Vapers Digest 7th July
Monday’s News at a glance:
Parliamentary Matters 4 – Irish Plan Will Cost Lives – When Rigor Collapses: Anatomy of a Flawed Study on Vaping and Toxic Exposure – Why is anyone supporting the UK Tobacco and Vapes Bill? – Wisconsin to ban the sale of vapes – Egger et al. Debunk a Strawman Version of the E-Cigarette Displacement Hypothesis and Fail to Consider Stronger Evidence – Stuff apologises to Action for Smokefree 2025 (ASH) & Ben Youdan – UK stores still stock throwaway vapes despite single-use ban – State capacity isn’t a substitute for bad policy: is Britain ready for tobacco wars?
Two From Dave Cross, Planet of the Vapes
Parliamentary Matters 4
Our final sojourn of the week to the House of Commons sees Transport Committee Chair Ruth Cadbury thinking about preventing children vaping and the problem with rogue traders continuing to sell illicit vape products. Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care Ashley Dalton fielded the questions on behalf of her Department.
Irish Plan Will Cost Lives
An Irish minister’s plan to ‘eradicate’ nicotine pouches will cost lives and condemn women to deadly cigarettes, warn the harm reduction health experts at Smoke Free Sweden. New research from the organisation shows that pouches are a game-changer for female smokers and a ban would be a ‘public health catastrophe’.
When Rigor Collapses: Anatomy of a Flawed Study on Vaping and Toxic Exposure
Claudio Teixeira, Dispatches From the Editor’s Desk
Before it can be dismantled, a scientific falsehood must first appear solid. It must speak the language of graphs, wear the lab coat of authority, and circulate with a passport stamped by indexed journals. That’s how a study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health sought to gain global-alert status: the vapors from disposable e-cigarettes would contain levels of benzene, toluene, and xylene so high they would surpass — by a wide margin — both occupational safety thresholds and those found in traditional cigarette smoke. It sounded grave. It seemed irrefutable.
Why is anyone supporting the UK Tobacco and Vapes Bill?
Clive Bates, The Counterfactual
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill now making its way through Parliament and related measures is a failure of policy-making and public health leadership. The headline anti-smoking measure is a nothing-burger and the anti-vaping measures will do more harm than good.
I provided some comments on the UK Tobacco and Vapes Bill and its signature measure, the Tobacco-Free Generation (TFG), at an Institute of Economic Affairs event. The meeting, Smoke and Mirrors, was held at the IEA on 3rd July 2025. I joined a panel with Sir Robert Buckland and Dr Chris Snowden, with Reem Ibrahim in the Chair.
Wisconsin to ban the sale of vapes
Marisa Ornat, Northern News Now
A new Wisconsin State Law went into effect this week that banned the sale of most vapes. Under the new law, vape shop owners can’t order new vaping products unless they are authorized by the FDA. Vapes are still available to purchase for now, though shops have a deadline of September first to get rid of them or they could face a fine. One manager at a vape and smoke shop estimates the vape products account for about half their business.
Egger et al. Debunk a Strawman Version of the E-Cigarette Displacement Hypothesis and Fail to Consider Stronger Evidence
Arielle Selya, PhD & Lynne Dawkins, PhD, Pubpeer
Egger and colleagues present a commentary on the ‘gateway’ versus ‘displacement’ theories of youth e-cigarette use, attempting to discredit the latter as a “misinterpretation of coinciding trends”. The authors present three hypothetical scenarios (gateway, no effect, and displacement) demonstrating that during a period of rising vaping with a gateway effect, background smoking levels can still decline in absolute terms. The authors conclude that “the mere occurrence of an increasing vaping trend and a decreasing smoking trend does not indicate vaping is displacing smoking, and to conclude this from coinciding trends alone is a misinterpretation of the data”.
Stuff apologises to Action for Smokefree 2025 (ASH) & Ben Youdan
Stuff
On March 26th, the Broadcasting Standards Authority upheld two complaints from Action for Smokefree 2025 (ASH) against ThreeNews for breaching broadcasting standards in two reports aired in July 2024. The reports were produced by Stuff, which also published them on its websites.
The first report, aired on July 26th, alleged links between ASH and the pro-vaping lobby in Australia. The BSA found it breached fairness, balance, and accuracy standards.
A look back at how things have moved on or otherwise…
Astounding Smoking & Vaping Statistics
Brad Rodu, Tobacco Truth
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) just released the full data set from the 2022 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Earlier, the agency published “Early Release of Selected Estimates Based on Data From the 2022 National Health Interview Survey,” a document that reflected the CDC’s propensity to cherry-pick data in order to portray all forms of tobacco as deadly and evil.
FDA Receives Expert Letter
Dave Cross, Planet of the Vapes
A group of 23 academics and experts have written to the US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner, Robert Califf, with proposals for the adoption of an enhanced regulatory approach for vaping. The letter follows up on a “critical Reagan Udall Foundation evaluation”, highlighting the FDA’s “lack of coherent regulatory strategy as a core weakness”.
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