Category: News This Week

A story in Reason magazine makes the point that a yearning for bad news on vaping has rendered some opponents incapable of accepting official figures that show that what they see as an epidemic among young people is nothing of the sort.

Jacob Sullum, a senior editor at Reason magazine, said that, last week, voters in San Francisco had overwhelmingly approved a ban on the sale of “flavored tobacco products”, including electronic cigarettes, in part because of the rising popularity of e-cigarettes among teenagers.

Supporters of this and other, similar measures who said they wanted to protect teenagers from the temptations of vaping gave no weight to the interests of adult smokers who used e-cigarettes to quit, a process in which flavor variety played an important role.

In any case, three days after the San Francisco vote, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had published survey data showing that in 2017 vaping declined among middle school students and remained steady among high school students after falling in 2016.

‘E-cigarette alarmists were so flummoxed by reality’s failure to fit their narrative that they insisted the survey must be wrong,’ Sullum wrote.

Later in his piece, Sullum said that critics viewed sweet flavors as inherently suspect. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) had argued that the FDA should not tolerate e-cigarettes that tasted good and that it should take faster action to rid the marketplace of kid-friendly e-cig flavors. The FDA had begun to move on this epidemic but its actions were slower-moving than was the wildfire spread of e-cigarette use among kids.

‘Never mind that “the wildfire spread of e-cig use among kids” perceived by Schumer coincides with what the CDC says is a decline in e-cig use among kids,’ said Sullum. ‘The more fundamental problem is that Schumer seems incapable of conceiving that “kid-friendly e-cig flavors” also appeal to adults, which makes vaping more attractive as a harm-reducing alternative to smoking. The implication is that banning those flavors could be deadly to smokers who would otherwise switch. Anyone who ignores that prospect is only pretending to care about public health.’

The US Food and Drug Administration has advised that June 30 is the deadline for ‘certain manufacturers of deemed tobacco products’ including all e-liquids and other vapor products to provide a listing of their products to FDA’.

In a note issued through its Center for Tobacco Products, the agency said it had undertaken efforts to educate those who could be affected by answering questions such as: what is the tobacco product listing requirement; what types of changes trigger the requirement and when doesn’t it apply; what steps should companies take to make sure they’re in compliance?

More information is available on the FDA’s new web feature.

The mood is optimistic in vape shops across the UK where new research commissioned by Philip Morris Limited has found that vape-shop owners and managers expect store sales to grow by about 13 percent on average this year.

The findings come from a study of attitudes and expectations of 101 vape-shop owners and managers across the UK conducted by Brand Potential.

Other findings of the research include:

• 83 percent of vape shop owners and managers expect the industry to grow in the coming year and 47 percent expect to increase employment levels over the same period.
• Online sales are expected to grow by about 10 percent.
• 77 percent of vape-shop owners interviewed expect to expand their operations over the next three years, including opening another shop.
• To increase sales, 71 percent are considering investing in staff training to improve product knowledge and 67 percent are considering offering a wider range of alternatives to smoking.

“UK vape shop owners are right to be confident about the future,” said Matt Tisdall, Philip Morris Limited’s head of sales. “As more alternatives to cigarettes become available, vape shops can play a vital role in educating smokers, who would otherwise continue to smoke, about the full range of options available to help them switch.”

When the survey subjects were asked about helping smokers looking to switch to vaping, the research found that:

• 94 percent of vape shop owners and managers believe that support from store staff is most helpful.
• 81 percent believe also that having a wide range of products is most helpful.

Hong Kong needs to strengthen its regulatory and legislative framework quickly to control and regulate electronic cigarettes better, according to a story in The China Daily quoting the health secretary of the Hong Kong government.

“We are very concerned about the existence of e-cigarettes,” the Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan was said to have told media representatives after a meeting at the Legislative Council (LegCo).

“According to international studies and some of the testing of e-cigarette samples in Hong Kong, we have discovered that many of these constituents in electronic cigarettes are harmful to health.

“So, we need to quickly strengthen our regulatory framework and legislative framework in order to better control and also regulate e-cigarettes.”

Chan said the government had submitted to the LegCo a proposal about strengthening e-cigarette regulation and that a tax on these products would be considered.

The current use among US high school students of any tobacco product decreased from 24.2 percent (3.69 million) in 2011 to 19.6 percent (2.95 million) in 2017, according to findings made public yesterday by the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The findings, from the 2017 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, showed, too, that among middle school students, current use of any tobacco product decreased from 7.5 percent (0.87 million) in 2011 to 5.6 percent (0.67 million) in 2017.

‘By product, among both middle and high school students, there were decreases in use of cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, pipes and bidis, and an increase in e-cigarette use, according to a press note issued through the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products.

‘Despite the overall decline, in 2017, about one in five high school students and one in 18 middle school students currently used a tobacco product. ‘For the fourth year in a row, e-cigarettes continued to be the most commonly used tobacco product [the FDA deems e-cigarettes to be tobacco products] among high school (11.7 percent; 1.73 million) and middle school (3.3 percent; 0.39 million) students.

‘Furthermore, about one in two (46.8 percent) high school students who currently used a tobacco product and two in five (41.8 percent) middle school students who currently used a tobacco product reported using two or more tobacco products.’

The authors were said to have concluded that the sustained implementation of population-based strategies, in co-ordination with the regulation of tobacco products by the FDA, were critical to reducing all forms of tobacco product use and initiation among young people.

‘Youth tobacco use rates, particularly e-cigarette use, continue to be of concern to FDA,’ the note said. ‘This spring, FDA announced a Youth Tobacco Prevention Plan, which includes a series of enforcement actions to prevent initiation of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, by youth.

‘Further, FDA continues to invest in compelling, science-based campaigns, like “The Real Cost” and “This Free Life,” to educate youth about the dangers of all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes.

‘In fall 2017, FDA further expanded “The Real Cost” campaign to include an online e-cigarette prevention ad. A full-scale e-cigarette prevention effort under “The Real Cost” brand umbrella is planned for fall 2018.’

South Korea’s health authorities said yesterday that five cancer-causing substances ‘were found in heat-not-burn electronic cigarettes’ sold on the local market, according to a Yonhap News Agency story.

Presumably the tests were carried out on the vapor produced by these devices.

The five ‘group 1 carcinogens’ – benzopyrene, nitrosopyrrolidine, benzene, formaldehyde and nitrosamine ketone – were said to have been detected in all the products.

However, the level of these carcinogens was between 0.3 percent and 28.0 percent of that discovered in tests on conventional combustible products.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety carried out their investigation into three tobacco heating devices – Philip Morris Korea’s IQOS, British American Tobacco’s Glo, and KT&G’s lil.

“There is no reason to think that e-cigarettes [sic] are less harmful than conventional cigarettes after comprehensively considering various research, such as those carried out by WHO,” a ministry official said.

Two of the three products were said to have ‘contained’ more tar than conventional cigarettes did, though which two was not stated.

However, a graphic included with a story on koreabiomed.com indicated that the two were IQOS and Lil.

“The amount of nicotine contained in e-cigarettes was about the same level compared to conventional tobaccos, indicating that e-cigarettes are not helpful to those wanting to quit smoking,” the official said.

Vapers using low- rather than high-nicotine e-liquids in electronic cigarettes may be using their devices more intensely, potentially increasing the risk of exposure to toxins in the vapor, according to a medicalxpress.com story citing new research funded by Cancer Research UK and published in Addiction on June 7.

Researchers, based at London South Bank University, studied 20 e-cigarette users and found that people using low-nicotine e-liquid in their devices puffed more deeply and more often than did those using high-nicotine liquid. Those using low-nicotine liquids also increased the power of their vaping devices when possible.

Despite this ‘compensatory’ behavior, the low nicotine vapers were unable to get as much nicotine as could the high-nicotine group. But in their quest to do so their puffing behavior may have increased their exposure to toxins such as formaldehyde, a chemical formed when the e-cigarette liquid is heated.

While there can be toxic chemicals present in vapor, they are far fewer and generally at lower concentrations than in tobacco smoke. Evidence so far still shows that the use of both high- and low-nicotine e-cigarettes is far less harmful than is smoking.

“Some vapers might believe that starting out on a low nicotine strength is a good thing, but they should be aware that reducing their nicotine concentration is likely to result in the use of more e-liquid,” said Dr. Lynne Dawkins, lead author of the study.

“This obviously comes with a financial cost but also possibly with a health cost. The results of our study suggest that smokers who want to switch to vaping may be better to start with higher, rather than lower, nicotine levels to reduce compensatory behavior and the amount of e-liquid used.”

A leading US public health expert has criticized two researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health for denying that smoking is known to be more hazardous than is vaping.

According to Dr. Michael Siegel (pictured), a Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health, the researchers made the denial in an article published in the Summer 2018 issue of the Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health Magazine. Dr. Ana Maria Rule, an assistant professor in the

Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, was said to have argued that: ‘Even if vaping proves safer than smoking, that’s still a long way from a gold stamp for their safety’.

And Dr. Joanna Cohen, a professor and director of the Institute for Global Tobacco Control, was quoted as stating: ‘They are likely safer than continuing to smoke combustible cigarettes, but without the long-term studies, we just don’t know’.

Writing on his blog, The Rest of the Story, Siegel said that the problem with this denialism was not merely that it spread misinformation. ‘The problem is that this is exactly the kind of false propaganda that is deterring many smokers from trying to quit smoking using vaping products and is causing some ex-smokers to return to smoking,’ he said.

‘Whether they realize it or not, this is precisely the effect statements like those being made by these Johns Hopkins researchers are having on the public. In fact, several national surveys have demonstrated that the public is largely misinformed about the relative hazards of smoking vs. vaping. And it is this misperception that has stunted what otherwise could have been a much more substantial shift from smoking to vaping in this country. In other words, this isn’t just a question of misleading the public. It’s a question of saving lives, or failing to do so.

‘Hopefully, these researchers will publish a correction or retraction of these claims so that we can begin the process of restoring some semblance of a science base in the field of tobacco control.’

The effectiveness of Australia’s vaping laws is being thrown into question with data showing illicit nicotine is making its way into retail stores, according to a story by Flint Duxfield for mobile.abc.net.au.

Data from the New South Wales Department of Health suggests people could be unwittingly buying e-liquids containing nicotine, even though it is illegal to sell such liquids in Australia.

In testing conducted since 2015, the Department found that 63 percent of e-liquids labeled as nicotine-free contained nicotine.

The Department was unable to provide a breakdown of the concentrations of the nicotine, but of the testing it conducted of all e-liquids, about half contained between 3 mg/ml and 20 mg/ml. [20 mg/ml is the maximum strength allowed under the EU’s Tobacco Products Directive]

While it is legal to buy liquid nicotine from overseas for personal use in all states except Queensland, the sale of e-liquids containing nicotine is illegal across Australia.

However, official figures show that NSW retailers stock nicotine-containing e-liquids.

From November 2015 to April 2018, NSW health inspectors visited 227 retailers selling e-liquids. More than 40 per cent of those retailers were found to be selling products that contained nicotine.

Of the other state health departments contacted, Western Australia’s agreed that e-liquid labeling was an issue but could not provide any details.