Vapers Digest 28th Feb
Tuesday’s News at a glance:
Inmates in Irish prisons will soon have access to e-cigarettes – Are e-liquid flavours really “hooking another generation of kids”? – Are e-cigarettes the best way to kick your smoking habit? – Bill advances to ban flavored electronic smoking devices in NJ – St. Anthony to ban e-cigarettes in city parks – Feds need to rethink anti-vaping legislation – ‘Fake News’ Is Also Plaguing the World of Science – Australian Vape Ban – Bulgaria: In every twenty people, one is a daily vaper
Inmates in Irish prisons will soon have access to e-cigarettes
The Journal dot IE
Inmates in irish prisons who are trying to quit smoking will soon have access to electronic cigarettes.
In a recent court case, the barrister for a defendant complained to the judge that the man had been advised for health reasons to stop smoking, but e-cigarettes could not be sent in because of a “procurement problem”.
A spokesperson for the Irish Prison Service told TheJournal.ie that these devices are not currently available at present, but their availability does form part of a new smoking policy that is being finalised.
Are e-liquid flavours really “hooking another generation of kids”?
Clive Bates, The Counterfactual
Predictably, depressingly, the US anti-vaping lobby has mobilised against a new Cole-Bishop Bill, HR 1136 that would hold off near complete destruction of the industry by grossly disproportionate FDA deeming regulation and implement the first steps in a sensible reshaping of American tobacco policy. But look at the argument they used.
You hear this narrative a lot: regulators protecting kids from industry predators bearing flavours as bait. But I just wonder whether the anti-vaping activists have paused to even think about flavours and teens at all. Or even if they care.
Are e-cigarettes the best way to kick your smoking habit?
Shiza Malik, Images/Dawn
The last of the shishas have been extinguished in the capital, but at a swanky new retail outlet in F-11 Markaz, well-heeled men lean over a wood-panelled counter, inhaling what appears to be smoke from small electronic devices. But as they are quick to clarify, it is not smoke, but vapour.
Dense, white clouds are slowly exhaled, hanging in the air for a split second before dissipating, perfuming the room with a fruity scent.
The walls are lined with shelves displaying hundreds of tiny bottles. Each contains a colourful liquid and bears a curious label, such as Swedish Gummy, Abominable Snowman, Crunchy Cream Donuts and Berry Delight.
Bill advances to ban flavored electronic smoking devices in NJ
Pix11
New Jersey could ban flavored electronic smoking devices.
An Assembly committee on Monday advanced the ban. It also approved a bill that would prohibit the use of coupons and promotional offers for tobacco and vapor products.
The bill’s co-sponsor, Assemblyman Herb Conway Jr., who is a physician, says the goal is to prevent the products from targeting young people.
See also nj.com
St. Anthony to ban e-cigarettes in city parks
Lisa Dayley Smith, Standard Journal
The city council plans to “Escape the Vape” by banning e-cigarettes in its city parks.
The council made the decision during its Thursday meeting.
“That fellow who came and talked to us, he’s contacted us two or three times to see what we’ve done,” Mayor Neils Thueson said.
That fellow was Shad Davis, of the Escape the Vape organization that met with the city council last month to discuss ways to help prevent and to help stop people from vaping.
Davis serves as a project manager for the Research and Business Development Center (RBDC). The organization recently received a $53,000 grant from the Idaho Office of Drug Policy to educate people on the dangers of vaping.
Feds need to rethink anti-vaping legislation
Derek James, Toronto Sun
Remember when Prime Minister Stephen Harper was accused of muzzling scientists? The CBC reported his government brought in “strict procedures around how its scientists are allowed to speak about their research to the media.”
These scientists claimed to “live in a culture of fear,” and the popular narrative was that the government was suppressing important scientific information and silencing critics.
Regardless of the accuracy of those stories, there is legitimate concern when a government appears to be impeding the public’s ability to access and share scientific information about matters of public interest.
If Dr. Suess wrote the FDA regs on #vaping… pic.twitter.com/YFHxVrxudE
— Greg Baughman (@BaughmanGreg) February 27, 2017
‘Fake News’ Is Also Plaguing the World of Science
David Mills, Healthline
The political arena isn’t the only place where “fake news” is being debated.
Scientists are now speaking out about false information and “alternative facts” that they say are diluting and harming legitimate research.
To be sure, there has always been phony scientific material from snake oil salesmen to industry-sponsored research to tabloid headlines.
However, experts interviewed by Healthline say the advent of the internet and the popularity of social media have made it easier for fraudulent information to spread.
Australian Vape Ban
Mawsley, Planet of the Vapes
The TGA write: “In the states and territories, it is an offence to manufacture, sell or supply nicotine as Schedule 7 poison without a licence or specific authorisation. This means e-cigarettes containing nicotine cannot be sold in any Australian state or territory. Nicotine can be imported by an individual for use as an unapproved therapeutic good (e.g. a smoking cessation aid), but the importer must hold a prescription from an Australian registered medical practitioner and only import not more than 3 months’ supply at any one time.”
Bulgaria: In every twenty people, one is a daily vaper
Simon Rosselat, VapingPost
In Bulgaria, second EU member state for smoking prevalence, one people out of twenty is vaping daily. According to a report issued by the Ministry of Health, the percentage of vapers is higher than in the UK.
4.6% of Bulgarians are vaping
Business intelligence office published data provided by the Ministry of Health. The report says that 4.6% of Bulgarians are daily vapers (4.9% of males and 4.3% of women). In other words, one out of twenty persons is using an e-cigarette daily and 13.2% of Bulgarians declared they already tried the e-cigarette.
Call to Action
Changing how YOUR Council sees vaping
Vapers in Power
There is only one council in the entire country with a decent attitude towards vaping.
Thanks to the work of Freedom to Vape we now know that the vast majority of councils lump vaping in with smoking, against the advice of both Public Health England and the Health and Safety Executive.
Visit Nicotine Science & Policy for more News from around the World
