A nationwide awareness and education campaign is being rolled out by the vaping sector across the UK next month (April). VApril, which is being organised by the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA), will be fronted by TV doctor, Dr. Christian Jessen.
The initiative comes on the back of Public Health England’s (PHE) recent review into vaping which reinforced that it was 95 percent less harmful than smoking and revealed that it was one of the most successful ways to quit conventional cigarettes, according to a UKVIA press note.
“This will be the largest campaign ever run by the vaping industry and reflects how far the sector has come in a relatively short period of time,” says John Dunne, a director of the UKVIA. “The challenge for the industry, government and the public health community is to get across the message that e-cigarettes are a very small risk compared to smoking and that nearly 3 million smokers are now vaping, with a significant number having switched over altogether. VApril aims to be the starting point for more smokers to quit their habit.”
The campaign will call upon the country’s smokers to Take the VApril Challenge which will involve vaping masterclasses at specialist retail stores for smokers to learn about the different products and nicotine strengths that are best suited to a successful quit. As part of the initiative, the UKVIA has published a special education guide – Vaping to break the Smoking Habit.
“I am always amazed and disappointed to hear that we still have 7 million smokers in this country and, according to PHE, around 40 percent of them have never tried vaping. Furthermore, more than half of the population don’t realize that vaping is a fraction of the risk of smoking,” says Jessen. “That’s why I’m a committed supporter of the idea of a national vaping awareness campaign such as VApril to encourage smokers to take the first steps to quitting their habit. Already some 1.5 million vapers have given up smoking altogether, but more education is needed to ensure this figure keeps growing.”
An Italian anti-smoking organization is today staging an event at the EU Parliament during which experts and policymakers are due to discuss the benefits of electronic cigarettes.
In a press note issued through Business Wire, the Lega Italiana Anti Fumo (LIAF) said that while the use of e-cigarettes was growing continuously, worldwide, Europe was falling behind.
It was essential that Europe exploited the potential of this technology to reduce the impact of smoking on European public health, it said.
The LIAF is being hosted by the Italian MEP Giovanni La Via, who is a former chairperson of the parliament’s Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee.
It is intended that the event will provide the opportunity for an exchange of views on the potential of e-cigarettes to help reshape European health.
‘Though this is a very important public health issue, the discussion has been absent from the European agenda,’ the LIAF said in a press note.
‘With cigarettes killing more than half a million smokers a month globally and almost six million Europeans now using e-cigarettes to move away from smoking, providing scientific evidence to shift the balance from an “abstinence-only” agenda to a harm reduction strategy is vital in bringing down smoking deaths.’
“Europe is at a crossroads in the fight against smoking,” La Via was quoted as saying. “A growing body of evidence shows that there is a huge opportunity for public health in promoting the use of e-cigarettes to help people stop smoking. Health policymakers in Europe have a duty to provide the public with all of the facts on e-cigarettes, and to provide the best regulatory environment to help smokers quit completely.”
The press note said that recent reports had led key public health institutions to take a positive stance on e-cigarettes.
‘Well-respected bodies, such as Public Health England (PHE), Cancer Research UK and Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), recognise the potential of e-cigarettes to reduce the health effects of smoking,’ the note said. ‘PHE’s recent report on e-cigarettes (February 2018) concludes that vaping or using e-cigarettes are 95 percent safer than smoking tobacco.
‘Moreover, the report shows that while smoking rates among young people continue to fall, there is no evidence that e-cigarettes are a gateway to smoking. The same research found that e-cigarettes are used almost exclusively by those who have already smoked.’
A nationwide awareness and education campaign is due to be rolled out by the vaping sector across the UK in April.
VApril, which is being organised by the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA), will be fronted by Christian Jessen, who is a medical doctor, television presenter and writer.
‘The initiative comes on the back of Public Health England’s (PHE) recent review into vaping which reinforced that it was 95 percent less harmful than smoking and revealed that it was one of the most successful ways to quit conventional cigarettes,’ UKVIA said in a press note.
‘The campaign will call upon the country’s smokers to Take the VApril Challenge, which will involve vaping masterclasses at specialist retail stores for smokers to learn about the different products and nicotine strengths that are best suited to a successful quit. As part of the initiative, the UKVIA has published a special education guide – Vaping to break the Smoking Habit.’
“I am always amazed and disappointed to hear that we still have seven million smokers in this country and, according to PHE, around 40 percent of them have never tried vaping,” Jessen was quoted as saying. “Furthermore, more than half of the population don’t realise that vaping is a fraction of the risk of smoking.
“That’s why I’m a committed supporter of the idea of a national vaping awareness campaign such as VApril to encourage smokers to take the first steps to quitting their habit. Already some 1.5 million vapers have given up smoking altogether, but more education is needed to ensure this figure keeps growing.”
John Dunne, a director of UKVIA, said VApril would be the largest campaign ever run by the vaping industry and reflected how far the sector had come in a relatively short time. “The challenge for the industry, government and the public health community is to get across the message that e-cigarettes are a very small risk compared to smoking and that nearly three million smokers are now vaping, with a significant number having switched over altogether,” he said. “VApril aims to be the starting point for more smokers to quit their habit.”
The VApril campaign has its own website at: www.vapril.org.
Russia’s Minister of Industry and Trade, Denis Manturov, has said that Russia is preparing to categorize vaping products and tobacco products differently, and therefore to regulate them separately, according to a story by Diane Caruana for vapingpost.com
Manturov said the Russian government had taken the initiative to place vaping devices into a separate category because they were radically different from traditional cigarettes and tobacco.
This motion will be commended by many public health experts, who have been pointing out that any product regulations should be related to the risk of the product.
“Electronic devices are safer,” said Manturov. “Many experts, including Western experts, even articulate a figure: electronic means of nicotine delivery are 95 percent less harmful than conventional cigarettes.”
The minister said also that Russia’s Ministry of Health was onboard with the proposal to categorize the two products separately, and was urging smokers to switch to the safer alternatives.
An Icelandic doctor has credited vaping with contributing to a dramatic decline in the number of smokers in Iceland, according to a story by Paul Fontaine for grapevine.is.
Guðmundur Karl Snæbjörnsson described vaping as “a great blessing” for Icelanders’ health.
In 2014, 14 percent of the population or 35,000 people self-identified as smokers, figures that had fallen to nine percent and 22,000 by 2017.
The 37 percent drop in the number of smokers was attributable in part to an increase in vaping, Guðmundur told reporters.
Cigarette sales had dropped by 50 percent from 2008 to 2017, while vaping had been on the rise, and now, about 20,000 Icelanders vaped daily or less frequently.
“Smoking has been falling like a rock like we’ve never seen before,” Guðmundur was reported to have said. “The biggest contributing factors have been mouth-tobacco and vaping, which have clearly been wiping smoking out.”
Iceland currently has no clearly defined laws about the contents, sale and distribution of vaping products.
Although a bill was introduced last year that set limits on e-fluid strength and quantities; that bill was strongly opposed by vape shop owners and ended up dying in committee.
The US Food and Drug Administration says that its release of an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) in respect of nicotine is a major step on the path to changing ‘dramatically’ the future of smoking in the US and saving millions of lives.
The ANPRM, Tobacco Product Standard for Nicotine Level of Combusted Cigarettes, is seeking public comment for consideration in developing a potential nicotine product standard.
The FDA believes that lowering nicotine to a minimally- or non-addictive level ‘could potentially save millions of lives, both in the near and long-terms’.
‘The ANPRM includes newly published estimates of one possible policy scenario for a nicotine product standard, including that approximately five million additional adult smokers could quit smoking within one year of implementation, compared to the baseline scenario,’ the FDA said in a note issued through its Center for Tobacco Products.
‘However, an even greater impact could be felt over time: by the year 2100, its estimated more than 33 million people – mostly youth and young adults – would have avoided becoming regular smokers. This could result in more than eight million fewer tobacco-caused deaths through the end of the century.
‘In July 2017, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., announced a new comprehensive plan that places nicotine – and the issue of addiction – at the center of the agency’s tobacco regulation efforts. As the cornerstone of the plan, the release of today’s [March 15] ANPRM is a major step on the path to dramatically changing the future of smoking in the United States and saving millions of lives.’
Meanwhile, Gottlieb said in a statement that the ANPRM provided a wide-ranging review of the current scientific understanding about the role nicotine played in creating or sustaining addiction to cigarettes. It sought comments on key areas, as well as additional research and data for public review, as the FDA continued its consideration of developing a nicotine product standard.
‘We’re interested in public input on critical questions such as: what potential maximum nicotine level would be appropriate for the protection of public health?,’ the statement said. ‘Should a product standard be implemented all at once or gradually? What unintended consequences – such as the potential for illicit trade or for addicted smokers to compensate for lower nicotine by smoking more – might occur as a result? As we explore this novel approach to reducing the death and disease from combustible cigarettes, it’s critical that our policies reflect the latest science and is informed by the input we receive from our meetings with stakeholders, comments to the open public docket and future opportunities for comment.’
Gottlieb said also that the FDA’s plan demonstrated a greater awareness that nicotine, while highly addictive, was delivered through products on a continuum of risk, and that in order to address cigarette addiction successfully, it had to make it possible for current adult smokers who still sought nicotine to get it from alternative and less harmful sources.
‘To that end, the agency’s regulation of both novel nicotine delivery products such as e-cigarettes and traditional tobacco products will encourage the innovation of less harmful products while still ensuring that all tobacco products are put through an appropriate series of regulatory gates to maximize any public health benefits and minimize their harms,’ Gottlieb said. ‘This will be achieved through our ongoing regulatory work to develop several foundational rules, guidances, product standards and other regulations.’
Gottlieb said also that the FDA planned shortly to issue two additional ANPRMs: one to seek comment on the role that flavors – including menthol – played in initiation, use and cessation of tobacco products. ‘A second ANPRM will solicit additional comments and data related to the regulation of premium cigars.
‘At the same time we’re also jump-starting new work to re-evaluate and modernize our approach to the development and regulation of safe and effective medicinal nicotine replacement products such as nicotine gums, patches and lozenges that help smokers quit. This is a pivotal part of our overall public health approach.’
The Netherlands-based Fontem Ventures said today that it had acquired an equity stake in Cosmic Fog Vapors, which it described as ‘an iconic innovator in high quality e-vapor liquids’.
‘Founded in 2013 [in California, US] by Brant Peto and Rob Crossley, Cosmic Fog has an excellent reputation for developing unique flavours with significant appeal to adult vapers,’ Fontem said in a press note. ‘Their products are sold in more than 5,000 vape stores in the USA and in more than 60 countries around the world.’
Liquids are the largest contributor to the value of the global e-vapor sector.
“[W]e’re excited about this partnership with Cosmic Fog,” said Fontem’s CEO, Titus Wouda Kuipers (pictured). “Working alongside them shows our commitment to seeing the vaping category grow and prosper.
“Becoming a partner in Cosmic Fog demonstrates that we love their passion and entrepreneurship. We see a great opportunity to learn from their expertise, particularly in the vape shop sales channel.
“Cosmic Fog will continue to do what it does best – develop unique, high quality liquids with huge appeal to adult vapers.”
Meanwhile, Peto said the partnership allowed Cosmic Fog to leverage Fontem’s experience in e-vapor, including in regulatory compliance, ensuring that Cosmic Fog’s customers enjoyed continued access to its products as international e-vapor markets matured.
And Crossley was quoted as saying the partnership was hugely beneficial, not only to Cosmic Fog but to the category as a whole, because it demonstrated Fontem’s support for a variety of vaping formats, including open systems.
A smokers’ lobby group has criticised the UK government’s plan, revealed yesterday, to introduce an excise tax on heated tobacco products.
According to the government, the duty on these products will be based on the weight of tobacco in the product.
“Heated tobacco may not be as safe as electronic cigarettes but current evidence suggests there is almost certain to be a reduction in risk for cigarette smokers,” said Simon Clark (pictured), director of Forest [Freedom Organisation for the Right to Enjoy Smoking Tobacco].
“Why would any government want to undermine the future of a product that may encourage smokers to quit voluntary and without coercion?”
Clark pointed out that many smokers who tried electronic-cigarettes found they didn’t like them. The attraction of heated tobacco was that it filled the gap between combustible cigarettes and e-cigarettes, which don’t contain tobacco.
“Heated tobacco products are still in their infancy,” he said. “Adding excise duty will almost certainly deter many smokers from switching to a potentially safer device.”
The organizers of the 2018 CORESTA Congress yesterday called for papers.
The Congress, whose theme is Science and Innovation: Addressing the needs, will be hosted by the China National Tobacco Corporation (CNTC).
It is due to be held on 22-26 October at the Intercontinental Hotel, Kunming, China.
In a joint announcement, the CNTC Congress Organizing Committee and the CORESTA Secretariat said that the call for papers was now online.
The organizers said the call for papers was currently accessible through the CORESTA website at www.coresta.org and would be made available later through the official Congress website.
Direct access to the abstract submission system was available through the CORESTA website at: CORESTA 2018 abstract submission
The announcement said authors would receive immediate receipt messages by email to confirm the successful submission of their abstracts and would be informed of the CORESTA Reading Committee’s selection towards the end of June 2018.
The deadline for the submission of abstracts is May 16.
The World Conference on Tobacco or Health (WCTH) has called upon governments to develop plans by 2021 for phasing out the sale of tobacco products.
In a statement, the WCTH, which held its 17th conference in Cape Town, South Africa, on March 7-9, also made 10 declarations.
In a preamble to the declarations, the WCTH said the tobacco epidemic represented one of the biggest public health threats the world had ever faced.
‘Tobacco use kills more than seven million people each year, and the vast majority of these deaths take place in low- and middle-income countries.
‘The global economic cost of smoking amounts to nearly two trillion dollars and two percent of the worlds GDP in 2016.
‘Tobacco use also undermines sustainable development, imposing a huge burden on the global economy, exacerbating poverty, contributing to food insecurity, and harming the environment.
‘There is an irreconcilable conflict between the manufacture and marketing of tobacco products and the right to health.
‘The tobacco industry is a driver of poverty and linked to child labor, violation of workers’ rights, food insecurity and exploitation of farmers. African governments need to take concrete and urgent action to implement alternative livelihoods that are the rich sources of income free from tobacco.
‘Ending the scourge of tobacco and achieving the SDGs [sustainable development goals] will require urgent action.
‘Therefore the 17th World Conference on Tobacco or Health affirms the following:
We call on governments to unite with civil society to stop tobacco industry interference and accelerate implementation of the WHO FCTC [World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control] using a whole-of-government approach.
We urge governments, scientists, research entities, foundations, and civil-society organizations to reject or cease engagement with the Philip Morris International-funded Foundation for a Smokefree World and other initiatives of the tobacco industry
We call on African governments to operationalize the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on financing for development that recommends increasing tobacco taxes as an untapped, sustainable domestic resource mobilization strategy, for accelerating the implementation of the WHO FCTC in Africa.
We call on Parties to actively engage in the development of the WHO FCTC Medium Term Strategic Framework and Plan and to endorse them at the forthcoming eighth session of the Conference of the Parties of the WHO FCTC.
We call on Finance Ministers to actively support the WCTOH 2018 Declarations by prioritizing sustainable funding for tobacco control and ceasing public and private investment in the tobacco industry.
We call on governments to extend as a priority, fiscal policies to continually decrease the affordability and accessibility of tobacco products
We call on the Parties to the WHO FCTC to integrate gender-based data-collection and reporting into Party reports to the Conference of the Parties [COP] on their implementation of the WHO FCTC by COP9.
We call upon the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to align with the decision of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and end its collaboration with the tobacco industry immediately.’
