Vapers Digest 29th November

Friday’s News at a glance:

Louise Ross has stepped down as Chair of the NNA – Labour’s all-out offensive on vaping – Letter to the SANT Committee – Whitty Worrying About Children – Vapes Preventing Relapse – Expert Reaction to UCL Findings – 100,000 Citizens Say ‘No’ to EU Overreach! – Sweden Becomes Smokefree – Saving Lives in Japan – UK Tobacco and Vapes Bill passes major hurdle – More than two million vapers could return to smoking – Vapes could help save up to 616,000 lives in Nigeria and Kenya – Thinking ’bout THR Opportunities – Parliament won’t support the EC’s plan – Victory for Science and Consumer Choice: – Tackling The Illicit Vape Market – Tobacco taxation and smoke-free products: – The importance of educating regulators – Nicotine limits could push 1 in 5 back to smoking – FDA vs. Triton: – What a Second Trump Administration Could Mean – Obsession with Youth Vaping – A Vaper’s Confession –

Two from New Nicotine Alliance:

Louise Ross has stepped down …

As Chair of the New Nicotine Alliance

Due to health reasons, Louise has had to end her time as Chair of the New Nicotine Alliance. The Charity Commission will be informed.

Louise wishes trustees, associates and supporters of the NNA every success with their future work to help people understand the benefits that safer nicotine products bring, and how these products can help to reduce smoking rates.

‘Tobacco Harm Reduction is a hugely polarising area of work; I want to pay tribute to those who can put themselves in the shoes of other people who use nicotine but don’t want to smoke it. To those who think they know what’s best for other people, I would ask them to show some humility and learn from people with lived experience.’

Labour’s all-out offensive on vaping

Will cause unnecessary and avoidable deaths and disease

For all their talk about saving future generations from the evils of smoking, the UK government is doing a very good job of driving people back to cigarettes.

MPs spent much of Tuesday debating the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which could see onerous restrictions on vapes – the very thing that has helped millions of people in this country to quit smoking.

“Make no mistake, this is pro-smoking legislation,” according to Clive Bates, long-standing smoking and health campaigner and a voluntary public health adviser to the New Nicotine Alliance.

Letter to the SANT Committee

On the updated Council recommendation on smoke-free environments

European Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates

November 2024. ETHRA wrote to all members of the SANT Committee to highlight the fact that there is no scientific or public health basis to extend the recommendation to include vape aerosol. We also ask Committee members to request a proper risk evaluation on the relative risks of safer nicotine products compared to combustible tobacco. See the letter below.

Six from Dave Cross, Planet of the Vapes:

Whitty Worrying About Children

Professor Sir Chris Whitty is worrying about protecting children, families and the vulnerable from tobacco’s harms, according to the Department of Health. He says that no smoker wants to harm people, but they do through the exhalation of second-hand smoke. Then, by a convoluted turn of logic, he includes dangers posed by vaping and repeats the lie that they are “marketed to children”.

Professor Sir Christopher Whitty says the evidence on the dangers posed by second-hand smoking is “overwhelming”. Despite this, he adds, he believes the tobacco industry is going to great pains to undermine the evidence.

Vapes Preventing Relapse

About one in five people who have stopped smoking for more than a year in England currently vape, equivalent to 2.2 million people, according to a new study led by University College London (UCL) researchers. Published in BMC Medicine and funded by Cancer Research UK, their paper finds that this increased prevalence was largely driven by greater use of e-cigarettes in attempts to quit smoking.

Many vapers will acknowledge the benefits of vaping to stop smoking and prevent relapse, but the researcher are concerned. They found a rise in vaping uptake among people who had already stopped smoking, with an estimated one in 10 ex-smokers who vape having quit smoking prior to 2011, when e-cigarettes started to become popular…

Expert Reaction to UCL Findings

Yesterday, Planet of the Vapes reported that around one in five people who have stopped smoking for more than a year in England currently vape, equivalent to 2.2 million people, according to a new study led by University College London (UCL) researchers. Harm reduction experts respond to the by Cancer Research UK funded paper published in BMC Medicine.

Dr Jasmine Khouja, Senior Research Associate in the Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group, University of Bristol, said: “This study uses information from the Smoking Toolkit Study to show that the number of people who have stopped smoking and vape instead has increased since 2013.

100,000 Citizens Say ‘No’ to EU Overreach!

The World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA) says is proud to announce that over 100,000 consumers have united in a powerful call to protect vaping and promote harm reduction across Europe. As Sweden approaches its goal of becoming the first smoke-free nation, discussions around the EU’s flavour bans, restrictions on nicotine pouches, outdoor vaping bans, and increased taxation threaten to undermine these significant public health advancements.

Sweden Becomes Smokefree

Sweden the becomes first country in world to become officially smoke free – and this should be a lesson for the world, according to Smoke Free Sweden. The harm reduction experts called the latest government figures “sensational”, and celebrated Swedes making international history.

“Swedes have hit this remarkable milestone 16 years ahead of the European Union target – while most of their fellow member states are set to miss it by some distance,” says Smoke Free Sweden.

Saving Lives in Japan

The experts at THR.net are pleased to share their latest report, “Lives Saved: Saving 2.04 Million Lives in Japan,” highlighting the transformative potential of integrating tobacco harm reduction strategies with enhanced lung cancer treatments and smoking cessation programs. They say the report demonstrates that these measures could save over 2.04 million lives in Japan by 2060, setting a global example of how science-based innovations can reshape public health outcomes.

🗣️LA EXPERIENCIA DE NUESTROS USUARIOS

📣El tabaco destrozó a su familia, pero también cómo el vapeo la ha salvado.

👉¿Tú también has pasado por algo similar? Envíanos tu testimonio.#ElMinisterioDelTabaco #MeEncantaLaFruta #ElVapeoSalvaVidas https://t.co/QEtATgkFh9

— ANESVAP (@anesvap) November 29, 2024

Singapore: HSA (more or less equivalent to the US FDA) can enter anyone’s home to search for vaping products (they say without a warrant)https://t.co/Zu3uk0Bvu1

— Phil (@phil_w888) November 28, 2024

Three from Ali Anderson, Clearing the Air:

UK Tobacco and Vapes Bill

Passes major hurdle – now have YOUR say

Plans to ban smoking for the next generation of young people and crackdown on vaping in the UK have cleared a major hurdle.

MPs voted overwhelmingly in favour of the “historic” Tobacco and Vapes Bill at its second reading in the Commons on Tuesday, with 415 for and 47 against.

The proposed legislation will now continue to the Committee and Report stages, where it will undergo further scrutiny before MPs vote on it again at a later date.

More than two million vapers…

Could return to smoking due to UK ban

More than two million people who vape could go back to smoking because of the UK’s upcoming crackdown, new polling shows.

Disposable vapes will be banned from June 1, 2025, in an attempt to reduce the appeal of vaping to young people. Under separate proposed legislation, flavours will also be heavily restricted.

However, there are mounting fears the measures could backfire by leading to more ex-smokers relapsing and a boom in black market sales of unregulated vapes.

Vapes could help save up to 616,000 lives

In Nigeria and Kenya

Better access to vapes and other nicotine alternatives could save up to 616,000 lives in Nigeria and Kenya, a major new report has revealed.

According to the study ‘Saving 600,000 Lives in Nigeria and Kenya’ by global health group Smoke Free Sweden, 9.4 per cent of Nigerians currently smoke.

Each year, 26,900 Nigerians die from tobacco-related illnesses. In Kenya, a huge 20.5 per cent of the population smoke, killing around 12,000 people per year.

Parliament won’t support the EC’s plan

To ban vaping everywhere. What happened? – Peter Beckett

When I wrote earlier this week that the European Parliament should reject the Commission’s plan to ban vaping in all public spaces across Europe, I did not expect them to take my advice. But, as it turned out, wiser heads prevailed. Parliament voted with a majority of 148 to reject its own proposed resolution welcoming the Commission’s proposal. But, as always with such a diverse chamber, it’s not that simple.

From what I understand from various conversations and from the voting records posted online, it was parties on the political left, whose preferences tend towards banning things they don’t like, who saw off the Resolution in the end.

Michael Landl – WVA

In a surprising and welcome turn of events, the European Parliament has rejected a resolution that would have recommended extending outdoor smoking and vaping bans. This decision marks a significant victory for consumer rights, evidence-based policymaking, and harm reduction strategies.

The proposed resolution would have called for an extension of smoking and vaping bans to key outdoor areas, including outdoor restaurants and cafes. However, MEPs listened to scientific evidence and consumer voices, choosing to reject this overly restrictive approach.

Tobacco taxation & smoke-free products:

What is the future regulatory path for the EU Commission?

Following a two-year postponement of a draft for the new Tobacco Excise Directive (TED), the EU’s new batch of commissioners can finally be expected to tackle the thorny issue of tobacco regulation.

Faced with a pressing need to reduce cancer and pave the way for a smoke-free generation, member states, NGOs and the tobacco industry are impatient for the long-awaited draft to finally be set in the agenda.

Millions of illegal vapes and tobacco

Seized in new crackdown – Flaminia Luck, LBC

Over 1.19 million illegal vapes were seized across England during the 2023/2024 period in the crackdown, data from National Trading Standards (NTS) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) shows.

This marks a dramatic 59% increase in the number of vapes removed from sale compared to the previous year, indicating toughened enforcement efforts and growing concern over the safety and legality of vaping products.

The seizures were part of Operation Joseph, a joint initiative designed to target the sale of illegal vaping products that fail to meet UK safety standards.

Tackling The Illicit Vape Market

ECigIntelligence

The UK government’s plans to change the law on vape products have attracted a lot of attention recently.

But what’s often forgotten – at least by those outside the industry – is that a great number of vape products being sold, and being used, already are in breach of the law. Known as illicit products, these pose several problems…

There may be a danger to consumers, in that these products may not be adequately tested, professionally manufactured or accurately labelled.

Thinking ’bout THR Opportunities

Kim “Skip” Murray

Each category is listed by the deadline date (when known). With the new year approaching, the selection of Events & Opportunities became too long for some emails. I have split them into separate postings to make them more email-friendly. I’ll send out an updated Events version next week. If the split version is still too long for email (it is for some!), you’ll have a clipped message link at the bottom of your email. Click that to view this whole listing.

The importance of educating regulators

About the benefits of vaping and nicotine pouches in smoking control

Nicotine pouches are the newest oral, smokeless tobacco harm reduction product with a safety profile very similar to pharmaceutical nicotine formulations. Their availability in a variety of strengths and flavours represents a potentially important tool in the arsenal of the tobacco cigarette-alternative options that smokers, particularly those unable or unwilling to quit with currently approved methods, might need in order to partially or completely substitute for smoking. However, as with all harm reduction products, appropriate regulation is key in determining whether pouches will become a valuable addition to the smoking control strategy or a wasted opportunity.

Limits could push 1 in 5 back to smoking

Snusforumet

Nearly 80 percent of Danish nicotine consumers don’t support a proposed limit on nicotine levels in pouches and 20 percent say they would switch back to smoking if the limits came into effect, a new survey reveals.

In September, the Danish health ministry announced controversial plans to cap the nicotine levels of nicotine pouches at nine milligrams per pouch. The move, criticized at the time as “misguided” and lacking any scientific basis, was supposed to help curb nicotine consumption among young people.

Marion Burts Letter to her MP

Minister Bill Blair – Rights 4 Vapers

I am asking you to reject Health Minister Holland’s campaign to remove all but terrible flavours from vaping eliquid across Canada.

If such a ban had been in place 10 years ago, I would now be dragging an oxygen cart or dead. My doctor warned me that I was developing COPD, so I bought a vape and my first puff on Apple flavour turned me into an ex-smoker. My lungs are now in excellent condition and the doctors I see congratulate me on the switch because they see the improvement in my health and in the health of other patients.

FDA vs. Triton: Supreme Court Showdown

Jim McDonald

Next Monday, Dec. 2, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the FDA’s appeal of its Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals loss to Triton Distribution.

The case, FDA v. Wages and White Lion Investments, L.L.C., could be the most consequential legal event ever for the independent vaping industry. If the court decides to uphold the January 2024 Fifth Circuit decision, the FDA could be forced to revamp its entire premarket tobacco application (PMTA) authorization system and scrap all marketing denial orders (MDOs) issued since 2021. The agency might even have to abandon part or all of its 2016 Deeming Rule.

Supreme Court to hear dispute over FDA rejection of flavored vapes

What a Second Trump Administration

Could Mean for Tobacco Industry Regulations

As the tobacco industry anticipates a second Trump administration, it’s banking on what some public health experts describe as his unpredictable approach to regulation. Trump’s history of abrupt policy shifts makes tobacco companies hopeful for a more industry-friendly stance when he returns to the White House. Here’s what could be in store for tobacco regulation and industry dynamics under another Trump administration.

Obsession with Youth Vaping

Has Made Us Lose Sight of Far More Serious Threats to the Health of Adolescents and Young Adults

Michael Siegel – The Rest of the Story

While public health agencies and anti-tobacco groups have made youth vaping nearly the sole focus of their adolescent health agendas over the past decade, far more serious substance abuse threats to the health of teens and young adults are escaping attention and wreaking greater havoc on the current generation of young people.

For example, a new article just published in the American Journal of Medicine reveals that over the past two decades, the death rate from alcohol in the United States has doubled.

A Vaper’s Confession:

The Conundrum Of Vape Banning And What We Can Do About It

In 2023, the government revealed the Generational End Game (GEG) Bill, a provision that seemingly promised the dawn of a new age — one where youths will no longer succumb to the vice of smoking.

Fast forward to today, and the bill has not come to fruition, likely due to lobbying from the tobacco and vape industry.

However, in a surprising turn of events, the government has opted to restrict the sale of vape products under Act 852’s newly established Control of Smoking Products for Public Health (Control of Sale) Regulations 2024.

Critical Look at AMA’s Stance on Vaping:

Is the Focus on Public Health or Paternalism?

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has long been a key player in the public health landscape, particularly in its vocal opposition to smoking and the promotion of anti-smoking policies. However, as the vaping debate continues to evolve, the AMA’s stance — particularly its outright rejection of vaping as a legitimate harm reduction tool — raises serious concerns. In many ways, the AMA’s approach is becoming less about evidence-based public health and more about paternalistic regulation that overlooks the complex realities of smoking addiction and harm reduction.

Harm Reduction Round Table In Nairobi

Joseph Magero

An expert peer-to-peer roundtable on Harm Reduction was held this week at the JW Marriott Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya. The goal of the event was to foster a focused and high-level dialogue among leading Harm Reduction experts from all over Africa. This roundtable brought together like-minded practitioners to explore, discuss, and advance Harm Reduction approaches as Kenya prepares to launch smoke-free products in the country. 25 Key Scientific Opinion Leaders were in attendance to discuss the theme: ‘Harm Reduction and Public Health’.

Harm Reduction in Germany

Vaping Unplugged Podcast Hans-Peter Albrecht Ep. 68

In this special German-language episode, Michael sits down with Hans-Peter Albrecht, one of Germany’s most dedicated harm reduction activists. Together, they delve into the current landscape of harm reduction in Germany, exploring the challenges and opportunities facing the movement today.

Hans-Peter shares his inspiring personal journey into activism, detailing the experiences that drove him to advocate for change. The conversation also touches on the political climate surrounding harm reduction policies in Germany, providing valuable insights into the ongoing efforts to promote safer alternatives and protect individual rights.

African public health experts call…

For science-led tobacco regulation

Public health experts across Africa are urging the adoption of science-led approaches in tobacco regulation and policy development to better support harm reduction efforts and improve public health outcomes.

The experts who met in Nairobi for the fourth edition of the Harm Reduction Exchange explained that harm reduction is essential in mitigating the negative health, social, and legal impacts associated with substances like tobacco, alcohol, and opioids.

Tobacco harm reduction strategy

‘will save lives of 184,000 Kenyans’

A landmark report released on 19 November by tobacco harm reduction (THR) experts highlights the alarming prevalence of smoking in Kenya, where 19.7% of adult men smoke.

In 2019, tobacco-related illnesses claimed the lives of 12,000 Kenyans, according to the report Saving 600,000 Lives in Nigeria and Kenya. While the World Health Organization (WHO) projects that current tobacco control measures will reduce this toll to 8,000 by 2060, the authors argue that this number remains far too high.

On this Day…2023

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

Two from Dave Crosss, Planet of the Vapes:

Scotland’s Possible Vape Ban

The Daily Mail reports that Scotland is giving serious consideration to implementing a rolling ban on vapes as well as tobacco for children aged 14 and under – described as concerning by consumer organisation the World Vapers’ Alliance. The move replicates the UK Government’s proposals but adds ecigs into the mix.

Michael Landl, Director of the World Vapers’ Alliance, expressed serious reservations about this move: “While the intention to curb smoking is commendable, it’s concerning that the Scottish Government is considering extending this ban to vaping. It’s important to remember that it’s already illegal for teenagers to buy vapes….”

Vape Green Surveys Vapers

Vape retailer Vape Green has asked vapers about their habits and how they feel about the UK government restricting vaping. The results of the Vape Green UK Vapers Survey 2023 are now in and make for impressive reading, painting “a picture of UK vapers’ demographics and preferences”.

Vape Green says: “We ran a survey asking our customers about their vaping experience and previous smoking habits, including which devices and nicotine strengths they use and what helped them quit smoking. And for those who vape but still smoke, we investigated how vaping affects their smoking habits.”