Vapers Digest 2nd November

Wednesday’s News at a glance:

The Alternative Smoke-Free 2030 Plan ~ Responsive Policymaking For Achieving India’s Tobacco Control Goals ~ An Open Letter: SA smokers looking to quit will suffer if Parliament passes baseless regulations ~ INNCO: Weekly Issue ~ Is vaping safe? Why UK scientists are calling new research on the effects of e-cigarettes ‘irresponsible’ ~ Administrative Acts of Healthcare Crime ~ FDA Enlists Help from the DOJ ~ Focus should be on vapes accessibility rather than cigarette bans says think tank ~ The Stigmatization of Smoking Is Not Harm Reduction ~ VPZ’s Action Call ~ ETHRA to Belgium ~ House of Lords E-cig Briefing ~ The real impacts of vaping… you may be surprised! ~ The PMTA Mystery ~ Moving Backward ~ Choosing Wisely ~ Perceptions of Nicotine ~ Comments in FDA Assessment Suggest Agency in Disarray ~ ETHRA October news roundup

The Alternative Smoke-Free 2030 Plan

Christopher Snowdon, IEA

This year, Dr Javed Khan, former CEO of Barnardo’s, was commissioned by the Department of Health to draw up a plan to make England ‘smoke-free’ by 2030, a pledge made during Theresa May’s administration.

Khan’s prohibitionist recommendations included the painting of all cigarettes brown or green, annually increasing the age at which one can buy cigarettes by one year, hiking tobacco taxes by over 30 per cent until a pack of cigarettes costs around £20, and much more.

Responsive Policymaking For Achieving India’s Tobacco Control Goals

Dr. Kiran Melkote, The Economic Times

About 200 million people use smokeless tobacco, 72 million use beedis and 28 million use cigarettes in India. However, the focus of tobacco control and taxation has been on cigarette smokers only. This blinkered approach ignores the plight of the socio-economically disadvantaged people who use beedis or smokeless tobacco.

An Open Letter: SA smokers looking to quit

will suffer if Parliament passes baseless regulations

VSML

By way of introduction, my name is Kurt Yeo, co-founder of the consumer advocacy group Vaping Saved My Life (VSML). I am a father, husband, ex-smoker of 20 years, and like millions around the world, a victim of the suffering left in the wake of smoking. The void left behind through the passing of my parents, and the realisation that my family is not unique in this suffering became the driving force behind VSML.

INNCO: Weekly Issue | October 31st, 2022

Innco

Hi Dear Friends,

It’s always a pleasure to greet you. If you missed the Asia Harm Reduction Forum 2022 you can watch the replay here.

This week we upload a video from Dr. Wasim from Norway on our YouTube Channel, if you want to check the video out, you can do it here.

If you haven’t got the chance to fill out the survey forwarded by Charles Gardner, consider doing so, because we definitely need as many responses as possible. please we need your support.

Is vaping safe? Why UK scientists are calling new research

on the effects of e-cigarettes ‘irresponsible’

Paul Gallagher, Inews

People who vaped or smoked were found to experience greater increases in both heart rate and blood pressure, whereas those who reported no nicotine use saw no changes. Regular users of nicotine also experienced worse measures of heart rate variability and a constricted brachial artery – the major blood vessel supplying blood to the arms and hands.

Various groups at the Asia Harm Reduction Forum 2022 are promoting the use of vape and other electronic devices as safer ways of smoking. According to advocates, there are many ways to quit smoking and the information is now available online.

IBC Tutok

Administrative Acts of Healthcare Crime

Jay K Joshi, Daily Remedy

Public perception is a funny thing. It’s an illusion we all see, know full well it’s an illusion, and we accept it. Through public perception, lies become truths and opinions become law.

“I’m fully aware of the misperceptions that are out there and aren’t consistent with the known science. We do know that e-cigarettes — as a general class — have markedly less risk than a combustible cigarette product. That said, I think it’s very critical that we inform any communication campaigns using science and evidence. It has to be very carefully thought out to ensure that we’re maximizing impact and avoiding unintended consequences.”

FDA Enlists Help from the DOJ

The war on vaping and the attacks on small vape shops merely trying to keep their customers smoke free has taken a shocking turn as the FDA enlists help from the DOJ to go after 6 small vape shops.

The Biden administration is suing six shops after the companies ignored warning about their illegal products. The agency announced a joint press release with the DOJ this past Tuesday, October 18th 2022.

Focus should be on vapes accessibility rather than cigarette bans says think tank

Leah Montebello, City AM

The government should focus on tobacco alternatives rather than cigarettes bans, says leading think tank.

In a new report published today, the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) urges policymakers to focus on boosting vapes and e-cigarettes rather than looking towards bans, which has been the preferred strategy in countries such as New Zealand.

The Stigmatization of Smoking Is Not Harm Reduction

Kiran Sidhu, Filter Magazine

Smoking has been stigmatized for some time. Once it was normal for idolized film actors, philosophers and writers to be photographed in a cloud of smoke, with a cigarette in hand or hanging off their mouth. Today, people who smoke are often pitied or shamed. Just as tobacco advertising is widely banned, people who smoke have been quietly disappearing from public spaces. Where once just about every pub and many restaurants allowed smoking, the designated smoking area now, for most, is the great outdoors or their own home—if they don’t live in public housing, that is.

THREE from Dave Cross, Planet of the Vapes

VPZ’s Action Call

VPZ, the UK’s largest vaping retailer, has called for a national vaping policy to help the Scottish Government reach its 2034 smoke-free ambitions. VPZ aims to help more people quit smoking through vaping and is urging the Government to introduce greater licensing and controls for selling vaping products.

ETHRA to Belgium

European end user campaign body ETHRA (European Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates) have sent a letter to the Belgian government stressing “the important role safer nicotine products can play in its upcoming inter-federal strategy for a smokefree generation.” The letter was co-signed by 19 independent experts in tobacco and nicotine science and policy.

House of Lords E-cig Briefing

The House of Lords Library has published an impartial, authoritative document to Members of the House of Lords about teens and vaping to support them with their parliamentary work. It is an essential overview of the topic, its progress in Parliament, and recent developments, to help them engage with business in the Chamber.

The real impacts of vaping… you may be surprised!

Murray Jones, 4CA AM

This week as part of our Wellness Tuesday, I caught up with Dr Colin Mendelsohn about the emerging black market for vaping products. There are certainly a lot of myths around the impacts of vaping, but most interestingly, what was designed as a product to help adults quit smoking has been hijacked from many quarters.

Five from Tobacco Reporter

The PMTA Mystery

Neil McKeganey

If there is one thing that you can say about the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) process, it is that it is exceedingly data heavy. E-cigarette manufacturers’ submissions under the PMTA process can run to the thousands of pages, reporting the results of research costing millions of dollars. To receive a marketing authorization, e-cigarette manufacturers have to be able to show that their product is “appropriate for the protection of the public health” (APPH).

Moving Backward

Stefanie Rossel

In mid-May, a shockwave hit Spain’s vaping industry: The government presented a bill that would end the independent domestic vaping sector. The proposal calls for limiting vapor product sales to state-owned tobacconist shops within five years. Specialized vape shops can stay in business only if they transition into licensed tobacconists—a step that would oblige them to sell combustible products as well. The bill would also ban online sales of vape products.

Choosing Wisely

Cheryl K. Olson and Willie McKinney

Like many people who smoke, Doug Halterman wanted to quit. “I tried other ways, even prescription drugs, and nothing worked.” When he decided to try vaping, “At first, it was a research and development stage. I had to figure out what ones best acted like a cigarette,” he recalled. “I started with menthol tobacco. I then liked the fruit flavors because it helped stay clear of cigarettes. After vaping fruity flavors, cigs tasted absolutely disgusting.”

Perceptions of Nicotine

Participants in “The Perceptions of Nicotine” panel during the GTNF 2022, held in Washington, D.C., in September, began the conversation by drawing comparisons to similar consumer products, most notably caffeine. Nicotine is found in tobacco leaves, but it’s also found, at lower levels, in plants, such as tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants and sweet peppers. However, by far its predominant source is in tobacco leaves.

Comments in FDA Assessment Suggest Agency in Disarray

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is in disarray and influenced by outside forces rather than scientific research, according to several comments submitted to the Reagan-Udall assessment of the performance of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP).

ETHRA

ETHRA’s monthly roundup of news: Belgium & Spain, experts weigh in – Prohibition fuelling black market – MEPs debate THR – SOVAPE survey – The substitution effect – The Manila Declaration 2022 – Country updates. Read on for more.

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