Vapers Digest 7th August
Monday’s News at a glance:
Pregnant women should consider e-cigarettes to help quit smoking – Switching to vapes ‘could save NHS more than half a billion a year’ – The COP10 War – Parliament – Study supports government initiative – Butler set to effectively ban all refillable vaping products – Venezuela Bans Vapes on Maduro’s Order – Anti-vaping ABC News Article Rife with Misinformation
Pregnant women should consider e-cigs
To help quit smoking – Helen Quinn
Vaping may offer an alternative for pregnant women who want to stop smoking, allowing them to quit safely and reducing the risk of low birth rate, according to a new study led by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL).
Current guidelines suggest that pregnant smokers trying to stop should be offered nicotine replacement products such as patches and advised of stop-smoking services, but the new research suggests that e-cigarettes could be a better alternative.
Funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the research is published in NIHR Journals Library.
Switching to vapes …
‘Could save NHS more than half a billion a year’ – Independent
Half of England’s adult smokers making a switch to e-cigarettes could save the NHS more than £500 million per year, a study has claimed.
Researchers at Brunel University London used data from NHS Digital, the Royal College of Physicians and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to identify the prevalence of smoking in each region.
They found that between 2019 and 2021, 13.6% of people aged 18 and over in England smoked. The lowest rate of smokers is in the South East (12.2%) compared to 14.1% in the Midlands, 14.6% in the North West and 15% in the North East and Yorkshire.
The COP10 War
COPWatch
At COPWATCH we present facts to counter the misinformation coming from the ‘other side’ – those who deny the benefits of tobacco harm reduction. However, never be in any doubt that passion lies underneath – we consumers are fighting not only for our lives, but for the lives of people who smoke. Enjoy and reflect upon this reaction to the WHO report.
The release of the 9th edition of the WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic last week clearly shows that the avalanche of misinformation & disinformation is indeed being sponsored and paid for to maintain relevance of outdated concepts and to vilify Tobacco Harm Reduction in the court of public opinion, which is subjective at best.
ASH Deputy Chief Executive @HazelCheeseman on why the latest findings [that 39% of smokers think vaping is as/more harmful than smoking] are so concerning. pic.twitter.com/B9RKGL4LGG
— ASH (@AshOrgUK) August 7, 2023
Parliament
Dave Cross, Planet of the Vapes
Focus on vaping in Parliament has been incessant recently and this final instalment brings us up to date. Lord Bourne was all about the safety, Conservative Andrew Gwynne wanted to see arrests, Neil Hudson was concerned about animals, wildfires, and sponsorship deals.
Conservative Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth fired a question at His Majesty’s Government about the assessments made of the safety of vaping and what actions they are consequently planning.
Lord Bourne didn’t elaborate about the safety aspects he is concerned about.
Study supports government initiative
To give free vapes to disadvantaged people who want to quit smoking
A government scheme to give out free vapes to smokers appeals to most but not all, according to new research from the University of East Anglia (UEA).
The “Swap-to-Stop” scheme was announced earlier in 2023—providing a million e-cigarettes to disadvantaged people who smoke.
A new study supports the scheme, with people who vape saying that this type of approach might have helped them if it had been available when they attempted to quit. “Medicalisation of Vaping in the UK? E-cigarette users’ perspectives on the merging of commercial and medical routes to vaping,” was published in the journal Perspectives in Public Health.
Butler set to effectively ban all refillables
Colin Mendelsohn
IN A MAJOR ESCALATION of the crackdown on vaping, it appears likely that Health Minister Mark Butler will effectively ban refillable vaping devices as well as disposables. Only closed pod systems will be legally available in Australia with a prescription from a pharmacy.
The news was leaked indirectly in a recent blog by Emeritus Professor Simon Chapman, one of the Minister’s inner advisers.
Chapman explained that under the new laws, the only legal nicotine vaping products will be sealed (closed) pod systems “where the liquid containing nicotine and flavouring chemicals and the battery that heats and vapourises the liquid will be sealed”
Venezuela Bans Vapes on Maduro’s Order
Jim McDonald
The government of Venezuela has banned e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products—including personal use by individuals. The decision came in an Aug. 1 health ministry resolution, which claims the action is based on health concerns.
The resolution, published in the country’s official gazette, prohibits the “manufacture, storage, distribution, circulation, commercialization, import, export, use, consumption, advertising, promotion, and sponsorship” of all vaping products—including products that contain no nicotine.
Venezuelan government bans vaping – WVA
Anti-vaping ABC News Article
Rife with Misinformation – Jeffrey S. Smith
Misinformation around approaches to tobacco harm reduction continues to generate confusion and possibly contribute to the disease and death associated with the use of combustible tobacco products. In a recent ABC News article, the author suggested that U.S. physicians are discouraging the use of electronic nicotine delivery systems—products more commonly referred to as e-cigarettes or vapes. The information included to support this thesis, however, was at best cherry-picked—chosen to give the appearance of validity—and at worst incomplete, outdated or entirely false.
The first point of misinformation in the article is the assertion that recent guidelines published by the American College of Cardiology strongly discourage the use of e-cigarettes.
On this Day…2022
A look back at how things have moved on or otherwise…
Sustainability In Focus
Dave Cross
In 2015, Planet of the Vapes asked how should the vape community respond to concerns over the disposal of unwanted lithium-ion batteries? A handful of companies have come on board with environmentally friendly approaches, finally it seems as though the industry as a whole is on the cusp of addressing sustainability.
The problem is simple: single use plastics and lithium-ion batteries are poisoning the planet.
Sky News recently commented on the scale of the problem: “Binned disposable vapes are estimated to account for around 10 tonnes of valuable lithium being sent to landfill each year – enough to make batteries for 1,200 electric cars.”
Smoke-Free Wales
Dave Cross
The Welsh Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing has published Wales’ long-term tobacco control strategy ‘A Smoke-free Wales’, and a first two-year delivery plan ‘Towards a Smoke-free Wales Delivery Plan 2022-24’. The move has been welcomed by ASH Wales but not by trade body the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA).
Lynne Neagle, Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing said: “The strategy sets out our ambition for Wales to be smoke-free Wales by 2030. This means reducing smoking prevalence rates among adults to 5% or less over the next eight years. To support the delivery of the strategy, we are putting in place a series of two-year delivery plans, which set out the actions we will take as we work towards a smoke-free Wales.”
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