Vapers Digest 22nd November
Friday’s News at a glance:
A&E Trial Success – Will Bill Worsen Perceptions? – The Reasons Teens Vape – Pouch Considerations – Not Invented Here #4 – Smoking – General Election 24 – Switching to vaping from smoking improves respiratory health – New Zealand to ban vape advertising and promotion – Vaping NOT scientifically linked with respiratory symptoms – Ban will lead to children “smoking behind bike sheds,” – Thinking ’bout THR News & Views – expert reaction to use of ecigs among ex-smokers in England – 48th Great American Smokeout Must Embrace THR – The Great American Cop-Out – 100,000 Rally Against EU’s Crackdown – Asia Moves Further Towards Nicotine Prohibition – And much more…
Four from Dave Cross, Planet of the Vapes:
A&E Trial Success
Giving out vapes at A&E boosted patients’ confidence to switch away from smoking, according to new research. The University of East Anglia study, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, looked at how well a smoking cessation program worked when offered to people unexpectedly in emergency departments.
Lead author Professor Caitlin Notley, of UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said: “Hospital emergency departments provide an excellent opportunity to help people quit smoking, but there might be concerns about whether it’s the right place for such interventions.
Will Bill Worsen Perceptions?
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is being perceived as getting tough on vaping – how will this impact the public’s perception of products that are “at least 95% safer than smoking”? What we do know is that the trend has been continually getting worse over the last few years despite understanding developed from independent research firming up positive support for ecigs. Planet of the Vapes looks back at research released in February 2024.
Dr Sarah Jackson took to Twitter/X last week to say: “Messaging that clearly communicates that vaping is less harmful than smoking may also be helpful in encouraging non-daily smokers to quit completely. Most smokers don’t know this, which may discourage them from switching completely to vaping.”
The Reasons Teens Vape
The University of Michigan says nicotine-containing vapes are “sometimes marketed as aids for cigarette smoking cessation”. However, teens do not typically turn to electronic nicotine vapes to curb smoking habits, according to the recent study paper out of the university. Reasons for Vaping Among U.S. Adolescents was published in the journal Pediatrics and examined data from in-school surveys of U.S. students in eighth, 10th and 12th grades. They claim to have found that curiosity, boredom and stress relief are the key drivers behind youth vaping.
Pouch Considerations
With the confirmed disposable vapes ban coming into effect next year, June 2025, vapers and smokers have caused a 82% bump in the volume of online searches for the term ‘nicotine pouches’ over the past year. Wanting to help provide clarity, David Phillips from Alternix has shared five things to consider when looking at switching from cigarettes to nicotine pouches.
Not Invented Here #4 – Smoking
Christopher Snowdon
The risks of smoking could hardly be better known. Combustible tobacco is estimated to kill 80,000 people each year in the UK alone. Smoking has been recognised as the leading cause of lung cancer since the 1950s and cigarette packs have had health warnings on them since the 1960s. These have been followed by educational campaigns, graphic warnings, plain packaging and a host of policies designed to deter anyone from ever taking up the habit.
Despite public understanding of the risks being almost universal and despite exceptional levels of regulation and taxation, it is estimated that 1.1 billion people smoke cigarettes globally, including six million in the UK.
General Election 24
thatgotmethinkingblog
With the next government to be elected in a week we thought we would highlight the parties policy positions on tobacco control focusing on vaping.
The previous government, consisting of a coalition between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party, finally introduced an age gate for vaping products and ran a public consultation on policy going forward. They then ignored the results of the consultation and introduced an excise tax of 50c per ml. This results in a tax of between 330% and 100% depending on how much you were paying before this extra tax.
Tobacco Control – Livestream with Dr James Martin https://t.co/BGv2zoHlMy
— David Limbrick MP 🌸 (@_davidlimbrick) November 21, 2024
El verdadero problema tras la compra y consumo por menores es la facilidad de su compra y disponibilidad, NO los sabores 😤
📣Los sabores son indispensables para los miles de adultos que deciden dejar de fumar con el vapeo #ElVapeoSalvaVidashttps://t.co/65ujuW3NDG
— ANESVAP (@anesvap) November 22, 2024
Four from Ali Anderson, Clearing The Air:
Switching to vaping from smoking..
Improves respiratory health
The paper, published in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research by Oxford University Press, observed a group of adult smokers in the U.S. who had reported a baseline cough or wheeze.
It found that participants who took up vaping instead of smoking saw significant improvements in their symptoms of wheezing. The report says: “Government agencies are increasingly weighing the risks and benefits of e-cigarette-assisted cigarette cessation given the reduced harm associated with e-cigarette use.
New Zealand to ban vape advertising
Under the new legislation, announced by the Ministry of Health, vapes and their packaging will no longer be allowed to be on display in general retail shops. This includes advertising and display in online stores and in automated vending machines.
Specialist vape shops must not display the products so they can be seen from outside their business, such as in a window.
These shops (and their online stores) will also no longer be able to give away free vaping products, discount vaping products at retail, offer rewards, cash rebates or gifts for the purchase of vaping products, or offer lotteries or games to people who buy vaping products.
Vaping NOT scientifically linked
With respiratory symptoms
The research, published in the journal Scientific Reports, compared respiratory symptoms among adults who vape – but crucially, have never been regular smokers – with those who have never smoked or vaped.
Unlike previous studies, this study excluded participants who had previously smoked, addressing a major limitation in understanding the health effects of vaping exclusively.
Disposable vapes ban will lead to…
Children “smoking behind bike sheds,”
Sir Christopher Chope pointed to the government’s own impact assessment report, which found that as many as 29 per cent of current vapers could be driven back into smoking as a result of the ban.
During a debate in the Commons on the ban, Sir Christopher said: “In my view, if children are going to make a choice between vaping and smoking, it’s better that they should go vaping rather than smoking.
Expert Reaction to use of ecigs…
Among ex-smokers in England, as published in BMC Medicine
Prof Caitlin Notley, Professor of Addiction Sciences at the University of East Anglia, said:
“This paper uses robust methods and pre-registered analysis of a major general population dataset on smoking, vaping and nicotine use in England. It shows that prevalence of vaping has increased substantially among adult ex-smokers over the past decade. This is likely to have been partly driven by increases in people using vapes as a smoking cessation aid and continuing to vape, but there was also evidence of increased uptake of vaping among those who had been abstinent from smoking for many years.
Vapes to be used in community pharmacy
Smoking cessation pilot – Sophie Willis
Community pharmacies in Medway, Kent, are taking part in a smoking cessation pilot, using e-cigarettes as a quit aid, Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has announced.
Seven pharmacies are providing the locally commissioned service, in which smoking cessation advisers will provide patients with a voucher for a starter kit and up to a four-week supply of vape liquid.
UK Policy Undermines THR
Global Forum on Nicotine
Once known as the most progressive country on vaping and tobacco harm reduction, the UK is now poised to join the ranks of nations that demonize, restrict, ban, and tax, potentially lifesaving nicotine vaping products. Why is the UK turning its back on tobacco harm reduction?
100,000 Citizens Rally
Against EU’s Vaping Crackdown – WVA
In a powerful display of consumer advocacy, the World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA) today delivered over 100,000 signatures to the European Parliament, calling for a radical shift in the EU’s approach to vaping and harm reduction. The petition delivery was accompanied by a protest featuring a banner and symbolic delivery boxes from all 27 EU member states, highlighting the pan-European nature of this consumer movement.
Thinking ’bout THR News & Views
Kim “Skip” Murray
I’ve been attending virtual peer support group meetings for a while. There are now 11 women in my group. All of us received a later-in-life diagnosis of Autism or Autism/ADHD. All of us live with depression.
Half of the women in my group smoke tobacco. They all know I used to smoke and that I have used alternative forms of nicotine for a few years. They were surprised when they found out I not only vape but occasionally use nicotine patches, lozenges, and pouches.
See also: Thinking ’bout THR Events & Opportunities
48th Great American Smokeout
Must Embrace THR – Lindsey Stroud
November 21 marks the 48th anniversary of the Great American Smokeout. This annual event, hosted by the American Cancer Society (ACS) on the third Thursday of November, provides an opportunity for adults who smoke “to commit to healthy, smoke-free lives.” The event aims to encourage the reduction of combustible cigarette use, but there is growing concern that groups like the ACS are conflating tobacco harm reduction products with more harmful combusted tobacco, potentially hindering public health efforts.
48th Great American Smokeout Should Recognize Historic Lows in Youth Combustible Cigarette Use
The Great American Cop-Out
Kim “Skip” Murray
Today marks the American Cancer Society’s 48th Great American Smokeout, held annually on the third Thursday of November. Promoted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and many other entities, this national intervention purportedly encourages people to stop smoking, one day at a time.
But the Great American Smokeout has, in recent years, become the Great American Cop-Out. Countless organizations and health care providers now use the day to attack vaping—portraying our most effective smoking cessation tool as part of the problem, and thus betraying the millions of people in the United States who still smoke.
The Surgeon General’s Report
Overlooks Key Science on Smoking Cessation | Cliff Douglas
It’s great to see that the U.S. Surgeon General is highlighting smoking cessation as a vital strategy for improving public health. The latest Surgeon General’s report confirms that certain actions, including banning menthol cigarettes and a significantly reducing nicotine in cigarettes, could lead many adults to quit while preventing others from starting.
Asia Moves Further Towards…
Nicotine Prohibition – Diane Caruana
Generally, Asia appears to favour tobacco prohibition over harm reduction, with many countries in the region maintaining strict bans or heavily restrictive regulations on safer nicotine products (SNPs) such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTPs). Nations like India, Thailand, and Malaysia have banned SNPs outright, citing youth concerns and health risks, while continuing to permit cigarette sales. This prohibitionist (and dare we say – hypocritical) approach limits access only to less harmful alternatives, undermining public health progress.
Illegal retailers shirk Australia’s…
World-first anti-vaping laws as black market surges
Within a 10-minute drive on the Gold Coast, at least seven shops are selling vapes. It is no surprise that staff are not keen to speak with the ABC, given the sale of vapes at these stores is illegal. Yet the sight of tobacconists and other retailers selling illegal vapes is fairly common, if not blatant.
About 7 per cent of Australians aged over 14, or about 1.3 million people, regularly vaped in 2023, according to data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Will Indonesia, Keep Vaping Legal?
Samrat Chowdhery
If Indonesia was already frowned upon by the World Health Organization (WHO) and tobacco control groups for its high and rising smoking rate, it sealed that outlier status in 2018. That’s when the country became one of the first in Asia, and in the Global South, to recognize vaping as a legitimate alternative to combustible tobacco.
Indonesia, one of few countries (alongside the United States) not to have signed the WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), formally integrated vapes into its regulatory framework in 2023.
E-cigarettes and vaping
Are marking a turning point in global smoking trends
E-cigarettes and vaping are sparking a global revolution in public health, with new research showing they’re helping millions of smokers quit faster than ever before, outpacing traditional anti-smoking efforts and reshaping the nicotine market.
A new report, the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction 2024: A Situation Report (GSTHR 2024), has shed light on the growing role of e-cigarettes and other safer nicotine products in reducing smoking rates worldwide.
Heated tobacco and nicotine pouches
Lead the global shift to safer nicotine products
A major new report shows a pivotal shift in the global smoking landscape, highlighting the growing use of safer nicotine products, such as heated tobacco and nicotine pouches. The Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction 2024 report (GSTHR 2024) underscores the significant substitution of traditional cigarettes with these alternatives – a change that promises to reduce tobacco-related harm and save millions of lives worldwide.
Tamarind Intelligence podcast:
The impact of novel nicotine products on publicly traded tobacco companies
Strategic Business Consulting managing director Rupert Wilson, who has 17 years of experience in the tobacco industry from his time with Rothmans International, joins Tamarind Intelligence managing director Tim Phillips to discuss the impact of novel nicotine products on tobacco company share prices and overall business performance.
Tune in to this episode to learn about the key factors driving the market, the challenges and opportunities for traditional tobacco companies, and the evolving landscape of nicotine products.
Exclusive: Nicotine Limits in Pouches
Will Lead to Black Market Explosion & Return to Smoking
The Tholos Foundation today released exclusive new research from international polling firm IPSOS on how Danish consumers would react if proposals to limit nicotine in nicotine pouches were implemented. In September 2024 the Danish Government published a ‘Draft Order on nicotine content limits in tobacco substitutes’ which proposed to introduce a limit of 9 mg per pouch.
What the World Can Learn …
From Japan’s Decline in Smoking
Highlighting the 52% drop in cigarette sales between 2011 and 2023 and the rise of alternative products.
Japan faces a unique opportunity to transform public health through innovative tobacco harm reduction strategies. Despite advanced healthcare systems, smoking prevalence remains high, contributing to over 157,000 premature deaths annually.
On this Day…2023
A look back at how things have moved on or otherwise….
Is It Time to Abandon the Term “Smoker”?
Kiran Sidhu, Filter Magazine
Sweden Sets Precedent as Europe’s First Smoke-Free Nation
INVC News
Sweden is making bold strides towards becoming the first smoke-free nation in Europe. This ambitious goal is largely attributed to an unconventional tobacco product that does not involve smoking. Snus, as it’s locally known, is a moist powder tobacco product placed under the lip, and it’s deeply ingrained in Swedish culture. Remarkably, one out of every seven Swedes uses snus, indicating its widespread acceptance.
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