Vapers Digest 22nd July

Monday’s News at a glance:

NHS Reveals Vape Data – The ACS and WVA Respond to the King’s Speech – Over-restriction of vape flavours could set Scotland’s health agenda back – How Teen Vaping Data is Reported to Create Fear – More German teenagers smoke than vape – Can ZYN “Make America Great Again”? – FDA’s Tobacco and Vape Regulation Is Still a Failure – A Missed Opportunity

Two from Dave Cross, Planet of the Vapes:

NHS Reveals Vape Data

The recently released NHS Health Survey for England covers data obtained in 2022 and describes adults health-related behaviours including vape habits (as well as cigarette smoking, physical activity, and fruit and vegetable consumption).

Key Findings

Current cigarette smoking has declined steadily from 27% in 1993 to 13% in 2022.

Adults living in the most deprived areas were more likely to smoke cigarettes (21%) than those living in the least deprived areas (9%).

In 2022, 9% of adults currently used e-cigarettes. Current cigarette smokers were more likely to use e-cigarettes compared with those who have never smoked cigarettes (26% and 2%, respectively).

The report uses the term e-cigarette to refer to all vaping devices and covers questions asked about vaping behaviour between 2016 and 2022.

ACS & WVA Respond to the King’s Speech

The Association of Convenience Stores and the World Vapers’ Alliance have responded to proposals announced as part of the King’s Speech during the opening of Parliament. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s new government plans on delivering support to vape shop workers and reintroducing the Tories’ Tobacco and Vapes Bill.

During the King’s Speech, King Charles announced Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s new government’s plans to “impose limits on the sale and marketing of vapes” by reintroducing an updated version of the Tobacco & Vapes Bill. The speech also outlined plans to protect vape shopworkers from criminal activity.

Over-restriction of vape flavours …

Could set Scotland’s health agenda back – Tony Corbin

The convenience store trade body has written to all MSPs urging them to consider carefully the level of regulations placed on products as wide-ranging new legislation comes into play.

It argues that it is possible to simultaneously prevent vapes from being attractive to under-age vapers while also ensuring that smokers looking to quit can have a full range of less harmful alternatives available to them.

The new UK government has announced that the previously published Tobacco and Vapes Bill will now be brought forward in this Parliament.

Note that the research had nothing to do with vaping. They used nicotine patches.

There was a rubbish Canadian article about the study yesterday (see reply). pic.twitter.com/edVQqtjN5N

— Phil (@phil_w888) July 19, 2024

How Teen Vaping Data is Reported…

To Create Fear – Diane Caruana

A recent paper explored the optimal way to define “e-cigarette use” among youth in a manner pertinent to individual and public health. Commonly, definitions of youth vaping are derived from those used for tobacco cigarette smoking. In fact very frequently vaping is even referred to as tobacco use, despite the fact that vapes do not contain tobacco. Moreover, many definitions tend to not be appropriate for vaping products, given the lower risk profile and different usage patterns.

Terms of use seem to be particularly misleading when referring to youth. Vaping by young people tends to be more transient and experimental rather than frequent and persistent.

Two from Ali Anderson, Clearing the Air:

More German teenagers smoke than vape

In Germany, 14.9 per cent of 14 to 17-year-olds now smoke while just 2.3 per cent vape, new research reveals. While most countries have seen a decline in smoking with more people turning to vaping to quit the more dangerous habit, Germany has seen the opposite trend.

The German Smoking Behaviour Survey (DEBRA) has looked at the consumption of tobacco and nicotine alternatives such as vapes in the German population since 2016. Smoking has increased among all age groups

Majority of U.S. swing-state voters …

Wrongly believe vaping is “as bad as or worse” than smoking

Three quarters of voters across three swing states in the U.S. believe that vaping is “as bad or worse” for your health than smoking, a new poll has found. The survey, released by the Vapor Technology Association (VTA), reveals that only 12 per cent of voters think vaping is better for you than smoking cigarettes and other nicotine products.

Despite smoking killing eight million people globally per year and vaping not being linked to any tobacco-related diseases, 75 per cent of respondents said vaping is at least as bad as smoking. The remaining 13 per cent said they were ‘unsure.’

Can ZYN “Make America Great Again”?

Joseph Hart

Despite all the puns, memes, and infectious calls about not being pushed around by bureaucrats, ZYN pouches being dragged into the culture war was always pretty absurd.

Harm-reduction products should transcend the toxic, petty, time-wasting bickering that has turned many bright people into the worst version of themselves. If we can’t unite around a product that can save the lives of millions around the world, something is wrong.

And yet, that is the situation we find ourselves in.

FDA’s Tobacco and Vape Regulation …

Is Still a Failure – Lindsey Stroud

On June 21, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the agency was authorizing the sale of four menthol-flavored e-cigarette products through the premarket tobacco product application process. This marked a significant shift in the FDA’s regulatory approach to tobacco harm reduction products and was the first time the agency recognized the role that non-tobacco-flavored products can play in reducing harm. While this change is welcome, the FDA still lags behind in approving life-saving tobacco harm reduction products. The authorization orders bring the total number of legal e-cigarette products in the United States to only 27, illustrating how FDA’s tobacco regulatory authority is hampered by politics rather than guided by science.

GFN24 Commentary Team

Hosted by Harry Shapiro

A Missed Opportunity

Neil McKeganey, Gabe Barnard and Andrea Patton

Amid the intense media focus and regulatory action directed toward youth vaping in the U.S., there is another population demographic whose e-cigarette use is worthy of attention—though in this case, more as a result of their relative lack of use of these devices. There are an estimated 17 million adults in the U.S. aged over 45 who are smoking every day or some days. With research showing that quitting smoking by age 50 is associated with a gain of around six years in life expectancy, the question of how best to boost smoking cessation efforts among older smokers is of increasing importance.

On this Day…2023

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

No plans to make vapes prescription-only

Storm Newton – Independent

The Government currently has no plans to make e-cigarettes prescription-only as calls mount for more restrictions on vapes in a bid to stop children accessing them.

Conservative MP Dr Neil Hudson asked the House of Commons about the “potential merits” of restricting the sale of vapes by making them prescription-only.

In a written statement, Neil O’Brien of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), said: “No formal assessment has been made.

“There are no medicinally licensed vaping products approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. As such, the Government is not currently considering making vaping products prescription-only.”

Brexit freedoms must be used by Sunak

On vaping to save lives – David Jones MP

When it comes to quitting cigarettes, one size does not fit all. That’s true at a personal level, and it’s just as valid at a national level. It’s a lesson the World Health Organisation (WHO) needs to learn.

Twenty years ago, the WHO tried to impose a rigid international template for how countries should try to tackle smoking: the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Under the WHO treaty, participant countries were urged to treat all nicotine products as equally harmful, putting cigarettes and safer alternatives like vaping in the same bracket. This was a big mistake.