A new study suggests that vaping reduces inflammatory biomarkers when to compared to someone who smokes combustible cigarettes. “While vaping inflammatory biomarkers were elevated compared to nonusers, those differences were not statistically significant,” the study’s authors state.
“There was also no significant difference in the elevation of biomarkers between the exclusive smokers and dual smokers – the additive effect of e-cigarettes was low if present at all.”
The research, reported in the journal Circulation, used the U.S. For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) that has been released yearly since 2013.
The dataset is from this first cycle using data of participants’ smoking habits along with blood samples. The researchers looked specifically at metabolites, biomarkers, of inflammation and oxidative stress – the culprits felt to underlie tobacco’s harmful effects. In addition to the usual demographic data, there was specific information on the use or nonuse of tobacco, vaping, and cigarette smoking.
Results reflect findings for adults age 18 or older, where data on biomarkers and tobacco use were available, which was 7130 participants. This included 58.6 percent neither smoked nor used e-cigarettes (nonusers); 29.6 percent smoked exclusively; 1.9 percent vaped exclusively and 9.9 percent smoked and vaped (dual users).
“Exclusive and dual smokers had the highest inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers relative to nonusers,” the researchers note. “Exclusive vapers had ‘significantly lower levels’ except for C-reactive protein (than smokers).”
The research concluded that e-cigarettes appear to have little impact on inflammatory biomarkers, certainly not as great as smoking tobacco. This research “highlight(s) the importance of completely replacing cigarette smoking with e-cigarettes or quitting the use of both products for cigarette smokers to derive potential health benefits,” the report states.
Smokers in New Jersey are now eligible to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, along with other groups that the state considers to be at risk for severe complications from the virus, reports The New York Times. Those groups include those 65 and older and younger people with underlying health problems, including cancer, heart conditions and diabetes.
The announcement came a day after the Trump administration told states to expand eligibility and to quickly use existing vaccine or risk losing future allocations.
New Jersey’s decision to immediately adopt all of the recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for priority vaccination has prompted a backlash because it puts these groups ahead of some essential workers, including teachers.
On Friday, Governor Philip Murphy called criticism that smokers were jumping the line a “cheap shot” and a “false narrative,” noting that the state is hewing closely to CDC guidelines.
The CDC includes smoking on a list of medical conditions that it recommends be prioritized in state vaccination programs because of the higher risk of serious complications from Covid-19. But to date, only one other state, Mississippi, appears to have authorized vaccinations for people younger than 65 based solely on the criterion that they smoke cigarettes.
New Mexico and Texas have made people with other high-risk medical conditions eligible for the vaccine, but not smokers. Alaska, Maine, Massachusetts and North Carolina include smokers, but not until later phases.
As of Friday, New Jersey had administered less than half of the 658,800 doses of vaccine shipped to the state, according to the CDC, a rate that lags behind most other states in the Northeast.
A new bill in the U.S. state of Mississippi aims to add vapor to the state’s 15 percent tobacco tax rules. Senate Bill 2182, authored by Senator David Blount, would define an “electronic smoking device” and add that to the definition of other tobacco products with the additional tax.
Credit: Pieter Van de Sande
“‘Electronic smoking device’ means any device that can be used to deliver aerosolized or vaporized nicotine to the person inhaling from the device, including, but not limited to, an e-cigarette, e-cigar, e-pipe, vape pen or e-hookah,” the bill states. “Electronic smoking device includes any component, part or accessory of such a device, whether or not sold separately, and includes any substance intended to be aerosolized or vaporized during the use of the device. Electronic smoking device does not include any battery or battery charger when sold separately. In addition, electronic smoking device does not include drugs, devices or combination products authorized for sale by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as those terms are defined in the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.”
Current Mississippi law indicates that cigars, cheroots, stogies, snug, chewing and smoking tobacco and all other tobacco products except cigarettes shall be taxed 15 percent of the manufacturer’s list price. This bill would add electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) to that list.
A House bill heard a Montana state house legislative committee last week would limit local control on alternative nicotine and vapor products, retroactively canceling the City of Missoula’s flavored vape ban passed by the Missoula City Council last November.
House Bill 137, sponsored by Rep. Ron Marshall, R-Hamilton, aims to amend the State of Montana’s Youth Access to Tobacco Act by clarifying that alternative nicotine products are separate from tobacco products, according to a story on kpax.com
It would also prevent and stop any regulation on nicotine and vapor products by local governments, health boards and the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services – an agency that attempted to eliminate the sale of flavored e-cigarettes last summer.
“It needs to be addressed,” said Marshall, who was part of a trade association who unsuccessfully sued over former Gov. Steve Bullock’s 120-day flavored e-cigarettes ban as co-owner of Freedom Vapes in Belgrade, Bozeman and Hamilton.
“There’s a lot of holes, and 56 counties in Montana means 56 different sets of rules. Everything should go through the legislative body when it comes to law. It’s just one of those things where everybody needs to be on the same page, and we need to have a clear definition of what these products are.”
Marshall said that HB 137 has been coming for a long time, and with COVID-19, laws restricting alternative nicotine products cause substantial damage to a retailer’s revenue earnings.
“Right now, with the climate out there with COVID and lost jobs and businesses and all that, coming up with another attempt to shut down more business or curtail more business is the wrong answer,” Marshall said. “You’re not only doing that, but you’re also taking away revenue. And that’s revenue that not only goes to the cities and counties, but to the state. Let’s back up and look at the big picture.”
When the Missoula City Council was discussing its flavored vape ban, City Attorney Jim Nugent said it would likely face a lawsuit as it was written at the time. Council members made changes to the ordinance to strengthen it against any legal challenge.
The city’s flavored vape ban will go into effect on Jan. 25, and Missoula County may use its extraterritorial powers to extend the ordinance five miles beyond city limits.
Nugent said the city hasn’t faced a lawsuit regarding the ordinance, and with the final section of HB 137 stating that the bill would apply retroactively, the city likely won’t face a lawsuit. Nugent said the retroactive portion of the bill is aimed at Missoula.
“Instead of a lawsuit, it is now being challenged through the Legislature,” Nugent said.
Councilmember Gwen Jones, one of the five sponsors of the ordinance, said in a statement to the Missoula Current that she hopes the legislature lets the ordinance stand.
A tobacco flavor ban that includes vaping products has cost the state of Massachusetts nearly $75 billion in taxes. According to a study by the New England Convenience Store and Energy Marketers Association (NECSEMA), excise tax lost income in Massachusetts from selling fewer menthol cigarettes alone amounted to $62 million in the first six months of the ban. No specific figures were given for electronic nicotine delivery systems in the release.
Credit: Ruben Bagues
That loss also simply transferred to Massachusetts’ neighboring states. Cigarettes excise tax stamp sales dropped 23.9 percent in Massachusetts while New Hampshire gained $28,574,340 or 29.7 percent. Rhode Island gained $12,100,000 or 18.2 percent in excise taxes.
The estimated Massachusetts loss including the sales tax is $73,008,000 while Rhode Island saw a gain of $14,066,740.
“With every month that passes, the state’s ban on flavored tobacco becomes increasingly absurd,” said Jonathan Shaer, executive director of NECSEMA. “All anyone needs to do is look at the excise tax stamp numbers from June through November to understand how ineffective and ridiculous this ban is. Rhode Island and New Hampshire have combined to sell 18.9 million more stamps than they did over the same period in 2019 while Massachusetts has sold 17.7 million fewer. Indisputably, menthol cigarettes are purchased in neighboring states and then brought back into Massachusetts for personal consumption or illicit market sales.”
NECSEMA opposed the flavored tobacco ban in 2019 when it was first presented, and continues to monitor sales data to demonstrate the failure of the law and the wrongful impact to its members. The association represents both chain and independent convenience store owners, including many in urban communities that NECSEMA states are being disproportionately affected by the flavor ban ban.
According to the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), there are 3,360 convenience stores in Massachusetts with 54,000-plus employees accounting for $17 billion in sales annually. Over 89 percent of legal cigarette sales occurring at convenience stores.
“I challenge anyone to demonstrate how this ban has been effective,” Shaer said. “New Hampshire and Rhode Island imports have replaced sales once made in Massachusetts by licensed retailers. In fact, the latest data shows an uptick in cigarette sales when you combine the increases for non-flavored cigarettes in Massachusetts with total cigarette sales gains in New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Massachusetts small businesses have lost, the Massachusetts budget has lost, public health has lost, and youth who this law was allegedly intended to protect have lost since prevention revenue has greatly diminished.”
The Blinc Group has successfully raised a $1.5 million in bridge funding until its next round of funding, Series A. The financing of was led by Equitas Partners Fund, WGD Capital, LP, and 7thirty Capital.
Credit: Pasja1000
“The Blinc Group puts quality and safety at the forefront of its vape technology and since day one, that dedication to the highest standards has brought us the endorsement of institutional investors focused on the cannabis industry,” said Arnaud Dumas de Rauly, CEO and co-founder of the Blinc Group. “Our team navigated 2019’s vape crisis helping set standards and advise regulators on testing and compliance, and last year the company saw our best quarter yet amid the COVID-19 pandemic as the industry learned the benefits of safety and traceability. We have shown that we are a resilient company that puts consumers first, which has made all the difference.”
In 2020, Blinc Group, a regulatory-focused designer and provider of premium, customized and bespoke vaporizer technologies, more than tripled its orders with over 330 percent YOY growth, showcasing the technology company’s ability to scale and flourish in a difficult regulatory landscape, according to a press release.
Dumas de Rauly attributes much of the company’s success to the emphasis it placed on safety, compliance throughout the vape crisis of 2019 and the Coronavirus pandemic. The company has serves clients around the globe including Canadian heavyweights because of its unique ability to meet Health Canada’s rigorous standards.
Arnaud Dumas de Rauly
“We began underwriting our initial investment in Blinc near the onset of the so-called vape crisis in 2019 and it became quickly apparent that the team’s experience within the vape technology space and its focus on quality, traceability and customer service would see them through and enable them to emerge as a market leader,” said Andi Goldman, Managing Member and co-founder of the Equitas Partners Fund. “While others turned more attention towards safer vaping products after the crisis, safety had always been a major pillar of Blinc’s products and part of its DNA, which attracted us as investors and gave us confidence that they would be able to substantially expand their business into Canada and elsewhere.”
The Blinc Group has also stayed ahead of the industry in part due to its strong ties in Shenzhen, China, and employing a manufacturing line dedicated to their products, which helped eliminate hiccups in the supply chain, according to the release. The Company’s China-based team is the backbone of Blinc’s “Powered By Blinc” offering, a certified product manufactured to the highest international standards of safety and compliance with complete quality control and full traceability of the product, process, and each sub-component across the entire supply chain.
“We have watched the Blinc team over the past few years as they have grown their business and dedicated their focus to safety and traceablity within the vape hardware sector. Blinc’s reputation for putting these important factors first has secured customer wins with some of the leading cannabis operators in North America”, said Michael Mitgang, managing director and Co- Founder of the WGD Opportunity Fund.
Proceeds from this financing will go towards expanding Blinc’s sales team, opening an office in Toronto, as well as expanding the team in Shenzhen, and the research and development of new innovative materials and vape technologies.
“The vape category is one of the primary revenue drivers in every market and satisfies the demands of some of the most committed cannabis consumers. Providing high-quality products is a must for any brand looking to win and retain loyal shoppers,” said 7thirty’s director of Research, Ben Richardson “The Blinc Group’s focus on vape safety and compliance, in addition to CEO Arnaud Dumas de Rauly’s leadership roles with International and European committees on vaping products, position the Company as a leading voice in this fast-growing category.”
In 2020, The Blinc Group worked closely with Colorado’s Science & Policy Committee on the adoption of new testing standards for the emissions from vape devices. This kind of work is just one example of the dedication that the Blinc Group team puts on aligning the cannabis industry with best practices for the safest products possible.
The Blinc Group also received additional funding from the Arcview Collective Fund and the Panther Opportunity Fund.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has sent its first set of warnings letters to manufacturers of electronic nicotine delivery devices (ENDS) that did not submit premarket tobacco product applications (PMTA) by the Sept. 9 deadline.
On Jan. 15, the agency issued warning letters to 10 firms who manufacture and operate websites selling ENDS products, specifically e-liquids, advising them that selling these products, which lack premarket authorization, is illegal, and therefore they cannot be sold or distributed in the U.S.
Per court order, applications for premarket review for certain deemed new tobacco products on the market as of Aug. 8, 2016—including e-liquids—were required to be submitted to the FDA by Sept. 9, 2020. For companies that submitted applications by that deadline, the FDA generally intends to continue to defer enforcement for up to one year pending FDA review, unless there is a negative action taken by the FDA on the application.
The FDA plans to post a list of products for which the agency has received applications; however, before making such a list available, the FDA is verifying certain information about these products so that publication of a list complies with federal disclosure laws.
Stephen Hahn
“The premarket application process ensures that new tobacco products, including many already on the market, will undergo a robust scientific evaluation by the FDA,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn in a statement. “Scientific review of new products is a critical part of how we carry out our mission to protect the public—especially kids—from the harms associated with tobacco use. In addition to the important premarket scientific review, prioritizing enforcement against those who violate the law by selling unauthorized products is how we help protect public health.”
The 10 firms receiving warning letters are Little House Vapes; Castle Rock Vapor; Dropsmoke; Perfection Vapes; CLS Trading; Session Supply Co.; Coastal E-Liquid Laboratory/GC Vapors; Dr. Crimmy; CMM Capital LLC; and E-Cig Barn.
Mitch Zeller
“These warning letters are the result of continued surveillance and internet monitoring for violations of tobacco laws and regulations,” said Mitch Zeller, director of FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. “We want to make clear to all tobacco product manufacturers and retailers that the FDA is keeping a close watch on the marketplace and will hold companies accountable for breaking the law.”
The FDA has requested responses from each firm within 15 working days of receiving the letter detailing how each company intends to address the agency’s concerns.
The Smoke-Free Alternatives Trade Association (SFATA) announce the results of its recent elections. In a press release, the vapor industry organization said Robert Arnold (Saffire Vapor) will return as board treasurer. Also returning are board president and CEO April L. Meyers (Northeast Vapor Supplies), board vice president Dave Morris (Vape Gravy) and acting board secretary Lindsey Stroud (Taxpayers Protection Alliance).
New to the board this year are Taylor Cage (Trace/Verify) and Shaun Casey (FlavourArt, N.A).
“Our Board of Directors is comprised of a diverse team of leaders committed to providing strength, longevity, and stability to the vapor business community,” said Meyers. “We are excited to channel Taylor and Shaun’s skills, expertise, and energy into furthering SFATA’s mission. We are delighted they are participating at SFATA’s board level.”
Cage and Casey join SFATA as the association readies to roll-out the Trace/Verify segment of its flagship Responsible Industry Network (RIN) Program. The program’s goals are keeping its member businesses viable and flavored vapor products in the hands of adult consumers, according to the release.
Now seated, the 2021 SFATA Board will begin its work, planning strategy alongside Executive Director, Mark Anton. The board will decide on the association’s annual budget and select its officers during a two-day meeting before March.
A recently proposed ban on vaping flavors in the Netherlands will endanger public health, according to the Independent European Vape Alliance (IEVA).
Around 65 percent of adult vapers in Europe use fruit or sweet liquids. According to the IEVA, the variety of flavors is one of the most important reasons for smokers to switch to e-cigarettes and for vapers not to go back to smoking.
Ignoring this fact, the Dutch State Secretary Paul Blokhuis announced a ban on all e-cigarette flavours except tobacco flavors in the Netherlands, to discourage youth smoking.
“This measure risks very negative consequences for public health and tobacco harm reduction,” the IEVA wrote in a statement. “With only tobacco flavors left, vapers’ threshold to relapse on tobacco smoking dangerously lowers.”
A public consultation on the plan will run until Jan.19, 2021. The vast majority of the comments so far come from vapers and scientists who reject the government’s plan.
According to the IEVA, the Dutch plan ignores important facts:
The number of young people in the Netherlands who have ever tried e-cigarettes has decreased by a quarter in the past five years.
Only 0.2 percent of 14-16 olds in the Netherlands vaped regularly in 2019.
8 percent of all Dutch users of e-cigarettes come from smoking.
“Removing flavours will not affect the rates of youth cigarette use,” said Riccardo Polosa, professor of internal medicine and specialist of respiratory diseases and clinical immunology at the University of Catania. “But, it will certainly reduce the number of options available for those adults who seek to quit smoking for good and find flavoured e-cigs effective.”
The IEVA also expressed concern about the impact of the Dutch flavor ban on the debate at the Conference of the Parties to the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which is scheduled to take place in November in The Hague.
“Implementing the ban on flavorings could have negative effects on the conference,” cautioned IEVA Chairman Dustin Dahlmann. “Rather, COP9 should pay attention to the topic of harm reduction through e-cigarettes, so that the number of smokers worldwide could be significantly reduced”
“Flavour is not a gateway to youth uptake of smoking. No evidence substantiates the association between vaping flavours and subsequent smoking initiation. We call on the Dutch government to drop this plan. There are no winners in a flavor ban, only losers.”
A former employee of the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World claims she was fired for raising concerns about the organization’s ties to the tobacco industry, reports Bloomberg Law.
Lourdes Liz, who worked at the Foundation as social media director from February 2018 until February 2020, says she was terminated after objecting to activities “designed to increase the profits of and to do the bidding of Philip Morris International and Altria Group.”
Liz maintains that the group’s close ties to the tobacco industry violate its status as an independent nonprofit organization.
The Foundation, which has received millions of dollars in funding from PMI, has met fierce opposition from health groups. Shortly after its creation in 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) said it would not interact with it, citing a fundamental conflict of interest between the tobacco industry and public health.
The Foundation is led by Derek Yach, an anti-smoking crusader who, while working at the WHO, was the primary architect of that agency’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
