Vapers Digest 27th September

Friday’s News at a glance:

Tobacco Harm Reduction – New Kiwi Bill to Crack Down on Youth Vaping – CoEHAR Introduces New Protocol – Vape shop black market revealed in top Labour MP constituencies – Real-world Evidence to better understand the efficacy of e-cig – EU outdoor vaping ban “not driven by science,” – Trump vows to “save vaping” – Retailers selling illegal vapes in Australia to face huge fines and jail terms – EU Call to Ban Public Vaping Could Increase Smoking – The EU’s Vaping Misstep: – Harm reduction gains ground in updated Swedish tobacco policy – Top Chinese vape firms research nicotine alternatives – What’s fueling America’s Zyn obsession? –

Three from Dave Cross, Planet of the Vapes:

Tobacco Harm Reduction

Professor Ann McNeill, Professor of Tobacco Addiction and co-director of the NIHR-funded Policy Research Unit in Addictions, has delivered a deep dive into tobacco harm reduction. The coverage was for an episode of Addictions Edited podcast in advance of her Society Lecture at the 2024 Annual Conference of the Society for the Study of Addiction (SSA). The interview covers her career and expertise in tobacco harm reduction.

“Nicotine is what causes people to smoke by and large, but it isn’t the nicotine that kills” Professor Ann McNeill

Kiwi Bill to Crack Down on Youth Vaping

The coalition Government in New Zealand has introduced legislation “to tackle youth vaping”, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. The Bill includes four main changes to prevent youth vaping: a complete ban on disposable vapes, significant increases in fines for sales to under-18s, visibility restrictions on retailers – outside specialist vape retailers and from inside stores such as dairies and petrol stations – and proximity restrictions relating to early childhood education centres.

Costello said: “The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Bill (No 2) is aimed at preventing youth vaping. While vaping has contributed to a significant fall in our smoking rates, the rise in youth vaping remains a real concern for parents, teachers, and health professionals.

CoEHAR Introduces New Protocol

CoEHAR (Centre of Excellence for the acceleration of Harm Reduction) researchers have published a new protocol for an umbrella review to present all the evidence available on the respiratory effects of ENDS (electronic nicotine delivery systems) – vapes – use by adults based on their pattern of use.

CoEHAR states that “electronic nicotine delivery systems have now become a well-established choice for many smokers and vapers. These devices, according to a growing body of studies and research, result in lower exposure to toxins and harmful components compared to cigarette smoke.

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Vape shop black market revealed

In top Labour MP constituencies

Illegal vapes are being sold at an alarming rate in top Labour MP’s constituencies, as some sellers have openly admitted to breaking the law, an investigation has found.

Founder of campaign group WeVape, Mark Oates, went undercover in the London constituencies of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Health Secretary Wes Streeting to see how many illegal vapes he could purchase over the counter.

Within forty minutes, Mr Oates had bought four illegal devices — those of super strength with double the legal tank sizes, which are often marketed at children.

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Real-world Evidence to better understand

The efficacy of e-cig

Prof. Riccardo Polosa, CoEHAR founder, participated in the GTNF 2024 edition in a panel dedicated to real-world evidence and their application in the research in the tobacco harm reduction field.

Today marks the end of the GTNF 2024 edition, one of the world’s leading annual conference discussing the future of the tobacco and nicotine industries. Focus of the GTNF 2024 was “Advancing responsible innovation“.

Three from Clearing the Air:

EU outdoor vaping ban

“Not driven by science,”

The European Union (EU)’s move to ban vaping outdoors alongside smoking “is not driven by science or what is best for public health”, a leading vape advocacy group has said.

European Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (ETHRA), an association representing 27 million consumers of safer nicotine products, says it is “deeply disappointed” by the decision.

Trump vows to “save vaping”

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed to save flavoured vapes if re-elected. “I saved flavored [sic] vaping in 2019, and it greatly helped people get off smoking,” he wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform.

“I raised the age to 21, keeping it away from the ‘kids.’ Kamala [Harris] and Joe [Biden] want everything banned, killing small businesses all over the country. I’ll save vaping again.”

Retailers selling illegal vapes in Australia

To face huge fines and jail terms

Shop owners found selling illegal vapes in Australia are to be slapped with multi-million dollar fines and jail terms. A nationwide ban on the sale of vapes outside of pharmacies began on July 1, but illegal vapes are still widely available on the black market months later.

Health Minister Mark Butler said it was clear that some convenience stores and tobacconists are breaking the law and the government now needs to switch to a “far more assertive approach”.

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EU Call to Ban Public Vaping

Could Increase Smoking, Advocates Say – Kiran Sidhu

The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, is calling for member states to treat safer nicotine products like cigarettes by banning use of vapes and heated tobacco products (HTP) from a wide range of outdoor spaces.

A new proposed revision of the European Council’s 2009 Recommendation on smoke-free environments urges the 27 EU members to ban vaping and HTP use in the outdoors spaces of cafes and restaurants, workplaces, transportation facilities, health care and educational facilities, amusement parks and shopping malls, among others.

The EU’s Vaping Misstep:

Putting Lives and Public Health at Risk

The European Commission’s recent recommendation to include vaping in smoke-free environments is a catastrophic misstep. By equating vaping with smoking, the Commission is not only ignoring scientific evidence but also jeopardising public health. This move would ban vaping in all places where smoking is prohibited, despite the fact that vaping and smoking are fundamentally different.

Smoke-free environments were designed to protect non-smokers from second-hand smoke, a toxic mix of harmful chemicals released through the combustion of tobacco. Cigarette smoke contains carcinogens and other dangerous compounds that put bystanders at risk.

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Harm reduction gains ground…

In updated Swedish tobacco policy – Snusforumet

The Swedish government’s latest budget proposal includes new language that changes the overarching goal of tobacco and nicotine policy from reducing consumption to reducing harm.

“This is a clear political statement from the government that harm reduction is now the focus of tobacco policy, and it’s primarily a message directed at its own agencies,” says Patrik Strömer, Secretary General of the Association of Swedish Snus Manufacturers.

Top Chinese vape firms research …

Nicotine alternatives

Three large Chinese vape companies are researching nicotine-like chemicals they think could serve as a substitute for nicotine in products like vapes, company officials said, but the health implications may still need “years” of investigation.

One such chemical, 6-methyl nicotine, is made in a lab, has a similar chemical structure to nicotine and is already used in some vapes in the United States. But regulators and researchers have warned it may be more potent and addictive than nicotine itself.

What’s fueling America’s Zyn obsession?

Zyn nicotine pouches have exploded in popularity, generating millions of dollars for tobacco giants — and a new subculture on the internet, or “Zynternet.”

Zyn has even found its way into national politics. Today, On Point: What’s behind the rise of Zyn?

Conservatives oppose Ottawa’s ban

On nicotine pouches from convenience stores

The Opposition Conservatives are rejecting the federal government’s decision to restrict the sale of nicotine pouches to pharmacies, saying it makes “little sense” to remove them from small businesses.

Last month, Health Minister Mark Holland announced the new rules banning the sales of nicotine pouches, which in Canada are sold under the brand name Zonnic, from convenience stores, gas stations and online, following concerns about minors accessing them and becoming addicted to nicotine.

Ghana seeks to domesticate Swedish …

Approach for a smoke-free society

Health experts have called for the adoption of Sweden’s approach to reducing smoking-related deaths by embracing harm reduction strategies.

A Tobacco harm reduction roundtable discussion held on September 26, 2024, in Tema by the Institute for Liberty and Policy Innovation (ILAPI), focused on the urgent need to reduce the harm caused by tobacco use, especially combustible cigarettes, in Ghana.

It’s Hard to Quit Smoking.

But Rutgers Researchers Want to Make It Easier

Less than 10 percent of adults who try to quit smoking each year actually succeed, but forthcoming research will explore ways to improve these odds.

Rutgers Health researchers are assessing why more adults don’t switch to electronic cigarettes. Led by Caitlin Victoria Weiger, a postdoctoral fellow in the Institute for Nicotine & Tobacco Studies, team members of the project also aim to identify more effective ways of communicating relevant, health-related information to smokers.

How Local Organizations…

Are Leading the Fight Against Tobacco Harm

The negative impact of combustion tobacco use is well documented, with millions of lives lost globally each year. According to Global Action to End Smoking, tobacco was responsible for an estimated 5,400 deaths in Malawi in 2021, which is about 7.4% of total deaths.

The report goes on to highlight that of the tobacco-related deaths in the country, 4,500 accounting for 82.7% were from direct smokers themselves, while over 979 or 18.1% were due to second-hand smoke.

St Kitts and Nevis Foreign Minister

Dr. Denzil Douglas endorses tobacco harm reduction at the New Approaches Conference

At the New Approaches Conference in New York this week, The Foreign Minister for St Kitts and Nevis, Dr Denzil Douglas, came and spoke. He publicly endorsed tobacco harm reduction, by explaining how and why THR can help save lives in his country.

Dr Delon Human, global public health expert who was present at the conference said

“There has rarely, if ever, been a public speech by a sitting Minister so explicitly and publicly endorsing tobacco harm reduction.”

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On this Day…2023

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

More lies about e-cigarettes

Christopher Snowdon

Nearly every word of this Daily Mail article is a lie.

A doctor has warned that vaping is ‘barbequing your lungs’ and increases the risk of lung transplants in young people.

Dr Brian Boxer Wachler, an eye surgeon in Beverly Hills, California, took to TikTok last week to explain why vaping is more dangerous than smoking cigarettes.

‘Vape temperatures can be significantly hotter than cigarette smoke, so vape literally could be barbequing your lungs,’ he said in the video, which has 6.3 million views.

Cigarettes combust at 800°C whereas vapour is heated to around 200°C so this is not a good start. Anyone who has ever vaped and smoked can tell that smoke is hotter than vapour. Maybe people shouldn’t get their information from Californians on Tik Tok?

New Global Vape Alliance Unveiled

Dave Cross, Planet of the Vapes:

A new Global Vape Alliance has been announced today alongside an historic ground-breaking declaration to foster collaboration, promote responsible practices, and champion the cause of harm reduction in the vaping industry. The Alliance brings together major international vaping bodies including the Electronic Cigarette Industry Committee of the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce (ECCC), the US Vapor Technology Association (VTA), the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) and the Independent European Vape Alliance (IEVA).

The Declaration aims to underscore the power of unity within the vaping industry. By coming together under its umbrella, industry leaders will commit to effecting responsible and positive change on a global scale…

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