Vapers Digest 26th May

Friday’s News at a glance:

VPZ launches vape recycling service – Self Defence for Vapers – The Promise of Synthetic Nicotine – Should Canada be Concerned? – FDA Warns Makers of “Unauthorized” Breeze and Esco Bar – Masked Men Attack Texas Vape Shop – Let’s talk e-cigarettes – Strong critique against public consultation – Flavors Among Least Commonly Cited Reasons – Flavortown vs. Big Tobacco – Knowing The Facts About Nicotine – Up in smoke: – SARS goes after vapers – GFN News #63 – Exploring Harm Reduction with Ethan Nadelmann – Nicotine Science and Policy Daily Digest

VPZ launches vape recycling service

Tony Corbin – Talking Retail

VPZ said it is committed to tackling the problem head-on and has announced ambitions to responsibly recycle all kinds of vaping devices during 2023.

Doug Mutter, VPZ director, said: “We believe this innovative service and intervention is vital in responding to an emerging environmental problem whilst educating vapers on the benefits of using reusable and more sustainable products.”

The service is now live in the whole VPZ’s network of over 150 stores throughout the UK and is open to all vapers, as anyone can visit a store and dispose safely of their vaping devices or e-cigarettes.

Self Defence for Vapers

James Dunworth, Ashtray Blog

As a vaper, you probably just want to enjoy your vape, appreciate the fact you no longer smoke and get on with your life.

Chances are, though, after a while you’ll get people attacking you for doing so. The hidden reason behind this is the huge amount of money being spent on anti-vaping campaigns.

That’s resulted in a slew of misinformation, and the attempts of bodies like the Royal Society of Physicians, Cancer Research, Public Health England and many more seem to carry little weight against hysterical tabloid stories and social media messages from people who know nothing about the science of smoking and vaping.

The Promise of Synthetic Nicotine

Derek Yach

Tobacco-derived nicotine has been the sole source of nicotine used by pharmaceutical and tobacco companies until recently. The naming of the sector (tobacco sector), the naming of companies (British American Tobacco for example) and the framing of public health policies as tobacco control all show how pervasive and deeply embedded the word tobacco has become despite its scientific name being Nicotiana.

The dominance of tobacco plants started to wane when pharmaceutical companies developed nicotine-replacement therapies (NRTs) as cessation products. That highlighted the fact that while nicotine is addictive, it is not the source of death and disease caused by the products of combustion.

Should Canada be Concerned ….

About an Increase in Teen Vaping? – Diane Caruana

A recent study published the journal Children aimed to determine how much of an issue youth vaping truly is. The research team explored factors and patterns associated with vaping by analysing data from the 2019 Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey (CSTADS) of 38,229 students. They found that nicotine and nicotine-free vaping rates are high, and many students reported engaging in both.

Similarly, vaping data collected from over 75,000 students in Grades 9 to 12 in B.C., Alberta, Ontario and Quebec, has indicated a significant increase in teen vaping amongst high school students.

We have issued six infringement notices totalling $15,984 to an individual in Queensland for the alleged unlawful importation of nicotine vaping products.

Read more: https://t.co/zGpwWpGdQj pic.twitter.com/kgyhUOp1ML

— TGA Australia (@TGAgovau) May 25, 2023

Two from Jim McDonald, Vaping 360:

FDA Warns Makers of “Unauthorized”

Breeze and Esco Bar Disposables

Today the FDA Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) issued warning letters to the manufacturers of Breeze and Esco Bar disposable vapes, ordering them to remove the products from the market. The companies have 15 business days to dispute allegations in the letters or otherwise respond.

Last week, six Chinese exporters of Esco Bar products—including manufacturer Innokin—were added to an FDA “red list” of shippers whose Esco Bar shipments can be detained at ports of entry without inspection. Elf Bar shipments were also included in that import alert.

Masked Men Attack Texas Vape Shop

Police and federal agents are investigating an arson attack on a Texas vape shop that badly damaged the store and threatened to kill an employee. The incident happened last Saturday evening in Galena Park, Texas.

Two masked men entered Vape House and threw firebombs that quickly engulfed the carpeted store in flames. As they left, the attackers blocked the front door and set it on fire, threatening to trap employee Merlyn Rodrigues inside. She was forced to kick the door open to avoid the flames.

Let’s talk e-cigarettes

May 2023 Matthew Carpenter

In the May 2023 episode Jamie Hartmann-Boyce talks with Professor Matthew Carpenter from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston SC, and co-leader of the Cancer Control Program within MUSC Hollings Cancer Center. Matthew Carpenter’s primary research interests relate to tobacco use: craving and nicotine dependence, clinical trials for smoking cessation, and public health policy for effective tobacco control. Jamie interviews Matthew at the US E-cigarette Summit in Washington DC and asks about his Naturalistic E-Cig Trial (CONNECT) funded by National Cancer Institute.

Strong critique against public consultation

On Tobacco Control

The much criticized public consultation on the Evaluation of the Legislative Framework for Tobacco Control is now closed and the commission has received close to 18000 answers from stakeholders. As expected in this type of consultation with a very diverse and open target group a great majority of the answers came from EU-citizens wanting to share their views on the subject.

The commission has received a lot of critique for the consultation process since many stakeholders perceived lack of neutrality in the formulation of questions. The way questions are framed can influence the outcomes and limit the range of perspectives represented in the responses, rendering a result that is not representable or useful for its purpose.

Flavors Among Least Commonly Cited

Reasons Why Vermont Youth Use E-Cigs – Lindsey Stroud

The Vermont Department of Health recently published the 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) results. The biennial survey, in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control, tracks high school students’ behavior from diet and physical activity to mental health and well-being and substance use.

There’s welcome news for policymakers who have been attempting to thwart youth tobacco and vapor product use as the percentage of Vermont youth using traditional tobacco products is at record lows, while youth use of electronic cigarettes or vapor products has declined from peaking in 2019.

Unpacking the Sausage:

Flavortown vs. Big Tobacco – Bre Kidman

In theory, I quit smoking the day I found out I’d passed the bar exam. Having steadily increased my nicotine consumption over a period of roughly 13 years, I was at a pack a day of Marlboro Smooth 100’s by the time I was puttering around a law office waiting to hear my fate from the Board of Bar Overseers. When the days I spent constantly refreshing the website finally yielded news that I’d passed, the first thing I did was cry. The second thing I did was explain to my boss at the time that I was crying from happiness and relief. The third thing I did was walk down to the local vape shop.

Knowing The Facts About Nicotine

Matthew R. Holman, Ph.D

Nicotine is addictive and not risk-free, but its role in smoking-related diseases is often misunderstood. Here is what 30 million adult smokers in the United States—and their physicians—need to know about nicotine and smoke-free alternatives so they can make better choices than to continue to smoke.

Nicotine belongs to a class of organic compounds called alkaloids and occurs naturally in the family of plants commonly known as “nightshades,” including—at very low dosages—in tomatoes and potatoes. What’s most commonly known is that it is found—at its highest levels—in the tobacco plant.

Up in smoke:

Why new restrictions on vaping products are not about public health

Max Payne

Call me cynical, but sweeping new restrictions on vaping products announced alongside an increase to tobacco excise tax is not about public health.

Australia’s increasingly authoritarian and out-of-touch attitude to enforcement of public health measures has struck again, this time in the form of sweeping new restrictions on e-cigarette products. This is despite the fact that vaping is widely recognised as being safer than tobacco cigarettes, while also being credited with helping smokers quit the habit.

GFN News #63

The Australian government say that a prescription-only nicotine model is the only way to allow safe access to vapes in the country. In this episode, Will Godfrey breaks down the reactions of leading THR professionals to the latest crackdown on vaping in Australia.

SARS goes after vapers

Kurt Yeo, the cofounder of Vaping Saved My Life (VSML), said the sin tax that will soon be applied to vapourised tobacco products will adversely affect vapers, smokers, and small businesses.

The Finance Minister announced in the 2022 Budget Speech that an excise duty on vapourised tobacco products would be introduced on 1 June 2023.

Nicotine and nicotine-substitute solutions in vaping products are included in the tax net with a flat excise duty rate of R2.90 per millilitre.

Over 1 Million Malaysians…

Think The Generational Endgame Is A Bad Idea

Imagine you’re out chillin’ with friends. You’re all laughing and having a good time, when suddenly, one of your mates pulls out a vape and starts puffing away.

Immediately, the laughter stops, and everyone starts giving them the dreaded look of disapproval before one person scoffs, “You know that that’s bad for you right?”.

Your friend, feeling embarrassed and a lil’ annoyed, puts his vape away and sighed, “I know la! I’m trying to quit guys. It’s my right and my choice, what?”.

Vaping Unplugged:

Exploring Harm Reduction with Ethan Nadelmann | Ep. 7

Ethan Nadelmann dedicated his career to challenging misconceptions and shifting the narrative about drug policy, harm reduction, and public health.

Ethan is the founder and a former Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance. In this journey, Ethan has been at the forefront of the movement advocating for the evidence-based approaches that prioritized health.

IMiracle Calls on FDA to Reverse Its Action

IMiracle Shenzhen Technology Co. Ltd

“IMiracle is disappointed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decision to abruptly and arbitrarily add the company’s products to the FDA ‘import red list.’ IMiracle was given no notice regarding this decision and was provided no opportunity to address any FDA concerns before action was taken.

“It is the job of the FDA to provide consistent and coherent regulatory clarity to the U.S. marketplace. This red list announcement fails to meet this responsibility and provides yet another example of FDA’s politicized decision-making.

On this Day…2022

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

Vaping is an “environmental disaster”

Say anti-vaping nuts – Christopher Snowdon, Velvet Glove Iron Fist

The Lancet has published a letter from three French academics arguing for a clampdown on e-cigarettes on environmental grounds. The authors give the game away early on by saying the quiet part out loud…

With the vape market mainly owned by the tobacco industry, it is legitimate to question whether vaping is more eco-friendly than smoking… [my emphasis]

E-cigarette use costs $15 billion a year?!?

Christopher Snowdon, Velvet Glove Iron Fist

Anti-vaping quackademics from California’s Bay Area are at it again…

Use of electronic cigarettes costs the United States $15 billion annually in health care expenditures — more than $2,000 per person a year — according to a study by researchers at the UC San Francisco School of Nursing.