Vapers Digest 7th July

Wednesday’s News at a glance:

Charles Gardner: “Tobacco Harm Reduction needs to emphasize the beneficial effects of nicotine” ~ ‘Moral panic about vaping diverting from youth mental health’ – Dr Marewa Glover ~ Experts suggest tobacco harm reduction approach to reduce smoking ~ Tobacco Harm Reduction, a Human Rights Issue ~ VAPE A MEDICINE ? THIS BLOWS! ~ What can Health Canada learn about vaping from ASH? ~ Proposed ban on vaping flavours will push Canadians back to smoking traditional cigarettes, admits Health Canada’s own report ~ NNA Liverpool 2021 ~ Concerns About Youth Vaping Already Well Addressed ~ Back Vaping Save Lives ~ The WVA Says ‘Back Vaping’ ~ The WHO Risks Being Labelled an “Enemy of Tobacco Harm-Reduction” ~ How Vape Juice Became an International Industry ~ Shellie Villarreal: Officials’ efforts to cap nicotine levels in Utah will send tobacco users back to cigarettes ~ Vape shops fear USPS ruling could put them ‘out of business’

Charles Gardner: “Tobacco Harm Reduction needs to emphasize the beneficial effects of nicotine”

Dr. Charles Gardner, Catania Conversation

Different narratives, conflicting reports on the consequence of the use of nicotine, ambiguous choices by lawmakers. Many consumers lost confidence in governments, international institutions, and scientists because of lack of information on smoking cessation products. Why there is a struggle for consumers to find reliable and consistent information about electronic cigarettes and alternative nicotine delivery systems?

‘Moral panic about vaping diverting from youth mental health’ – Dr Marewa Glover

Dr. Marewa Glover, Voxy

High school principals whipping up a panic about students vaping are distracting attention from a far greater threat to teens – high levels of depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts, says behavioural scientist Dr Marewa Glover.

“The question we should be asking is how many students do the schools have on their suicide watchlists? And how many students have they lost in the last 1 to 2 years to suicide? How many students have been kicked out of school for serious misconduct involving sexual harassment, violence, drug use and dealing?” She said when interviewed on Radio Waatea (Tuesday 6 July).

Experts suggest tobacco harm reduction approach to reduce smoking

The Sun Daily

TOBACCO harm reduction, a tobacco control strategy that encourages smokers who cannot quit smoking to switch to harm reduced alternatives, is gaining momentum worldwide.

According to a professor at Imperial College London, up to 98 million consumers worldwide have already made the switch to harm reduced alternatives such as vape and snus.

Tobacco Harm Reduction, a Human Rights Issue

Paul Beauregard, Rights 4 Vapers

With the proposed ban on most flavors that the Vaping industry uses in the production of Nicotine E-Liquid and the different levels of Nicotine used to help Smokers switch and quit and to keep current Vapers from relapsing, has Tobacco Harm Reduction and Vaping become a Human Rights issue here in Canada?

The answer is Yes. Removing flavors and limiting Nicotine concentrations will only deter smokers from switching and also cause Vapers to relapse to smoking tobacco, causing major harm.

VAPE A MEDICINE ? THIS BLOWS!

Brian Carlton: The Spoonman ,Triple MMM (Podcast)

Senator Eric Abetz joined Brian Carlton today to discuss his grilling of the Therapeutic Goods Administration during an estimates hearing into vape by prescription. Where can you Vape under the new rules? Spoony has compared it to holding “an AA meeting in a bottle shop”.

What can Health Canada learn about vaping from ASH?

Dr. John’s Blog

Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) produced a report in June 2021 showing how Great Britain is getting vaping right (https://ash.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Use-of-e-cigarettes-vapes-among-adults-in-Great-Britain-2021.pdf).

It is interesting to see how vaping is managed in the country where “Big Tobacco” interferes with health care policy the least. And it shows countries like Canada and the USA that a vape flavour ban is not the way to go.

Proposed ban on vaping flavours will push Canadians back to smoking

traditional cigarettes, admits Health Canada’s own report

DashVapes, Cision

In an unprecedented move, Health Canada is proposing a full federal ban on vaping flavours. The ban would take effect in about 180 days, so likely January 1, 2022.

“Health Canada is pushing smokers back to smoking cigarettes and into the arms of ‘Big Tobacco’,” says Shai Bekman, president of DashVapes Inc., Canada’s largest independently owned e-cigarette company that produces e-cigarettes, an alternative to smoking.

NNA Liverpool 2021

New Nicotine Alliance

Concerns About Youth Vaping Already Well Addressed

Aotearoa Vapers Community Advocacy, Scoop Politics

Media stories about youth vaping are deeply concerning but significant changes have been made in the past year with more coming,” says Nancy Loucas, co-director of the Aotearoa Vapers Community Advocacy (AVCA).

Her comments follow a story on Maori television show, The Hui. It investigated ‘the uptake of vaping amongst rangatahi, which is leading to stand-offs at home and stand-downs at school.’

TWO from Dave Cross, Planet Of The Vapes

Back Vaping Save Lives

The We Vape group is launching its Back Vaping Save Lives campaign on Wednesday night in a free to attend live Zoom event. Speakers will be encouraging vapers to become active and speak up about the benefits of vaping they’ve experienced since sw3itching to electronic cigarettes.

The WVA Says ‘Back Vaping’

The World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA) is has launched a major global campaign titled: “Back Vaping. Beat Smoking.” The WVA’s goal is to shape international public health policies in order to save 200 million lives around the world.

The WHO Risks Being Labelled an “Enemy of Tobacco Harm-Reduction”

Diane Caruana, Vaping Post

Sadly, amongst tobacco harm reduction experts, the WHO has become renowned for becoming aggressively anti-vaping, despite all the scientific data available in favour of e-cigarette use for tobacco harm reduction. CAPHRA Executive Coordinator and AVCA (Aotearoa Vapers Community Advocacy) director Nancy Loucas, has previously highlighted that the health agency’s position against e-cigarettes has been influenced and compromised by vested interests that provide funds to the organisation, as in this case.

How Vape Juice Became an International Industry

Jennifer Ross, The American Reporter

Across the world, tens of millions of people have quit smoking for good with the help of e-cigarettes. Vaping has become so big – so quickly – that it sometimes feels as though it has been around forever. In fact, vaping has become an international phenomenon in the span of just over a decade.

Vaping isn’t just something that’s changed the lives of smokers and been a major boon for public health; it’s also created an industry that now spans the world.

Shellie Villarreal: Officials’ efforts to cap nicotine levels in Utah

will send tobacco users back to cigarettes

Shellie Villarreal, The Salt Lake Tribune

Like those who enjoy their caffeine first thing in the morning, for a pick-me-up in the afternoon or after a good meal, I enjoy nicotine.

For years, I got my nicotine fix from traditional cigarettes. At one point, I was up to a pack a day. But, now, I’ve quit. It took me a while, but I was able to kick a habit that kills thousands of Americans each year. I applaud people who can quit cold turkey. I don’t know any of these people, but I assume they’re out there because plenty of lawmakers think it’s something all smokers should be able to do – to just quit.

Vape shops fear USPS ruling could put them ‘out of business’

Brooks Sutherland, The Blade, Yahoo News

JC Perry and Brad Everett have co-owned a West Toledo vape shop for over eight years.

Their clientele includes a roster of 9,000 customers, and under normal circumstances — before the coronavirus pandemic — they would see around 75 to 100 customers shuffle in and out of their Laskey Road location each day.

But despite their sustained success, which has involved surviving the pandemic and navigating through governmental regulations that have further restricted what specific products can be sold and where they can be marketed, the business owners — like many in their industry — fear they could soon face their biggest threat yet: a ban on shipping vapor products through the United States Postal Service.

On this Day…2017

Prohibitionists Always Lose

Dick Puddlecote

Christ! I have so much to write but so little time to do so. My calendar for the next week looks packed so there may be very little on these pages for a while, but here’s something I can thoroughly recommend.

While in Warsaw at GFN last month, the keynote speaker was Ethan Nadelmann, founder and executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. He has worked for a very long time in the field of harm reduction in relation to illicit drugs so his expertise is very much transferable to the tobacco and nicotine debate.

Vaping Reducing Violence

Mawsley, Planet of the Vapes

A paper published in Lancet Psychiatry claims that banning smoking and only encouraging traditional nicotine replacement therapies has led to a decrease in patients committing physical violence. It also highlights a distinctly odd approach to vaping being taken by the South London and Maudsley (SLaM) National Health Service Foundation Trust.

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

Vapers Digest 7th July

Wednesday’s News at a glance:

Charles Gardner: “Tobacco Harm Reduction needs to emphasize the beneficial effects of nicotine”

Dr. Charles Gardner, Catania Conversation