Vaping Digest May 29th

Wednesday’s News at a glance:

Do the properties of cinnamon change when it is present in e-cigarette liquids? ~ Misleading claims that vaping causes heart disease…again ~ Busting myths about smoking ~ FDA Admits No Causality Between Vaping And Seizures ~ Shereef Don’t Like It ~ Influencer Ban Campaign ~ Celebrity Doctor Endorses Vaping ~ A failure to understand the vaping subculture could explain the rise in regulations ~ Tobacco stocks tumble as cigarette sales decline

Do the properties of cinnamon change when it is present in e-cigarette liquids?

The pro-inflammatory/oxidative and anti-inflammatory/anti-oxidant properties of cinnamaldehyde

Dr Farsalinos, E-cigarette Research

A new study published in the well-known Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC) identified that e-cigarette flavorings, particularly cinnamon, can be toxic to the heart by having oxidative and pro-inflammatory properties. Researchers used human-induced pluripotent stem cell–derived endothelial cells (iPSC-ECs) which were exposed to six commercially-available e-cigarette liquids (which were not vaped, they were used in liquid form).

Misleading claims that vaping causes heart disease…again

Australian Tobacco Harm Reduction Association

Recent news stories in the Australian media (here and here and here) have breathlessly reported claims that vaping may cause heart disease based on a small cell study in the US. However, these claims are misleading and unsubstantiated and are likely to do more public health harm than good.

Busting myths about smoking

Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos, The Pioneer

It is ironic for e-cigarettes and harm reduction products to be banned while legal sales of tobacco cigarettes continue. The alternative can impact public health positively

India has a major problem with tobacco. It is the second largest consumer of tobacco with over one in 10 of the world’s smokers and incurs a staggering economic burden of approximately $26 billion per annum. As per a report by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, the total economic costs attributable to tobacco usage related diseases in India, in the year 2011 for people aged between 35-69, was  Rs 1,04,500 crore (around $22.4 billion). The  tobacco epidemic has indeed reached alarming levels. As per latest estimates, there are nearly  106 million people in India who smoke tobacco and 32 million who smoke as well as chew it.

FDA Admits No Causality Between Vaping And Seizures

Ashleigh Smith, SoupWire

At the beginning of April, many news organizations, including Soupwire, covered an alarming announcement from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about a potential link between vaping and seizures.

Specifically, of the 10.8 million adults who currently use e-cigarettes, the FDA had received reports of 35 cases of seizures between 2010 and 2019, or approximately 4 per year of consumers who had experienced seizures either during or up to 24 hours after vaping.

Two From Dave Cross, Planet Of The Vapes

Shereef Don’t Like It

Needle exchange programs and other forms of harm reduction are fine, but Shereef Elnahal ‘don’t like it’ when it comes to tobacco harm reduction – and has sought out a clash with vaping advocates. The 21st Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health steps down at the end of June to become the president/CEO of University Hospital in Newark.

This one is for @JeromeAdamsMD.

This is what educating our kids looks like. pic.twitter.com/vLIB7KgZ3S

— Logan Exhales (@Logan_Exhales) May 28, 2019

Celebrity Doctor Endorses Vaping

Jeff Hawkins, SoupWire

The latest vaping vindication was confirmed by a television doctor.

What the doctor says must be true. E-cigarettes have to be less risky than traditional cigarettes, right? I mean it was on TV!

The medical community still has its doubts, however. It probably will continue to find excuses not to fully endorse vaping as a safety net for smokers attempting to quit, despite Public Health England crediting vaping for helping 20,000 individuals to quit smoking each year, according to forbes.com.

A failure to understand the vaping subculture could explain the rise in regulations

Michael McGrady, Vaping Post

Have you ever wondered if one of the lawmakers restricting e-cigarettes took the time to understand the product they are regulating? Have regulators ever understood the culture surrounding vaping?

One of the critical reasons that regulatory trends persist is due to this misunderstanding of the vaping industry.

If we are honest, the answer to both of those questions is probably “no.” The likelihood of acting FDA commissioner Ned Sharpless making a public address about DIY mixing or unregulated mods is minimal. Lawmakers, like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, are not going to chat with stakeholders about the industry’s most popular flavors

Tobacco stocks tumble as cigarette sales decline

Angelica LaVito, CNBC

Tobacco stocks slid Tuesday after new Nielsen data showed cigarette sales declined sharply in the past month.

Sales volume, defined by the number of packs of cigarettes sold, fell 11.2% in the four-week period ended May 18, according to Nielsen. Total sales declined 6.9% to $59.27 billion and have now dropped for 18 consecutive months, according to Cowen analyst Vivien Azer.

On this Day…2015

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

Cell studies on e-cigarettes:

Don’t waste your time reading (at least most of) them

I have repeatedly mentioned that there is no need for vapers to waste your time and brain activity reading cell studies. In the majority of cases, the protocols and experimental procedures are irrelevant to human effects. However, over the past few days I have been repeatedly contacted by vapers asking me to comment on a new study published by the American Journal of Physiology: Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology. The study has an equally to the journal impressive title: “Endothelial disruptive pro-inflammatory effects of nicotine and e-cigarette vapor exposures”.

The safe use of flavorings in e-cigarettes

E-cigarettes and other vaping products contain a nicotine-based liquid that is vapourised and inhaled. There is no combustion so the user inhales vapour, not smoke. This means that e-cigarettes deliver nicotine without smoke toxicants. However, some in the public health community still have expressed concerns over the potential health impacts of flavourings used in e-cigarettes….

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