Vapers Digest 8th December

Friday’s News at a glance:

Nearly 1M UK Vapers Will Smoke If Vape Flavours Are Banned! – Be Vape Vigilant – Report Rogue Traders – French Parliament Unanimously Backs Disposable Vapes Ban – British Labour Party Could Adopt Aussie Prescription Plan – GFN24 – Booking Open – Spain Needs To Change Approach – CAPHRA Supports Repeal – Concerns About France Remain – Foundation Splits From Tobacco Funding – Smoore Rejects ‘Child Friendly’ Brands – What is going wrong with Australia’s anti-smoking policy? – Flavored vape bans push youth to cigarettes – Blowing smoke? – Liberals give away deadly hard drugs – Banned in Mexico – Irelands Vaping Restrictions Explained – South Africa’s Vape Law Controversy

Two from EcigClick:

Nearly 1M UK Vapers Will Smoke

If Vape Flavours Are Banned! – Guest Post: Mark Oates

Nearly one million vapers will return to cigarettes if vaping flavours are banned, according to a nationwide poll (links at the bottom of this article).

A sample study showed 21% of the UK’s estimated 4.5million e-cig users were prepared to smoke again if government plans to apply restrictions come into force.

The results come just before the government’s public consultation into creating a smoke-free generation ended on Wednesday (December 6).

Be Vape Vigilant – Report Rogue Traders

The initiative is to call on consumers, vape professionals and the public to report illicit and illegal vape sellers.

Sadly vapes are still getting into the hands of those under 18. All reputable stores will check for ID, but somehow kids are still getting hold of them.

This puts the whole vape industry in a negative light – we have all heard people complaining about “all the kids’ vaping”.

Also in the spotlight are vapes which are either counterfeit or do not comply with TPD regulations – we have covered how to spot this in our guide.

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French Parliament Unanimously …

Backs Disposable Vapes Ban – Kiran Sidhu

On December 4, the French National Assembly voted in favor of banning single-use vapes, known in France as “puffs.” The motion was backed by 104 members of the country’s lower house—with none voting against.

In September, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne described the proposed ban as part of a wider anti-smoking plan. The government would “fight against smoking with, in particular, the prohibition of disposable electronic cigarettes,” she said, “the famous ‘puffs’ which give bad habits to young people.”

“They’re ridiculously cheap, the fruity and sugary flavors are attractive, and their small size makes them easy to hide from parents,”

French National Assembly Passes Disposable Vape Ban

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British Labour Party Could Adopt …

Aussie Prescription Vape Plan – Jim McDonald

The British Labour Party could copy Australia’s prescription-only scheme for vaping products if it wins the next general election. Wes Streeting, the left-leaning minority party’s “shadow health secretary,” admires the policy adopted by Australian Labor Party health minister Mark Butler.

As shadow health secretary, Streeting speaks for the Labour Party on health issues, and is the likely current choice to be appointed health secretary if Labour gains a majority in Parliament.

Six from Dave Cross, Planet of the Vapes:

GFN24 – Booking Open

The Global Forum on Nicotine (GFN) is the leading event for the discussion all things tobacco harm reduction and alternative nicotine products. From the moment GFN23 finished, the organising team began to work on next year’s event and are delighted to announce that the GFN24 website is now open for online registration and ticket booking. The best news is that prices have been capped at 2023 rates.

GFN24 is set to revisit the wonderful city of Warsaw again and the dates for the next conference are 13 – 15 June 2024. The theme for GFN24 will be ‘Economics, Health and Tobacco Harm Reduction’.

Spain Needs To Change Approach

The World Vapers’ Alliance has sent an open letter to the Spanish Ministry of Health and its new head, Mónica García, calling for an anti-smoking approach based on harm reduction and the abandonment of the measures proposed in the last legislature aimed at restricting the use of e-cigarettes.

The draft of the Comprehensive Plan for the Prevention and Control of Smoking 2021-2025 and the Draft Bill on the Tobacco and Other Related Products Market presented during the last legislature included among its measures a ban on flavours and higher taxes on electronic cigarettes, as well as a ban on their use in smoke-free areas and their sale online and in specialised establishments.

CAPHRA Supports Repeal

The Coalition of Asia Pacific Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) has expressed its support for the New Zealand Government’s decision to repeal elements of the Smokefree Environments Act, resulting in a more balanced approach to legislation rather than focussing on bans.

“The decision, part of the NZ First 2023 Coalition Agreement, is seen by CAPHRA as a balanced approach to tobacco control that focuses on harm reduction rather than outright prohibition,” said Nancy Loucas, a public health policy expert and passionate advocate for tobacco harm reduction and executive coordinator of the Coalition of Asia Pacific Harm Reduction Advocates.

Concerns About France Remain

Following the announcement of France’s new National Tobacco Control Program (PNLT) for 2023-2027 by Health Minister Aurélien Rousseau, the World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA) has acknowledged the positive steps towards ending tobacco smoking, however, it expressed its concern over the lack of a comprehensive harm reduction strategy.

Launching the National Tobacco Control Program, Rousseau announced that it contains 5 strong commitments and 26 measures to “fight against a health scourge”.

Foundation Splits From Tobacco Funding

With a new President and Chief Executive Officer at the helm, the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW) has acted to eschew tobacco industry funding and seeks wider cooperation and understanding. The details of the change of position were recently detailed by the Reuters news agency and Clifford E. Douglas broadly welcomes the coverage.

The former Director of the University of Michigan Tobacco Research Network and as Adjunct Professor in the Department of Health Management and Policy at the University of Michigan School of Public Health was recently named as the FSFW’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

Smoore Rejects ‘Child Friendly’ Brands

Smoore, the world’s largest international vaping technology and manufacturing company, which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, has vowed not to work with brands who use flavour names, packaging or product designs “which are attractive to children”. The announcement comes as the government’s consultation on e-cigarettes, which is focused on addressing youth vaping, closes on Wednesday 6 December.

The company, which creates the atomisation (vapourisation) technology that is contained within the vaping devices, wants to rid the industry of flavour names such as ‘cotton candy’, ‘gummy bear’ ‘watermelon bubblegum’ and ‘blueberry popsicle’; as well as stealth products “which could be hidden inside a teenager’s pencil case and product designs which look like toys, soft drinks or cartoon characters.”

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What is going wrong with Australia’s

Anti-smoking policy? – Mark Oates

There is a lot to love about Australia: beautiful scenery, upbeat citizens, even their ashes retaining cricket team deserves our respect, despite the controversy. But it’s fair to say that their anti-smoking policies have all the sophistication of a wild animal at a tea party.

I came across a graph on Twitter that shows that despite Australia’s “no-nonsense” stance towards smoking, they are underperforming compared to the UK, the US, and neighbouring New Zealand when it comes to reducing smoking.

Two from Graham Jaehnig:

Flavored vape bans push youth to cigs

According to a report by Bloomberg Philanthropies, more than five million U.S. high school students are now using e-cigarettes, an increase of 135% from 2017. Vaping, the report asserts, has exploded into a national crisis, and tobacco companies are helping to fuel it by targeting kids with flavors such as gummy bear and cotton candy; 83% of e-cigarette users use the flavored varieties.

The report goes on to say that Protect Kids is a three-year, $160 million program led by Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids to “combat this epidemic and push leaders to act.” The only drawback to the Bloomberg Philanthropies report is — it isn’t science-based.

Blowing smoke?

There are currently eight bills in the Michigan Legislature seeking to further regulate or reduce the use of vaping. Of course, among them is Senate Bill No. 648, which seeks to increase taxes on the sale of “tobacco, other nicotine, and similar products; to regulate and license manufacturers, wholesalers, secondary wholesalers, vending machine operators,” and on and on.

Marc Slis, owner of 906 Vapor, in Houghton, sells vaping products and he has been a longtime advocate for vaping as a successful means of quitting smoking, and he has seen these bills before, with varying language, since they first started making the rounds in 2019.

Liberals give away deadly hard drugs…

While taxing life-saving e-cigarettes – Jesse Kline

I feel like I owe my readers an apology. Not for using a picture of a sexy nurse, or calling your children “wimps,” or insulting the Prophet Muhammad, but for advocating that the federal government legalize electronic cigarettes.

I first wrote about e-cigarettes in January 2012, before most people had heard of them. Back then, there was already a wealth of evidence showing that they were far less harmful than smoking, and many people had used them to kick their tobacco habits.

Banned in Mexico

Physicist Reacts to Draconian Vape Laws | #GFNTVInterviews

Mexico’s ban on nicotine vaping leaves consumers caught in the crossfire. While the “tobacco wars” narrative is obsolete, it continues to cause damage, says physicist and tobacco harm reduction advocate Dr. Roberto Sussman. While the tobacco industry today is no longer the villain it once was, public health campaigners continue to wage war, striking disruptive technologies like nicotine vapes that provide safe and effective alternatives to combustible tobacco.

Irelands Vaping Restrictions Explained

Featuring Garrett McGovern | #GFNNews

With sweeping vaping age-restrictions now in force in Ireland, and flavours and disposables in the spotlight, we ask Garrett McGovern if these new and potential restrictions will negatively impact Ireland’s ongoing goal to reduce smoking rates.

South Africa’s Vape Law Controversy

Vaping Unplugged Podcast | Ep. 36

Today we discuss South Africa’s contentious “Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill”. This episode promises an in-depth analysis of the bill’s controversial measures, including prohibitions on displaying vape products, steep price hikes, and stringent penalties. Our special guest, Kurt Yeo, co-founder of Vaping Saved My Life and a passionate Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) advocate, will share insights on how this bill equates vapes with traditional tobacco, potentially derailing harm reduction efforts.

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On this Day…2022

A look back at how things have moved on or otherwise….

Advocates For Vaping Lay Case….

Ahead Of COP10 – CAPHRA

CAPHRA’s nine member organisations have written to FCTC delegation heads from around the world, and health ministers and leaders, urging them to review the evidence which supports a Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) approach ahead of COP10.

With governments sending delegates to COP10 in November 2023, CAPHRA (Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates) was keen to send leaders comprehensive reference material for their COP10 planning, submission writing, and deliberations.

COP10 will held in Panama and is hosted by the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

Is Teen Vaping A Public Health Crisis?

Lindsey Stroud

Cigarette smoking kills millions of Americans. Fortunately, in recent years, e-cigarettes and vapor products have shaken up the marketplace, leading to significant declines in combustible cigarette use. Yet, lawmakers and regulators are being influenced by billionaires to end the sale of e-cigarettes in America, despite the fact that these products help people quit smoking. One tactic used by anti-vaping activists is to scare parents by declaring that teen vaping is a public health crisis. But is this true?

Youth vaping is declining. Contrary to the headlines, youth vaping peaked in 2019 and has steadily declined in the years since. Between 2019 and 2022, vaping among American youth halved from 5.3 million to 2.55 million. Even better, youth vaping has not led to an increase in smoking rates.

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