Vapers Digest 24th May

Friday’s News at a glance:

Vaping Products Duty consultation – Part Two – Sunak’s capitulation on vaping – Nicotine use rises among young adults in England – The NNA and the Tobacco & Vapes Bill – Vape Industry Demands Apology – Community Notices – Parliament – Parliamentageddon – Sudden UK Election Shelves Contentious Tobacco and Vapes Bill – Tobacco-Free Kids & Allies Demand Harsh Enforcement – New Report: Stop Vilifying Nicotine – Thinking ’bout THR Newsletter – Timeless Knowledge from an Insightful Mathematician – Expert Reaction – Letter to Health Canada’s Scientific Advisory Board – Why Vaping in Canada Will Be More Expensive – Is a Harmful Level of Nicotine Exhaled When Vaping? – Unforeseen Costs – Congress Calls Out the FDA’s Regulatory Failures – R.I.’s harm-reduction hypocrisy harms public health – Will Vaping Attract Bears to My Campsite?

Vaping Products Duty consultation

Clive Bates, The Counterfactual

The UK government plans to slap a big tax on quitting smoking via vaping. The proposal is wrong in principle and will not do what they expect. But it turns out that is a good thing.

See Abridged Consultation Response: Clive Bates [PDF 10 pages]

Excerpt: will the proposal meet its six objectives? Objectives of the duty. There are problems with both the selection of policy objectives and the likelihood that the Vape Duty proposal will contribute to meeting them. I will consider each stated objective in brief. The government establishes six objectives.

Part Two – Sunak’s capitulation on vaping

Illustrates how the UK government has descended into abject farce

Martin Cullip, The Daily Pouch

Following on from the ghastly scene of the Chancellor installing a tax on vaping products which prioritises a grubby tax grab over public health (see part 1), the government’s born-again ignorance about the benefits of vaping – and its refusal to hear any word of opposition – has further ramped up with some aspects of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill that is working its way through parliament. It comprises Orwellian clauses which hand the Secretary of State power to implement policies against e-cigarettes however and whenever he or she chooses, and without having to endure the inconvenience of having MPs vote on it.

Nicotine use rises among young adults

In England but cigarette smoking continues to decline – UCL

The study, published in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe and funded by Cancer Research UK, found that the proportion of 18- to 24-year-olds who vaped had tripled since disposable e-cigarettes entered the market, rising from 9% in May 2021 to 29% in May 2023. Smoking declined from 25% to 21% in this group, and overall nicotine use increased from 28% to 35%.

In the older age groups, there were smaller increases in vaping and smaller or no declines in smoking. For example, vaping prevalence increased from only 5% to 6% among those aged over 45 years old whereas smoking prevalence increased from 12% to 14%.

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Five from Dave Cross, Planet of the Vapes:

The NNA and the Tobacco & Vapes Bill

The New Nicotine Alliance consumer organisation has submitted a comprehensive set of comments to the government committee on what is wrong with the UK Tobacco and Vapes Bill. The submission ought to be considered by the Parliamentary Bill Committee scrutinising the new legislation – but in light of comments made by Andrea Leadsom MP it is highly likely the government will choose to ignore them and plough on regardless.

The New Nicotine Alliance (NNA) address several key areas, detailing as to why the Tobacco and Vapes Bill is misguided:

Vape Industry Demands Apology

A vape industry body, the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA), is demanding an apology from public health minister Andrea Leadsom over ‘inappropriate, false and disrespectful’ comments made about the proposed industry licensing scheme. UKVIA has written to the health minister and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak complaining about the inappropriate behaviour.

Andrea Leadsom’s inappropriate behaviour consisted of comments that she made during a Tobacco & Vapes Bill Committee discussion, which has been considering evidence in relation to clauses that make up the Bill, as it makes it passage through Parliament.

Community Notices

Twitter, X, whatever you know it as, introduced a means of correcting misleading posts and harm reduction advocates are now making full use of it. The Community Notes feature is having such a profound impact that even national newspapers are reporting when large organisations like the World Health Organization are being publicly corrected and humiliated.

Twitter/X says: “Community Notes aim to create a better informed world by empowering people on X to collaboratively add context to potentially misleading posts. Contributors can leave notes on any post and if enough contributors from different points of view rate that note as helpful, the note will be publicly shown on a post.”

Parliament

Rachael Maskell has a number of problems with vaping. She thinks non-nicotine vapes are a gateway to vaping with nicotine, she thinks companies should face a complete ban from advertising their reduced hard ‘legal’ products, and she would like to see vaping banned from almost everywhere. But Rachael Maskell’s biggest problem is possibly that she is no different to Andrea Leadsom.

Rachael Maskell asked the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care if an assessment of the risk of people moving from non-nicotine to nicotine vapes would be made.

Parliamentageddon

Our final trip to Parliament this week sees Rachael Maskell and Andrea Leadsom face off once more to see if one of them could become the greatest undisputed anti-vaping politician in London. Like a battle between Godzilla and Mechagodzilla (it’s like an Usyk-Fury scrap but more believable, young’uns), Maskell and Leadsom were locked in a titanic conflict of tiny brains.

Rachael Maskell wants the Department for Health and Social Care to make an assessment of the implications to their policies “of research by Professor Martin Schwendler and Dr Chiara Herzog on changes to epithelial cells caused by vaping”.

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Sudden UK Election Shelves …

Contentious Tobacco and Vapes Bill – Kiran Sidhu

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Tobacco and Vapes Bill has gone up in smoke after his surprise announcement, on May 22, of a snap election in the United Kingdom.

The bill would permanently ban anyone born after 2008 from legally buying cigarettes, by gradually raising the minimum purchasing age from the current 18. There’s controversy over that, and a similar law in New Zealand was ditched in late 2023.

But the UK legislation would also respond to recent outcry over youth vaping by giving ministers new powers to restrict vape flavors, other contents, packaging, and point-of-sale displays deemed to attract youth.

Snap UK general election: what will it mean for vaping? Ali Anderson

Rishi Sunak’s smoking ban bill set to be shelved – BBC

Two from Jim McDonald, Vaping 360:

UK: Tobacco and Vapes Bill

Unlikely to Pass Before July Election

The UK Parliament will probably not take action on the proposed Tobacco and Vapes Bill this week, which means the bill would be unable to pass before Parliament is dissolved on May 30 in advance of a July 4 national election. The snap election was called by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, although his Conservative Party appears likely to lose after 14 years in power.

The bill includes the “smokefree generation” law proposed by Sunak last October, but also gives government ministers the ability to regulate vaping flavors and packaging and to restrict the display of vaping and other nicotine products in retail outlets. It would also regulate nicotine-free vape products for the first time.

Tobacco-Free Kids & Allies

Demand Harsh Enforcement Against Flavored Vapes

A letter from 78 special interest organizations calling for increased federal government enforcement against flavored vaping products—especially popular disposable vapes—was sent yesterday to FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, and Troy Miller of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The letter was announced in a Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids press release. Tobacco-Free Kids probably wrote the letter and organized support for it. Among the organizations signing onto the letter are tobacco control, medical specialty, education, and political groups.

Thinking ’bout THR Newsletter

Skip Murray

World Vape Day is May 30. The hashtags for the global event are #WVD and #WVD2024.

This special day was started by consumers to raise awareness about tobacco harm reduction and to celebrate their quit smoking journeys. The first one was held in March 2012 and was originally called “World Vaping Day.”

Years later, due to the massive amounts of misinformation about vaping spread on World No Tobacco Day (WNTD), World Vape Day was moved to the day before WNTD. (See the special section below, “Misinformation Highway,”)

New Report: Stop Vilifying Nicotine

Snusforumet

In a recent report, the global network Smoke Free Sweden urges the public and policymakers to stop associating nicotine with the same diseases caused by smoking.

Sweden is once again highlighted as a leading example due to the lowest prevalence of tobacco-related diseases in Europe, despite nicotine consumption being at levels on par with other European countries.

The report, “No Smoke, Less Harm,” presents available data to illustrate the positive effects of harm reduction on public health. This is the second report by Smoke Free Sweden aimed at raising awareness about harm reduction.

Sweden’s lesson:

Nicotine pouches and global regulation

Nicotine pouches, unlike combustible cigarettes, offer a smoke-free, tobacco-leaf-free, safer1 way to consume nicotine.2 Their rising popularity speaks to a consumer shift towards less harmful alternatives to cigarettes. However, this shift alarms policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic who are quick to slap new regulations on yet another nicotine product.

The EU’s approach to nicotine pouches warrants closer scrutiny. Despite the long-standing ban on snus,3 an oral tobacco product popular in Sweden, the debate around nicotine pouches is heating up as the uptake of smokeless products increases (while smoking falls)

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Timeless Knowledge from ….

An Insightful Mathematician – Brad Rodu

I recently read on X (Twitter) a tribute to the book, “A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper,” by John Allen Paulos.

The author is a professor of mathematics at Temple University, and his bio, here, is impressive.  The book, still in print and available on Kindle, was originally published in 1995.  More importantly, it remains relevant today, especially, as the reviewer put it, if you want to “become smarter and a better consumer of information who will not fall into [the] many traps of the media.”

I don’t recall having contact with Paulos, but his tome includes these two insightful paragraphs:

Expert Reaction to the report

‘Hooking the next generation: how the tobacco industry captures young customers’

Scientists react to a report published by the World Health Organisation looking at how the tobacco industry captures young customers.

“Although vaping is much less harmful than smoking, and there is clear evidence from large randomised controlled trials that they can help smokers to quit, WHO is absolutely right to highlight the fact that the tobacco industry is aggressively marketing e-cigarettes to children and young people.

Letter to Health Canada’s…

Scientific Advisory Board on Vaping Products – Rights4Vapers

My name is Maria Papaioannoy, and I am part of the movement Rights 4 Vapers. I am writing to you today on behalf of the 1.8 million Canadians who vape. We need your help.

Three years ago, Health Canada published draft regulations that, among other things, would ban the sale of all flavours of vapour products, except mint, menthol, and tobacco. During the public consultations on the new regulations, over 20,000 Canadians wrote to oppose this measure. This very committee that each of you are members of is proof of the movement forward to fair access to vaping products for adults in this country.

Why Vaping in Canada…

Will Be More Expensive Starting July 1 – Henry Pearson

The federal government has proposed a tax increase on vaping products in this year’s budget, with the price of a vape pod set to increase between 12 to 24 cents depending on location starting on July 1. The tax increase is expected to bring in $310 million to the government over the next five years. Public health experts have mixed feelings about the tax, with some believing it is not high enough to effectively reduce vaping rates among younger Canadians. Rob Cunningham from the Canadian Cancer Society believes the government could go even higher with the tax increase to have a more significant impact on reducing vaping.

Is a Harmful Level of Nicotine…

Exhaled When Vaping?

The current body of research suggests that the level of nicotine exhaled by e-cigarette users is relatively low, especially when compared to traditional cigarette smokers. However, the potential for increased frequency and intensity of use with higher nicotine concentrations in e-cigarettes raises concerns about overall nicotine exposure. Further research is needed to fully understand the long-term implications of vaping on both users and bystanders, as well as its impact on indoor air quality and public health

Unforeseen Costs

Peter Clark

This year, many U.S. states have considered imposing heavy-handed registries that aim to ban most vaping products sold today. In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis wisely refused to follow along with other states. However, his solution—a sort of reverse registry that gives Florida’s attorney general the authority to ban specific products—will create more problems than it solves.

It’s understandable how many nonvapers would see this law as being reasonable. But there are many unforeseen costs that they will need to bear.

Congress Calls Out the FDA’s…

Regulatory Failures and the Surge of Illicit Chinese Vapes

As Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Califf faced bipartisan scrutiny from members of both the House Oversight and Appropriations Committee, the agency’s failed enforcement issues and glaring inadequacies in tackling the spread of illicit Chinese vapes flooding the American market became crystal clear. These hearings served as a stark reminder of the FDA’s failures to properly regulate the rapidly evolving vaping landscape.

R.I.’s harm-reduction hypocrisy

Harms public health – Robert Melvin

Government decisions and inconsistency tend to go hand-in-hand. Unfortunately, Rhode Island is not immune to this problem. That’s particularly true with harm reduction policy. Harm reduction is about minimizing the risks associated with certain behaviors, such as drug use, rather than insisting on policies that prohibit substances or only abstain from them.

Simply put, Rhode Island lawmakers are adopting laws that “meet people where they are” regarding cannabis and opioid use – but are taking a retrograde prohibitionist approach to nicotine use.

Will Vaping Attract Bears to My Campsite?

Corey Buhay

You’ve heard it before: food smells attract bears. But what about artificial food smells—like the kind you might find in an e-cigarette or vape pen? And what about marijuana vapes? (Asking for a friend.)

If there’s anywhere in the U.S. where weed and bears are most likely to mix, it’s Colorado. So, for this question, we went straight to Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW). Among other duties—like managing high-stakes conservation initiatives—CPW shoulders the somewhat onerous burden of educating the weed-smoking public on wildlife safety. That includes sharing guidelines about when to use marijuana and e-cigarettes outside.

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On this Day…2023

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

Why vapes and e-cigarettes are bad for the planet

Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech, The Hill

Millions of people in the United States now use electronic cigarettes or vapes, fueling growing concerns for users’ health and about the threat the practice poses to the environment.

The electronic smoking devices are adding to plastic waste, environmental experts warn, while their batteries pose a risk of sparking fires, potentially worsening air quality.

Natassia Chrysanthos, The Sydney Morning Herald

The head of the Australian Border Force says the government’s plan to abolish retail vape sales is a “work in progress” with no funding attached to the crackdown in this month’s federal budget.

Commissioner Michael Outram warned that banning vapes at the border won’t be enough to stamp out a rampant black market, as his organisation was already only managing to detect a quarter of illicit drugs making their way into Australia.

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

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