Author: GTNF Trust Staff

The U.S. federal government’s decision to regulate all nicotine products without regard for the amount of harm they cause will ultimately be detrimental to overall public health, according to a new R Street policy study.

The study was co-written by Clive Bates, former director of the UK’s Action on Smoking and Health (pictured); R Street President Eli Lehrer; and David Sweanor, professor at the University of Ottawa’s Center for Health Law.

‘The vast majority of health harms attributed to smoking arise from burning tobacco cigarettes and inhaling the smoke into the lungs, not from nicotine use,’ the authors note.

David Sweanor

‘Where there is no combustion — as with smokeless tobacco, e-cigarettes and other vaping products or heated tobacco products — the risks of nicotine use inevitably will be much lower (representing from two percent to 10 percent of the risk of cigarettes) because the physical processes are so different.’

An R Street press note announcing the report said that the authors had shown that federal agencies had ignored opportunities to reduce serious disease by replacing high-risk cigarette use with low-risk vaping or smokeless tobacco products, an approach known as tobacco harm reduction.

While allowing thousands of cigarette brands to stay on the market, rules promulgated by the Food and Drug Administration would eliminate most of the much lower-risk vaping products. The authors argued a complete reorientation of policy was due.

‘None of these products are perfectly safe, as very little is, but they are very much safer, the authors said. ‘These products with radically reduced risk create opportunities for major health and economic gains through substitution. However, U.S. policy has actively denied and stymied this opportunity.’

The authors offer eight suggestions for the 115th Congress and the new Trump administration to consider in moving toward a more sensible tobacco policy that benefits public health:

1. Seize the huge opportunity presented by low-risk nicotine products.
2. Cancel the FDA deeming rule before it destroys the US vaping market.
3. Establish a standards-based regime for low-risk nicotine products.
4. Use new labels to inform consumers about relative risk.
5. Stop using the public health test to protect the cigarette trade.
6. Restore honesty and candor to public-health campaigns.
7. Refocus tobacco science on the public interest, not bureaucratic expansion.
8. Challenge vapor and smokeless prohibitions under World Trade Organization rules.

Read the report here >>.

Vapor industry representatives welcomed the study.

“This report is an opportunity for the FDA and vaping community to work together to find a solution for tobacco harm reduction,” said Jeff Stamler, CEO at Nicopure Labs.

“If you read the report and are familiar with vaping products, you will learn that the risks associated with them are far less than the risks that come with using combustible cigarettes. That information alone could save a smoker’s life, unfortunately, it’s a message the FDA, through its Deeming Rule, doesn’t want publicized. However, if the FDA was willing to have an open dialog with the industry, this report would be an excellent jump off point.”

From March 4-5, vapor industry professionals will convene in Warsaw at the Vape Expo Poland.

In addition to learning about the latest products and services at the exhibition, they will discuss issues related to the EU’s revised Tobacco Product Directive (TPD2).

Topics covered include:

• The newly regulated market: how regulations affect business, consumers and how companies can reduce the negative impact of laws
• How TPD regulations impact products and how players can speed up innovative processes in their company according to TPD
• How foreign companies can enter the European markets in a cost-effective manner

It’s what might be the next best thing. Apple has filed a patent for a vaporizer.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on Thursday published an Apple patent application for a new “vaporizer” technology. The patent application describes a “chamber body” that can take an unidentified substance that will then be “vaporized or sublimated into a vapor.”

The patent application, which was earlier discovered by Digital Trends, seems to be a heat-not-burn device that could possibly be used in the growing marijuana market. Apple has not made any claims or stated why it has filed the patent.

The subscription vaping-product brand, Shoreditch, says that it has developed, in partnership with Experian, a system ‘to stamp out’ online ordering by those under 18 years of age.

Shoreditch says that it is pioneering a new approach to online age verification for age-restricted tobacco and electronic cigarette products with Prove-ID, an identity checker that confirms online purchases are made by those of a lawful age. It has set itself a benchmark of 90 percent of over-18s.

The founder of Shoreditch, Ryan Shaw, was quoted in a company press note as saying that, as a responsible retailer, Shoreditch had long felt it was not enough for someone simply to tick a box to say they were over 18.

The company had therefore tasked Experian with helping it develop a better system.

Prove-ID age verification had an added age verification layer, which meant Shoreditch could reach its own target of 90 percent of sales to over 18s.

“Experian has been a dream to work with and the results have already exceeded our expectations,” Shaw said.

“Implementation with our website was quick and easy and the system is now up and running.

“We’ve worked closely with the implementation team at Experian to optimise our form fields in order to maximise our user-accept rate and ensure that ordering online is still convenient for our customers.

“Our pass rate is already 86 percent – and rising.”

Prove-ID is said to have been designed for organizations that need to verify the identity of their consumers in order to protect them.

It compared the customer information entered with more than one billion records held by Experian, the press note said.

From there, the system quickly made an informed decision about a customer’s age and either allowed her to proceed with the purchase or declined the order.

Shoreditch is at: www.vapeshoreditch.com

Philip Morris International has reaffirmed its commitment to designing a smoke-free future.

‘With more than one million adult smokers who have converted to IQOS [a heated tobacco product], momentum continues to grow behind the company’s full-scale effort to market smoke-free products that can ultimately replace cigarettes,’ the company said in a press note.

‘PMI’s new website offers a look into its vision for the future, and how its new products can have a significant impact on adult smokers and society.’

“Adult smokers are looking for product choices that offer the satisfying taste, ritual, and pleasure they get from cigarettes, but with far lower amounts of the harmful compounds found in smoke,” said Tony Snyder, PMI vice president of communications.

“After more than 10 years of research and development, today we have both the science and the technology to make these products a reality for the world’s 1.1 billion smokers.”

‘IQOS is one of four smoke-free products from PMI to address adult smoker demand and varying preferences,’ the press note said. ‘It is a heated tobacco product that was launched in late 2014 and is expected to be available in key cities in over 30 markets in 2017.

‘Since 2008, PMI has hired over 400 scientists and experts and invested over US$3 billion in research, product development and scientific substantiation.

‘Results of scientific research to assess the reduced-risk potential of IQOS are very promising, and the company openly shares its scientific methodologies and findings for independent third-party review and verification.

‘In December 2016, PMI submitted a Modified Risk Tobacco Product Application (MRTPA) for IQOS to the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products.’

“We’re optimistic about the future as we work to progressively transition PMI’s existing cigarette business to potentially less harmful alternatives,” said Snyder.

“There is tremendous opportunity to positively impact public health with the availability of better choices than continued smoking, and we can’t do it alone.

“Contributions from public-health experts, the scientific community and regulators will greatly accelerate switching from cigarettes to smoke-free products.”

The new website is at www.pmi.com.

Public Health Wales (PHW) says that smokers who can’t or won’t quit will ‘significantly benefit their health’ if they switch completely to using electronic cigarettes.

PHW on Thursday published an updated position statement providing advice to the public about the potential impacts of electronic cigarettes on health. The updated advice says that, for children, young people and non-smoking adults, the use of electronic cigarettes is likely to be harmful to health.

‘Current smokers who want to quit are advised to find out about the range of help available to them and choose the approach that is best for them,’ PHW said. ‘This help includes proven NHS [National Health Service] services like Stop Smoking Wales and community pharmacies.

‘The advice for committed smokers who can’t or won’t quit is that switching completely to e-cigarettes will significantly benefit their health.’

“We recognise that there are a lot of confusing and contradictory messages around e-cigarettes,” said Dr. Julie Bishop, director of health improvement for PHW. “This is because there isn’t one simple answer – it is different for different groups of the population.

“In simple terms, if you don’t smoke, don’t vape. But if you are a committed smoker who is unwilling or unable to quit, switching completely to e-cigarettes will be beneficial to your health.”

PHW said it was committed to a smoke-free and nicotine-free Wales in the longer term.

The European Commission is in favor of a cautious approach to heat-not-burn products because it believes that there is a lack of evidence relating to the short- and long-term health effects of using such devices.

This was part of the answer given by the Commission to questions raised by the Belgian MEP, Frédérique Ries.

In a preamble to her questions, Ries said that Philip Morris International had said that it intended to market its new ‘device for smoking’ in the UK, following its initial launch in Japan, Italy and Switzerland.

‘The distinctive feature of this new product, which has been named iQOS, is that it stands on the borderline between traditional cigarettes and electronic cigarettes,’ she said.

‘The major difference between iQOS and electronic cigarettes is that while the latter use a liquid transformed into vapor, IQOS heats the tobacco and keeps it burning [iQOS has been designed so as not to burn the tobacco it contains, only to heat it, as is implied in part of the Commission’s reply], which is very harmful to health.’

Ries asked whether the Commission concurred with health experts who claimed that marketing a hybrid tobacco product of this kind was a ploy to circumvent legislation in force and, in particular, all the requirements laid down in Article 19 of Directive 2014/40/EU concerning novel tobacco products.

‘What steps will the Commission take to thwart the strategies employed by cigarette manufacturers to sell alternative products that are still just as harmful to people’s health?’ she asked.

‘Will the Commission take this opportunity to alter its negative views on electronic cigarettes, which, as a growing number of cancer experts in the EU are now pointing out, do not contain any tobacco or tar and are helping many people to stop smoking?’

In reply, the Commission said it was closely monitoring the developments related to new tobacco products, including “heated not burned” tobacco products.

‘Currently, there is lack of evidence relating to short-term and long-term health effects and use patterns of these products,’ it said. ‘Therefore the Commission is in favour of a cautious approach.

‘At the same time, the Commission would like to underline that with regard to the sale, presentation and manufacturing of these products within the European Union, the relevant provisions of the Tobacco Products Directive apply and should be enforced. This includes the ban on misleading elements foreseen by Article 13 and notably any suggestions that a particular tobacco product is less harmful than others. The Commission oversees whether member states fully and correctly apply the provisions of the directive.

‘With regard to e-cigarettes, given the lack of conclusive evidence relating to the long-term health effects, use patterns and potential to facilitate smoking cessation, Article 20 of the directive contains their regulation with an emphasis on safety, quality and consumer protection.

‘The rules for e-cigarettes nevertheless allow these products to remain widely available to consumers. A recent Commission report COM (2016) 269 underlines a number of potential risks to public health relating to the use of e-cigarettes, at the same time highlighting the need for further research.’

The U.S. National Park Service (NPS) is looking to add vaping to its smoking policy. The NPS currently forbids smoking in most public enclosed facilities, such as restaurants and visitor centers. The proposed revision to the services smoking policy is open for public comment until March 7, according to post on the NPS website.

The NPS “proposes to revise the regulation that defines smoking to include the use of electronic cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery systems. The National Park Service also proposes to allow a superintendent to close an area, building, structure, or facility to smoking when necessary to maintain public health and safety,” the post states.

These rules would make permanent earlier orders that banned e-cigs anywhere tobacco had already been restricted, which all indoors facilities and an increasing number of places outdoors, with some exceptions. “Some people have said ‘You’re going to ban smoking,’” said Jeffrey Olson, spokesperson with the National Park Service. “We’re not — smoking is not banned in national parks.”

Sales of e-cigarettes have contributed significantly to the growth of lithium-ion rechargeable batteries, according to the research firm Packaged Facts.

In its most recent report, Batteries: Consumer Market Trends in the U.S., Packaged Facts estimates the U.S. market for household batteries was $4.5 billion in 2015, up nearly 2.5 percent over 2014’s sales.

The overall market increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.4 percent for the period 2011 to 2015.

Looking ahead, sales of household batteries will reach $5.2 billion by the year 2020. Lithium-ion rechargeable batteries will see the greatest increase, with a CAGR of almost 12 percent, and surpass alkaline disposable batteries as the largest segment of the overall household batteries category.

Further, lithium will have a 46 percent share of the market in 2020, up from its 34 percent share in 2015. Supporting the rise in rechargeable lithium-ion battery sales is their use in e-cigarettes.

“The market for e-cigarettes as tobacco alternatives has grown at triple digit rates over the past decade. There are signs that the rate has slowed to double digits as smokers go back to real tobacco while product development continues,” comments David Sprinkle, research director, Packaged Facts.

Still, younger smokers seem to account for a growing portion of the consumer base for e-cigarettes and despite the relative slowdown in market growth, the overall trend is toward continued expansion. This is supported by the entry into the market of mainstream tobacco companies.

These companies could well take over the entire market in the next few years. But even if they do not, their participation will lead to greater availability of batteries for e-cigarettes in supermarkets, convenience stores, and other retail outlets in which the batteries have previously lacked traction.

In the current market, it appears that most of the e-cigarette battery sales are through online vendors, which has actually helped grow the internet as a source for battery sales overall.