Vapers Digest 4th October
Wednesday’s News at a glance:
THR Summit calls for alignment of communication to fight against misinformation ~ Harm reduction policies can result in RM1.1bil annual savings, says think tank ~ Response to Emeritus Professor Simon Chapman AO, “Two parallel universes for Big Tobacco” ~ Snus smuggling plummets after nicotine pouch law reform ~ The Smokefree Partnership Celebrates Driving Users Back to Cigarettes ~ Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory? ~ Study: Flavored Vape Bans Increase Cigarette Sales ~ Hungary Ignores Science ~ UKVIA Launching New Sustainability Approach ~ Smoke Gets in Their Eyes: How the Liberals’ Anti-Tobacco Crusade Worsens Smokers’ Health ~ Star Power ~ Separating Nicotine from Tobacco: A Public Health Story for India’s Amrit Kaal ~ The Portuguese Government jeopardizes smoking cessation efforts ~ A leaked report from the European Commission questions EU smoke-free goals ~ Allison Boughner Chats To Ecigclick!! ~ Banning disposable vapes is a gift for black market criminals ~ Vaping is unhealthy, but banning it in Arizona could hurt teens more
THR Summit calls for alignment of communication to fight against misinformation
Watipaso Mzungu, NYASA Times
Delegates to the 6th Summit on Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) have called for the alignment of communication to fight misinformation on THR, stressing that people need to get clear and strong messages about the scientific evidence on the benefits of harm reduction products in order to counteract the misinformation launched by opposing parts.
Snus smuggling plummets after nicotine pouch law reform
YLE NEWS
Finnish Customs seized around 700 kilos of snus between January and September this year, compared to the some 3,500 kilos taken from smugglers during the same period 2022.
While snus, a smokeless tobacco product, is prohibited in all member states of the European Union except Sweden, the import of small amounts to Finland for personal use is allowed. However, bringing in large amounts, selling or passing on snus is illegal.
The Smokefree Partnership Celebrates Driving Users Back to Cigarettes
Joseph Hart, The Daily Pouch
Smokefree Partnership was in a celebratory mood this week. Belgium banned nicotine pouches as of October 1st. “Great news“, according to the coalition of anti-smoking NGOs.
Understandably, there was some pushback. Limiting citizens’ access to harm-reduction products isn’t something to celebrate if you want people to stop smoking. However, more perversely, if you are serious about being “smoke-free”, then you should be at least curious about smokeless products, like nicotine pouches.
Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory?
Clive Bates, Tobacco Reporter
There are so many genuinely terrible ways to regulate combustible tobacco and smoke-free nicotine products that achieving one of the less terrible ways is a triumph. Unlike the United States, the European Union hasn’t imposed gigantic regulatory burdens that choke the life out of all but the largest companies, relentlessly favoring tobacco majors over their smaller rivals.
Unlike Australia, the EU pulled back from regulating vapes as if they were medicines. Australia was once a leader in tobacco control, but now it has become a chaotic fiasco of sluggish declines in smoking and a massive black market. Despite the prohibition campaigns of the World Health Organization, the EU has resisted most forms of prohibition, though with the inexplicable exception of snus. To state the obvious, prohibition doesn’t cause banned products to disappear; it merely removes law-abiding suppliers and hands the residual market to criminals and unregulated informal traders.
Study: Flavored Vape Bans Increase Cigarette Sales
Jim McDonald, Vaping 360
New research funded by the FDA and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) shows that flavored vape bans lead to decreased vape sales and increased cigarette sales. The study’s authors say that for every 0.7 mL vape pod not sold because of flavor restrictions, 15 cigarettes take its place.
Seven U.S. states and nearly 400 local governments have passed laws restricting the sales of non-tobacco (and sometimes menthol) vape flavors. The adoption of such laws has been a major goal of tobacco control organizations and their biggest funder, Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Crime against retail sector in NZ has skyrocketed. Shame my 2021 scientific papers on this #blacklisted by @minhealthnz Some injuries could have been prevented at least if #FreeSpeech was allowed @NZFreeSpeech https://t.co/YUS0j24KyC
— Prof Marewa Glover (@MarewaGlover) October 4, 2023
Two From Dave Cross, Planet Of The Vapes
Hungary Ignores Science
The Hungarian Government issued a statement on its anti-smoking measures, dismissing the significant harm reduction benefits of vaping and other smokeless alternatives. This stance not only denies globally accepted scientific consensus but also appears to deliberately undermine the proven success of countries like Sweden in their harm reduction initiatives, according to the World Vapers’ Alliance.
UKVIA Launching New Sustainability Approach
The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) is set to launch a new vape recycling information hub and Sustainable Vaping Week. The new initiatives are being introduced to address the throwaway behaviours of vapers and support full industry compliance with environmental regulations.
Dr. Sudhanahu Patwardhan, The Quint
Under India’s historic presidency, the G20 Summit held in early September received well-deserved acclaim, both domestically and internationally. India is increasingly being considered a major global player – politically, economically, and industrially.
India’s thorough preparation was evident in the 200 pre-summit meetings held across 50 cities, addressing wide-ranging issues from climate change to education.
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