A new mouthpiece for vaping products is the first physician-backed germ-preventing accessory and filter designed to fit e-cigarettes for a safer vaping experience. The device also works with leaf marijuana rolls and THC vape pens.
Moose Labs, a product innovation company for the cannabis industry, launched the MouthPeace Mini, a smaller, slimmer version of the original MouthPeace, a patented personal-use silicone mouthpiece designed in 2014 to create a physical barrier between a cannabis users’ mouth and their pipe.
“Since the onset of Covid-19, we’ve seen a huge spike in demand for the MouthPeace and Filter, with a 9000 percent increase in orders over last year. Just as people wear masks to protect themselves and their friends, they’re seeking ways to enjoy joints and vapes safely,” said MouthPeace co-founder Jay Rush. “We created the MouthPeace Mini and Filter to provide medical and recreational users of cannabis and hemp with a personal, comfortable, and discreet way to share smaller smoking devices without sharing germs or inhaling unnecessary contaminants.”
The Mouthpiece Mini is constructed of high-quality platinum-cured silicone. The Filters, designed to fit snugly inside the MouthPeace, use activated carbon and triple layer filtration to remove resins, contaminants and tar from each inhale while allowing smaller molecules like THC and CBD to pass through, according to a press release.
Marijuana legalization is on the ballot in five U.S. states on Nov.3, four of which are for recreational use. The financial crisis cause by the Covid-19 pandemic and potential to bring in more taxes are the motivation for the measures.
In less than 2 weeks, voters will decide on whether to legalize recreational marijuana in Arizona, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota. Mississippi will also consider a pair of ballot initiatives to legalize medical marijuana.
Despite COVID-19 risks, advocates managed to collect more than 661,000 signatures in four of those states in the 2020 election cycle to put the questions on the ballot, according to rollcall.com. Some began before the pandemic hit, while advocates with later deadlines added protective steps like using individual plastic-wrapped pens.
In recent years, 11 states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuana for adults 21 years old or older, while 33 states plus the District have legalized medical marijuana for some patients.
If successful, as is likely in all the states this year except possibly Mississippi, the new legalization efforts could altogether bring in hundreds of millions in tax revenue, which could help blunt the impact of states’ plummeting revenue due to the economic collapse, according to rollcall.com.
Matthew Schweich, deputy director at the Marijuana Policy Project, said many supporters were already swayed by the revenue marijuana taxes bring in. The dire budget conditions of many states could increasingly become a strong argument in favor of legalization.
“Voters are aware of the fiscal pain that’s already here or coming down the road. I believe they’re seeing marijuana revenue as part of the solution,” he said.
A recent study has found that smokers with COPD who switched to vaping ameliorate some harm associated with smoking and benefits persist long term. “COPD smokers who switched to e-cigarettes: health outcomes at 5-year follow up,” states that the significant reductions in toxic exposures from substituting electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) for combustible cigarette consumption is expected to bring about substantial health gains.
“[ENDS] as a THR strategy may save more lives more swiftly than possible previously,” wrote researchers. ““However, the odds of completely abstaining from conventional cigarettes for [ENDS] users are variable. Most studies suggesting low quit rates for [ENDS] have investigated earlier poor quality vaping products with inadequate nicotine delivery profile. On the contrary, more recent (and better designed) randomised controlled trials (RCTs) using high-quality vaping products are now showing remarkable quit rates – even compared with NRTs.”
Of the survey’s 1190 participants, 75.7 percent stated that they had benefits in respiratory symptoms after switching and less than 1 percent reported a worsening of systems. Additionally, the study found a marked reduction in yearly exacerbations of COPD and overall health improvements. A 3-year follow-up confirmed that these improvements persisted long term.
The Canadian Vaping Association (CVA) says it believes the medical community must review these types of studies to better understand vaping as harm reduction and educate their patients on the true relative risk of vapour products.
“Over the last several years, the medical community has stated that the risks of vaping were largely unknown,” said Darryl Tempest, Executive Director of the CVA. “Fortunately, this is no longer the case. There is now a body of research to support vaping as less harmful than smoking and more effective than nicotine replacement therapy products. The CVA urges health professionals to review the science and encourage patients to reduce their harm through vaping.”
The Michigan Governor’s administration is working on another statewide ban on flavored nicotine vaping products without legislative approval after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s first emergency order was struck down by courts.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) held a virtual public hearing on Tuesday to solicit public comments on its proposal to permanently ban the sale and distribution of flavored nicotine vaping products. MDHHS is accepting comments until Friday.
The hearing is the first step required to impose a ban, which state officials support to crack down on the rise in youth vaping, according to the Metro Times.
“MDHHS is proceeding with permanent administrative rules preventing the sale and advertisement of flavored nicotine vapor products in the state to protect the health and safety of Michiganders, particularly our youngest residents,” MDHHS spokeswoman Lynn Sutfin tells Metro Times. “The explosive and unprecedented rise in youth vaping continues to be a public health emergency and a nationwide epidemic.”
Whitmer issued an executive order to ban flavored Michigan in September 2019, becoming the first state to ban flavored nicotine vaping products. But a Michigan Court of Claims judge issued an injunction requested by vape shop owners, who argued Whitmer overstepped her authority by imposing a ban without the approval of state lawmakers. The Michigan Supreme Court last month denied the state’s request to reconsider the lower court’s ruling.
The Indonesian government is reporting it has seized 1,240 boxes of vaping devices and e-liquid worth about RM124,000 ($29,890). The products are believed to have been in the process of being smuggled to a neighbouring country. The products were discovered hidden on the banks of Sungai Golok by the 9th Battalion of the General Operations Force (PGA9).
It is believed that the items were just waiting for the right time to be smuggled before they were confiscated, according to the star.com. PGA9 commanding officer Supt Nor Azizan Yusof said the seizure was carried out by a team patrolling the border during Ops Benteng.
He said while inspecting the Kak Yah illegal base near Kuala Jambu, Tumpat, at about 6.30pm on Thursday, the team found three packages left on the riverbank. “The team observed for 15 minutes but no one came to claim them. All the packages were taken to PGA headquarters in Kuala Jambu for further inspection, ” he said yesterday. All the items will be handed over to the Customs Department.
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to strongly enforce its own regulations “to protect kids from addictive e-cigarettes” by publishing a list of products that submitted premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs). The Illinois senator wants to remove products that did not submit PMTAs from store shelves.
“After years of delayed regulatory oversight, which fueled the explosion in youth e-cigarette use, FDA finally required e-cigarette PMTAs to be submitted for review on September 9. It has now been more than one month, and the agency has yet to publish a comprehensive list of products that submitted applications,” according to a press release.
Durbin said he was concerned that the delay to publish the list of products that have submitted applications will allow products that remain out of compliance and illegally on the market to proliferate.
“In order to protect public health and uphold the duty to enforce against products on the market that are out of compliance, I urge FDA to immediately publish a comprehensive product listing of all relevant e-cigarette applications received by FDA. While I appreciate the sheer volume of applications submitted to FDA, and the agency’s intention to prioritize review of those with the greatest market share and public health impact, we know from recent years that youth shift patterns of e-cigarette use based upon what products are available to them,” Durbin wrote in a letter to FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn.
Vapor and e-cigarette products can remain on the market while the FDA determines whether to approve or reject PMTA applications. The agency has up to one year to make these determinations.
USA Vape Lab, one of the largest e-liquid manufacturers in the world, announced that it received its filing letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The filing letter acknowledges that the company’s premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) for their Naked 100 products are sufficiently complete, advancing the brand’s application forward to the substantive review phase.
During the substantive review phase, the FDA evaluates the scientific studies and data presented in the applications submitted to ensure that the products are appropriate for the protection of the public health (APPH).
“We are excited to be advancing further through the PMTA process. Our team has dedicated time and resources to ensure we have the data, research, and necessary components needed for our applications,” said Huy Nguyen, CEO of USA Vape Lab. “We are optimistic that our applications will continue to advance and result in the FDA granting USA Vape Lab with marketing orders.”
The company says it continues to maintain the highest standards of regulatory compliance and is committed to working with the FDA as its applications undergo review.
Missoula City Council in Montana proposed a ban on flavored vapor products at a public hearing on Monday. The proposed legislative action garnered more support for the ban than opposition.
Supporters included teachers, pediatricians, dentists and parents, according to an article on nbcmontana.com. “Montana communities need to take action, because our state and federal government have not stepped up to protect kids from being targeted by these addictive and dangerous products,” said Beth Morrison, a volunteer with Parents Against Vaping in Montana.
Supporters of the ban argue the candy-like appearance of vape product packaging attracts kids and hooks them on nicotine long-term. Many local businesses expressed opposition to the ban, saying it would deeply affect business and employment.
“We know that if we just remove the tobacco products at the three Noon’s stores in town, we are going to have to furlough three to five employees, because our labor budgets are based on a budget of total sales,” said John Monahan, sales manager at Noon’s, the story states.
Shops that specialize in vape and e-cigarettes said they would have to shut down completely.
“76 percent of our juice sales at Liberty Vapor are flavored juices sold to adults. If the ordinance was enacted, it would put us out of business,” said Tommie Dobbs, co-owner of Liberty Vapor. “We don’t have the extra things that we sell in our store. We don’t have the potato chips, the soda, the gas, we don’t have any revenue from those types of things that gas stations do.”
There are more than five vaporizer stores within Missoula city limits that specialize in selling vaping products and e-cigarettes.
Store owners argue that underage kids who get ahold of tobacco products usually get it from someone who purchased it legally or they get it online. They say whether a ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products passes, kids are still going to get ahold of it with those methods.
The City Council will talk about the vaping ban again during Wednesday’s committee meeting.
Public comment can be left on the Council’s voicemail at 406-552-6012 or an email can be sent to the Council at council@ci.missoula.mt.us.
Baltimore City Council wants to place a tax on e-cigarettes as a way to boost revenue as the coronavirus pandemic continues to devastate the city’s economy.
Council President Brandon Scott introduced a bill Monday night to establish a 30 percent excise tax on the distribution of electronic smoking devices, including e-cigarettes, e-hookahs and vape pens. He says the move would also discourage smoking, according to an article in The Baltimore Sun.
“We have to be sure we are treating these kinds of devices like we treat regular cigarettes,” said Scott, who is the Democratic nominee for mayor.
Scott said it’s essential to look for new revenue streams. The pandemic has hammered Baltimore’s economy, forcing the city to withdraw up to $25 million from its Rainy Day Fund.
Baltimore County to join other Maryland counties suing e-cigarette maker » The finance department will perform an analysis to determine how much the tax could bring in.
The council’s taxation and finance committee, chaired by Councilwoman Sharon Green Middleton, will consider the bill.
The axing of Public Health England could have a lasting negative impact on public health.
By George Gay
Reading through the U.K. Vaping Industry Association’s (UKVIA) Aug. 28 statement on “the transferal of responsibilities from Public Health England [PHE] and the future of harm reduction,” I was reminded why the UKVIA has been successful in advancing the interests of vaping and, in doing so, encouraging smokers to switch to a less risky form of nicotine consumption.
In the face of a move by the U.K. government that conceivably could cause a significant setback to vaping, the association refused to engage with the negative. It did what it had to do; it accentuated the positive by performing a well-choreographed verbal sword dance while mentioning only in passing that the blades on the floor could deprive it of a few toes and perhaps much else.
The UKVIA statement was in response to an announcement by the government that, at the end of March, it was to axe Public Health England, an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care, and transfer some of its responsibilities, but not its smoking prevention and some other obligations, to a new organization, the National Institute for Health Protection (NIHP). PHE has for a long time supported the use of vaping as a method of helping smokers quit their tobacco habit, and its declarations that vaping is at least 95 percent less risky than is smoking have been widely and confidently quoted in recent years; so the government’s announcement was a significant and potentially negative development.
The UKVIA acknowledged this risk in passing but concentrated on encouraging the government to ensure that the transition of responsibilities from the PHE to other agencies was as smooth as possible. It began its statement, issued under the name of its director, John Dunne, by saying it would like to place on record its thanks for PHE’s considerable contribution to harm reduction and smoking cessation in recent years.
“The independent and progressive stance taken by PHE has undoubtedly improved the health of the nation and saved lives,” it said. “In particular, PHE’s support of vaping as a vital harm reduction tool ensures an admirable legacy of falling smoking rates in the U.K., with all of the associated benefits to public health and the NHS [National Health Service]. PHE’s evidence-based approach provided many adult smokers with the reassurance they needed to explore the full range of smoking cessation options available to them.”
Deflecting attention
Let’s halt the statement there for a moment because I’m sure that a lot of readers will be wondering why PHE is being axed when it has done such a good job. Well, as is mentioned above, PHE’s responsibilities go beyond smoking prevention, and part of its remit has required it, along with other agencies, to engage in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting Covid-19 disease outbreak. And since the U.K. government has proved to be scarily incompetent in the face of the coronavirus pandemic but a dab hand at shifting the blame for its incompetence onto others, PHE, one of the more publicly recognizable health agencies, was always going to be at risk.
On Aug. 28, The Guardian, in a leader column, described the decision to abolish PHE during a pandemic as reckless, adding that it was part of the government’s strategy of casting about for scapegoats for its failings during the pandemic. The leader was headed: “[Prime Minister Boris] Johnson’s donkeys have failed the frontline workers they lionized.”
The Guardian wasn’t alone in condemning the government’s action. On Sept. 2, a piece by the newspaper’s health policy editor, Denis Campbell, described how Britain’s doctors and public health experts had warned the prime minister that the abolition of PHE would damage the fight against obesity, smoking and alcohol misuse. “More than 70 health organizations have written to Boris Johnson outlining their fears about last month’s controversial decision to axe PHE, which prompted claims it was an attempt by ministers to deflect attention from their own failings over the coronavirus crisis,” Campbell wrote.
Rearranging the deck chairs
There was no way that the UKVIA was going to be drawn into this dispute and, in its statement, it merely noted that many of PHE’s responsibilities would be overseen by the newly formed NIHP, “which will take a lead role in safeguarding the U.K. from novel health risks.
“The UKVIA completely acknowledges the need for new ways of working in combatting modern challenges and supports the government’s prioritization of public health,” the association said.
“It is further reassuring that Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock confirmed his ongoing commitment to health improvement while announcing the NIHP’s formation. This is a commitment which the UKVIA shares and thoroughly supports.”
You can see the UKVIA’s point. I mean, we are where we are, and there is little point in trying to reason a government with an 80-seat majority out of a position into which it seems not to have reasoned itself. But there is no reason not to have a parting shot, and I think the Liberal Democrats’ health spokesperson, Munira Wilson, had the situation nailed when, according to Campbell’s piece, she said: “Now is not the time to rearrange the deck chairs.”
One of the dangers as I see it is that the government made its decision to axe PHE without having thought through what should happen to all of PHE’s responsibilities, including its role in preventing smoking. In other words, it was rearranging the deck chairs without any idea of where to put many of them; so the worry must be that some will wind up overboard as jetsam.
And it was clear that the UKVIA too was concerned about this aspect of the government-announced changes. “To protect the many successes of vaping in U.K. public health, as well as empowering further positive change in the future, it is vital that this progressive, evidence-based culture continues,” the association’s statement said. “Whenever responsibilities are transferred, there is a risk that invaluable institutional knowledge and memory is lost. This would be to the detriment of the U.K.’s millions of smokers and vapers and cannot be allowed to happen in this case.
“The UKVIA therefore calls upon the custodians of PHE’s former responsibilities, in the event that they are indeed reallocated, to continue their positive approach towards harm-reduction technologies. Independent reviews, studies and statements, all focused on facts rather than hearsay, have been a cornerstone of a successful British vaping industry which supports adult consumers to make a positive change for their health.
“The UKVIA will continue to do its utmost to ensure that adult smokers and vapers have access to the high-quality products they need as well as the reliable information and advice needed to empower their choices. Assistance in this regard from public health bodies is vital to ensuring that the positive potential of vaping is not squandered in the U.K. We look forward to engaging constructively with all public health partners.”
Hoping for the best
I have no idea how this will pan out because there is much going on in the U.K. at the moment that will impinge on health issues. The U.K. government is in the process of breaking—I use the word with care—its final bonds with the EU and trying to sell off the last of the family silver—the NHS—to the highest bidders as part of a trade deal with the U.S., though it remains to be seen whether any nation will want to sign a deal with a country that, as this piece was being written, was openly talking about breaking international law so as to renege on part of the Brexit withdrawal agreement signed by Johnson in January with the EU.
In part of his story, Campbell quoted Wilson as describing the axing of the PHE as “nonsensical.” She is right of course, but only if you assume that the aim of the government is to improve public health, and nothing I have observed in the actions of the government would lead me to believe that it is particularly interested in such munificence. I would guess that if the work of the PHE in supporting vaping and, therefore, smoking reduction, is continued, it will be down to luck, not to the deliberate actions of the government.
Whatever happens, all is not lost in the U.K. vaping sector. The UKVIA is used to navigating the choppy waters of vaping rules and regulations. In March, it wrote to the government asking that specialist vape shops be allowed to stay open during the coronavirus lockdown and requesting support for the industry during and after the crisis was over. It made the point that because such shops had bucked the trend of high-street attrition, and because they provided much-needed specialist advice, they were the source of economic and health benefits to the communities they served.
The UKVIA won the backing of Sir Kevin Barron, former MP and honorary fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, and further argued that closing vape stores would be a potentially counterproductive move that could place further strain on the already overstretched NHS. Due to the stress caused by the coronavirus pandemic, vapers who could not access their specialist stores and the advice available there were at risk of falling back onto cigarettes, which were more readily available.
On this occasion, the UKVIA was not successful, in part I would guess because the government would have taken the view that closing specialist shops would not have prevented vapers from obtaining their products, or at least substitutes for their usual products, in the food and corner shops that were allowed to stay open, and, for those with internet access, via online suppliers.
But though it was not successful, the UKVIA again chose not to embrace the negative. While continuing to lobby the government to review its decision on vape stores, it switched its focus to keeping its members informed about their obligations under government guidelines and the opportunities still open to them, such as online or home delivery services in the case of retail outlets. And following a report in a national newspaper that a vape shop owner had been arrested by police after keeping their retail outlet open despite the government directive, the association issued another note urging vape stores to adhere to government guidance to remain closed during the current lockdown.
“We understand that we are talking about people’s livelihoods here, but it is paramount that the industry follows the government guidance,” said Dunne. “We have to wait until we get the green light to reopen.”
And the green light was triggered on June 15, at which point the UKVIA praised the U.K.’s vaping businesses for the responsible approach they had taken during the 10-week lockdown. In a statement issued at the time, the association said it believed that the entrepreneurial spirit that had seen many vaping companies transform their business models overnight would mean they would be well placed to bounce back.
“The response from the industry to the challenging conditions has been both staggering and exemplary,” Dunne was quoted as saying. “I know that our members that make up a large share of the vaping market have been working around the clock to provide online and home delivery services to the 3.2 million vapers across the country.”
And this strategy has apparently worked for both vapers and vaping businesses. Feedback from UKVIA members indicates that few stores closed permanently because of the lockdown. Overall, demand is said to have stabilized, though it is probably inevitable that some vapers will have returned to smoking, either temporarily or permanently. Part of that demand has almost certainly shifted permanently to different supply streams.
Many retailers saw big increases occur in their online sales, and it must be assumed that at least some vapers who discovered home delivery services during lockdown will stay with such services. It is difficult to know how this will pan out over the long term, but there are reasons to be positive. The sorts of services offered by high-street retailers have probably appealed mainly to novice vapers, and with about 3 million vapers and 7 million smokers in the U.K., the potential for recruiting more vapers to high-street shops must be high.
Having said that, the uptake of vaping in the U.K. has slowed in recent years and, for reasons that will be familiar to readers of this magazine, it is proving harder to persuade large numbers of smokers to move to vaping. Concerns around this situation can be discerned in at least two of the UKVIA’s four strategic objectives: to reassure smokers about vaping so they continue to see vaping as the best way to quit their smoking habit and to give confidence to existing vapers about vaping so that they don’t go back to smoking or other alternative ways to break their former smoking habit.
Another objective is to heighten the understanding among the political/public health community of the positive impact that vaping has had, and continues to have, and highlight the potential adverse impact of vapers returning to smoking and smokers not transitioning across. This brings us back to the beginning of the story by raising the question of whether the realization of this objective will be made more difficult if the UKVIA has to start afresh with a new public health body.
This story can be found in Issue 5, 2020 of Vapor Voice.
