Vapers Digest 6th January
Monday’s News at a glance:
UKVIA Calls for Environmental Enforcement – 5 Vaping “Facts” You Don’t Want to Know – Belgium’s Ban on Disposable Vapes and Other Worrying Measures in Europe – Misperceptions About Safer Alternatives – Does Zyn Really Cause Mouth Cancer? – Cigarette Taxes & Vape Bans Are Now Killing Big Supermarket Jobs! – Is Africa on Track to Achieve a 30% Reduction in Tobacco Use by 2025? – The Paradox of Tobacco Control Activism – Tobacco-Free Kids, Indus Hospital’s alleged involvement in money laundering exposed
UKVIA Calls for Enforcement
Dave Cross, Planet of the Vapes
The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) is calling for greater environmental enforcement and education following new research from Material Focus. The investigation found that 8.2 million vapes are now thrown away every week or recycled incorrectly – indicating that not enough progress has been made over the last couple of years.
Other findings from the Material Focus analysis include:
5 Vaping “Facts” You Don’t Want to Know
Brad Rodu, Tobacco Truth
Dr. Michael Blaha, Director of Clinical Research at the Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease, has published an article titled, “5 Vaping Facts You Need to Know.” The piece contains a number of glaring falsehoods.
I should note my profound disappointment with this article, as Dr. Blaha recently joined me and Sally Satel as faculty members of the since-cancelled Medscape medical education course on tobacco harm reduction (THR).
Two from Diane Caruana, Vaping Post:
Belgium’s Ban on Disposable Vapes
And Other Worrying Measures in Europe
A trend towards stricter measures on vaping products in Europe, is sparking concern among tobacco harm reduction (THR) advocates. Proposed restrictions include higher taxes, flavour bans, and stricter advertising rules. Critics warn that such policies could undermine smoking cessation efforts, limit access to safer alternatives, and inadvertently fuel black markets, risking public health and consumer safety.
Starting in January, Belgium will become the first European Union nation to ban the sales of disposable vapes.
Misperceptions About Safer Alternatives
Among Older Adults Are Stagnating Smoking Rates
By now it is widely and officially accepted that since the arrival of vaping products on the market, and resulting increase in vaping, smoking rates among adolescents and young adults have decreased drastically. However, this is not the case among adults aged 55 and older. In fact, the persistent prevalence of smoking within this age group has not declined at all over the past decade.
National data modeling suggests that e-cigarette use has not contributed significantly to reducing cigarette smoking rates among individuals aged 45 and above.
The gateway in action https://t.co/dhdAAEwVbN
— Phil (@phil_w888) January 6, 2025
Does Zyn Really Cause Mouth Cancer?
Daily Pouch
In the realm of quitting smoking, a plethora of alternatives have cropped up, with nicotine pouches like Zyn emerging as popular choices among those looking to ditch the habit. However, as with any product meant to replace smoking, there are inherent concerns and criticisms about their safety and efficacy. A recent article on Healthline delves into these issues, particularly focusing on whether products like Zyn could lead to mouth cancer.
Cigarette Taxes & Vape Bans
Are Now Killing Big Supermarket Jobs! – Pippa Starr
From Cooper Pedy to capital cities across Australia, experts and media are finally working out that price hikes on tobacco and restrictions on vaping products have gone way too far!
I have been a close observer to this mess, where it was obvious that tobacco excise had past the point of diminishing returns on the laffa curve many years ago. Now the results are finally being talked about.
Is Africa on Track to Achieve a 30% ….
Reduction in Tobacco Use by 2025? – Joseph Magero
Africa has been grappling with the escalating burden of tobacco use, which continues to claim lives and strain healthcare systems. In 2013, the World Health Assembly set an ambitious target of reducing tobacco use prevalence by 30% by 2025. With just a year to go, the question arises: is the African continent on track to meet this goal?
The short answer is that progress remains uneven and, in many cases, insufficient. While some nations have made commendable strides in tobacco control through taxation, public awareness campaigns, and smoking bans, others face significant challenges. A rapidly growing population, increasing tobacco industry penetration, and limited cessation support services threaten to undermine efforts.
The Paradox of Tobacco Control Activism
Ziauddin Islam
In the evolving landscape of public health, a pressing concern has emerged within tobacco control activism. While the goal has always been to reduce the health burdens associated with tobacco use, a troubling pattern has surfaced: the opposition to harm reduction products by some activists.
I’m disheartened to learn about advocates who claim to be public health experts yet actively oppose safer alternatives to traditional cigarettes, despite clear evidence and statistics from countries like Sweden. Sweden’s success with snus, a smokeless tobacco product, has led to the lowest smoking rates in Europe, showcasing a significant public health victory.
Tobacco-Free Kids, Indus Hospital’s
Alleged involvement in money laundering exposed
Taking action on the recommendation from the Interior Ministry, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has frozen the accounts of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) Tobacco-Free Kids and Vital Strategies for working illegally in Pakistan.
However, Daily Ausaf has learned that the central bank has not yet taken any action against those local organisations being funded by these banned INGOs.
On this Day…2023
A look back at how things have moved on or otherwise…
Current Tobacco Prohibition in U.S.
Prisons Would Violate the Geneva Convention, As It Treats Incarcerated Americans Worse than Wartime POWs
Brad Radu, Tobacco Truth
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons in 2015 finalized a rule prohibiting inmate “possession of smoking apparatus and tobacco in any form.” Nine years earlier, the Bureau had discontinued tobacco sales at prison commissaries.
Announcing the final rule, Bureau officials discounted the issue of black market activity, saying that the agency’s staff was already trained to intercept contraband, so the addition of tobacco involved zero “additional burden.” They promised to increase searches of Bureau employees to assure that they don’t become contraband sources, and to impose “more severe inmate sanctions for violations” to deter “possession of tobacco products.”
A Brighter Future
Jessica Zdinak
Much ink has been devoted to the dichotomy presented by electronic nicotine-delivery systems (ENDS)—are they a friend or a foe?
For several years now, we have seen a surge of a variety of different e-cigarette products, overrunning the U.S. commerce both legally and illegally. The question remains for some, including our regulator: Do they serve as an alternative to traditional combustible cigarettes, or do they serve as an initiator for youth and young adults? This dichotomy revolves heavily around the authorization of and use of flavored e-cigarette/e-liquid products.
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