 14 might just bring about the end of the country’s draconian vape policies. Merely possessing a nicotine vape can currently get your item confiscated, land you with a big fine or even send you to prison for up to five years. Severe penalties and corrupt enforcement have seen Thailand branded the world’s worst country to be a person who vapes. But Thai tobacco harm reduction activists are hopeful that things will soon change.

Possessing, selling or importing vapes has been banned in the kingdom since 2014. And its punitive laws have fostered police extortion. After one incident this year, amid a crackdown in the capital of Bangkok, six cops were charged with forcing a group of tourists to pay a bribe of 27,000 baht (about $800) in order not to be detained for vape possession.

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