Vapers Digest 24th February
Friday’s News at a glance:
Rage-Driven Tobacco Control Industry Stupidity Explained In One Tweet – Pro-death, anti-choice lobby sides with the earthquake – THR Summit Spain 2023 – High School Vaping Up Slightly in 2022 – ‘There are many myths about e-cigarettes and vaping’ – Lung Problem Tall Tale – LBC Pushes Lung Lie – Bruising Fortnight for Vaping – Vapes Out Of Sight & Mind – U.S. Court Orders Halt to Elfbar Sales – FDA Seeks $19,000 Penalties – Vermont state lawmakers ought to wait – Evidence Is in on Vapes as Smoking Cessation – Scientists’ Latest Bid to Fight Back – FDA Outlines Steps – ‘Thailand to Legalize Vaping After Elections’ – Nicotine Science and Policy Daily Digest
Rage-Driven Tobacco Control Industry…
Stupidity Explained In One Tweet – Dick Puddlecote
It was once explained to me that there are thousands of students who start off aspiring to be doctors. Those not clever enough to become doctors drift into other public health roles, but those who are not clever enough for that often go into the tobacco control industry.
This was in answer to my querying why I regularly read stuff from tobacco controllers which are too stupid for words. Either they lack basic comprehension of concepts such as behaviour and economics, or advance ideas so puerile that most 14 year olds should be able to see through them. Often I have imagined that some would not even have had the required intellect to be a driver in my transport company.
And today, we have seen a diamond-encrusted example of exactly this type of utter tobacco control stupidity….
Pro-death, anti-choice lobby…
Sides with the earthquake – Christopher Snowdon
I mentioned earlier how little use ‘public health professionals’ were during the pandemic.
Let’s not forget that these ‘public health’ academics spent the only genuine public health crisis of their lifetimes complaining about pubs being used as vaccination centres and whining about businesses donating food to the hungry and medical equipment to hospitals. Rarely has the chasm between public health and ‘public health’ been illustrated so starkly.
I had barely pressed ‘publish’ when I saw this story about anti-smoking activists trying to get the Turkish government to turn down a €1.8 million donation from Phillip Morris International for humanitarian aid after the recent earthquake.
THR Summit Spain 2023
Madrid, 23 February 2023
“Spain needs more than ever to open a debate on how to advance in the fight against smoking and not stigmatise or veto, as we have done lately, those who think differently”, said Dr Fernando Fernández Bueno, at the opening of the “THR SUMMIT SPAIN 2023 EPPUR SI MUOVE”. The online meeting brought together national and international experts to discuss what smoking harm reduction is and how useful it is in the fight against smoking, and was followed by more than 700 people who connected both from Spain and from more than 15 countries.
Dr Bueno thanked all the experts for their participation in the event and their commitment to the fight against smoking, and explained what had happened over the last few days and the reason for this meeting. The initial idea was to hold a face-to-face Conference at the Rey Juan Carlos University with the collaboration of different organisations. However, pressures from the General Directorate of Public Health of the Ministry of Health and from antivaping lobbies led them to withdraw their support.
.@DannyWangTW discusses the new law in Taiwan which bans nicotine vaping products.https://t.co/JtiYZakhkH
— European Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (@europethra) February 24, 2023
Will it make a difference? I suppose only time will tell. https://t.co/fqhAhv8Ms3
— Phil (@phil_w888) February 23, 2023
‘There are many myths about vaping’
John Waldron, Debbie Robson and Ann McNeill – Nursing Times
E-cigarettes (vapes) are currently the most popular aid used to quit smoking in England and are used by around 4.3 million adults in Great Britain, the majority of whom are ex-smokers (ASH, 2022a).
A recent Cochrane systematic review found that e-cigarettes are a more effective quitting aid for smokers than nicotine patches or gum (Hartmann-Boyce et al, 2022).
A major independent review of the evidence on the health effects of vaping, commissioned by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, concluded that “vaping poses only a small fraction of the health risks of smoking and that smokers should be encouraged to use vaping products (or medicinally licensed products) for stopping smoking” (McNeill et al, 2022).
High School Vaping Up Slightly in 2022
But Smoking Rates Remained Vanishingly Low – Brad Radu
Reviewing CDC data from the 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS), I have confirmed the agency’s finding that 14.1% of high school students (2.15 million) reported current (past 30 day) e-cigarette use, an increase of 2.9%, or about 430,000 students. The survey also indicates that high school cigarette smoking was stable at 2%.
Yet, once again, the CDC’s data, and the agency’s spin on it, raises some critical concerns.
First, about 1.42 million vapers had used other tobacco products and devices, including cigarettes, cigars, pipes, hookahs, smokeless tobacco, nicotine pouches and/or heat-not-burn (HNB) products.
Four from Dave Cross, Planet of the Vapes:
Lung Problem Tall Tale
A tale of vaping attacking a young American woman’s lungs is so full of holes it is amazing that it got published. It is more interesting that the articles only appeared in UK publications on their online portals and not in their printed news copy. Searches and reverse image operations fail to retrieve any information about this woman.
South West News Service (SWNS) “creates and distributes amazing news content which drives huge audiences across print, digital and social for the world’s biggest publishers”. It adds, “our journalists source and verify amazing stories, videos and pictures”.
LBC Pushes Lung Lie
The LBC radio station has been misunderstanding figures, facts and repeating the debunked lie that vaping is responsible for a lung disorder. It says it obtained its figures from NHS Digital and claims show “32 patients under the age of 18 were recorded as being linked to a vaping-related disorder in England last year”.
LBC says: “Concerns have been growing around the increasing number of young people being attracted to e-cigarettes through ‘flashy marketing campaigns’, fruity flavours and colourful packaging.”
Concerns so great that the radio station has decided to play fast and loose with the data from NHS Digital.
Bruising Fortnight for Vaping
Vaping in the UK is suffering from a constant kicking from all sides currently, thanks to the actions of some disposable manufacturers and retailers, and it continues in this month’s Talking Retail trade magazine. An editorial in the magazine says that the actions of a handful of retailers are dragging down the reputation of responsible shop owners.
Now, Talking Retail’s Tony Corbin turns the retail sectors gaze on the actions of a small group of retailers. He says that reputational damage in the past has come from those, “either wilfully or irresponsibly”, selling alcohol and cigarettes to teens.
Vapes Out Of Sight & Mind
The Local Government Association (LGA) demands that the Government acts to put vapes out of sight and out of mind to tackle underage sales. The LGA says local councils are getting particularly vexed by “the marketing of vapes with designs and flavours that could appeal to children, in particular those with fruity and bubble gum flavours, and colourful child-friendly packaging.”
The LGA says that strict new measures to regulate the display and marketing of vaping products are called for “to crack down on a rise in stores selling to children”.
U.S. Court Orders Halt to Elfbar Sales
Tobacco Reporter
A U.S. federal judge on Feb. 23 ordered Shenzhen Weiboli Technology to stop marketing its Elfbar e-cigarettes in the U.S., finding that VPR Brands, which makes and sells Elf brand vapes, is likely to succeed on its claims that the Elfbar vapes infringe its trademark, reports Law360.
According to U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon, VPR has shown there is a likelihood of confusion and the company stands to suffer harm if its Chinese competitor is allowed to keep selling the Elfbar vapes.
FDA Seeks $19,000 Penalties
Against Four Small Vape Companies – Jim McDonald
For the first time, the FDA has filed civil money penalty complaints against four small vaping businesses, alleging that they continued selling e-liquid after receiving FDA warning letters.
The Food, Drug, & Cosmetic Act (of which the Tobacco Control Act is a part) provides for a maximum civil money penalty (CMP) of $19,192 for a single violation relating to tobacco products. The agency is seeking the maximum penalty for the four companies named today. They are:
Vermont state lawmakers ought to wait
On latest data before moving forward with prohibition – Lindsey Stroud
Another legislative session and another bill has been introduced that would ban the sale of flavored tobacco and vapor products in Vermont. This isn’t the first time the Vermont Legislature has attempted to restrict adult access to tobacco and safer alternatives to smoking. Legislation has been introduced in both chambers since at least 2020.
This year’s persistence comes amid delayed data on youth tobacco and vapor product use in Vermont. Nationally, youth vaping has halved since 2019 and youth use of traditional tobacco products reached record lows. Lawmakers must refrain from imposing restrictions on adult choices that would only lead to another illicit market and decreased tax revenue in another New England state.
Evidence Is in on Vapes
As Smoking Cessation. Now We Need Urgency – Helen Redmond
In a comment published in Nature Medicine, four leading researchers marshal the evidence that vapes can be used as a smoking cessation tool. Professors Neal Benowitz, Ann McNeill, Nancy Rigotti and Kenneth Warner begin by citing the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews that concluded: “There were high rates of certainty that [smoking] quit rates were higher in people randomized to nicotine [electronic cigarettes] than those randomized to nicotine replacement therapy.”
Scientists’ Latest Bid to Fight Back
Against Deadly Vaping Misinformation – Colin Mendelsohn
Much of the world’s official advice on vaping nicotine is deeply flawed, yet it often remains unquestioned and unaccountable.
An egregious example is the 2022 statement on e-cigarettes by Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), the country’s leading health and medical research organization. This prestigious government authority, which guides health policy in Australia, made a raft of misleading or outright false claims—with the potential to damage public health goals far beyond Australia’s shores.
FDA Outlines Steps
To Strengthen Tobacco Program
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) outlined the steps it plans to take in response to an external evaluationExternal Link Disclaimer I commissioned last year from an independent panel of evaluators working through the Reagan-Udall Foundation. The evaluation was an important opportunity to take a critical look at the Tobacco Program’s regulatory processes and operations.
We have made tremendous progress preventing death and disability caused by tobacco use, but I am a strong believer that we can always benefit from examining how we can work most effectively and proactively to protect public health, support our staff, and be as responsive as possible to external stakeholders.
My Daughter’s School District….
Warns That Nicotine Vapers Could Be Unknowingly Inhaling Fentanyl
This week I received a “Drug Awareness and Prevention Alert” from my daughter’s school district. As is typical of these communications, the message from the Plano, Texas, Independent School District (ISD) mixes sensible advice with alarmist rhetoric and misinformation. That is a risky combination, because skeptical students and parents who recognize the anti-drug nonsense may be inclined to dismiss all of the warnings, including those that have a basis in fact.
The alert mentions “fake pills laced with fentanyl,” which is a real thing, then adds that fentanyl “can be disguised as candy in order to lure younger kids,” which is not a real thing.
‘Thailand: Legalize Vaping After Elections’
Tobacco Reporter
Activists are confident that Thailand will legalize vaping after the likely general elections in May. Vaping is currently prohibited in the kingdom, but discussions are ongoing to end the ban, according to ENDS Cigarette Smoke Thailand (ECST).
“This work has been several years in the making. It hasn’t stopped. In fact, draft vaping legislation awaits Thailand’s parliament to debate and ratify,” said ECST Director Asa Saligupta.
Sensible advice on rethinking e-cigs
From the University of Michigan
I, like most vapers get really excited to see some good news about tobacco harm reduction since it seems hard to find these days. Yesterdays post in the Michigan newsletter delivered that good news in the form of sensible advice for public health here in the United States when it comes to their outlook on e-cigarettes and their role in treating cigarette smokers’ nicotine addiction.
Kenneth Warner, dean emeritus and the Avedis Donabedian Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health, says there is enough evidence to support e-cigarettes’ use as a first-line aid for smoking cessation in adults.
On this Day…2022
A look back at how things have moved on or otherwise….
Outcry After High School Students…
Strip-Searched for Vapes – Alex Norcia
In mid-January, staff at a Wisconsin high school conducted invasive searches of six female students, ordering them to strip down to their underwear. The searches were done because the administration suspected the students of concealing nicotine vaping devices.
The Green Bay Press Gazette, which has been extensively covering the story, reported that two women—Superintendent Kelly Casper and the nurse at Suring Public High School, in a rural town in Oconto County—instructed the girls to undress.
One of the students stated that she “was asked to pull her bra band away from her body, but her breasts were not exposed to Ms. Casper or the nurse,” according to District Attorney Edward D. Burke Jr.
Lousy Vaping Studies:
A Master List of Junk Science – Cameron English
The media reports the results of sloppy vaping research, then quickly forgets them. We do not. What follows is a list of many of the low-quality studies that have investigated the alleged health risks of e-cigarette use. We’ll regularly update this catalog of bad studies as necessary.
The past year has seen the publication of many studies alleging that e-cigarette use (vaping) carries very serious health consequences, everything from depression to erectile dysfunction and higher stroke risk. Each paper generated widespread media coverage, usually one news outlet duplicating the uncritical coverage of the last, giving consumers the false impression that vaping poses a greater health threat than it actually does.
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