Tag: Covid-19

  • Scientists Say Some EVALI Cases May Have Been Covid-19

    Scientists Say Some EVALI Cases May Have Been Covid-19

    Some victims of the mysterious vaping-related lung disease that swept through all 50 U.S. states in 2019 were actually Covid-19 patients, according to a group of Chinese scientists and radiologists. After reviewing some 250 chest CT scans from published papers, the group says they are confident in the conclusion that some patients were wrongly diagnosed with e-cigarette or vaping use-associated lung injury (EVALI).

    Credit: Kawee

    The scientists are now urging U.S. officials to start screening for Covid-19 in patients who in 2019 were diagnosed with EVALI. . According to the Global Times, sources close to the matter said that after studying 250 chest CT scans of 142 EVALI patients selected from some 60 related studies that have been published, the scientists found that 16 EVALI patients were involved in viral infections, which indicates that they could have had Covid-19. Five of the cases were determined as “moderately suspicious.”

    The 16 EVALI patients were all from the U.S., and in 12 patients symptoms started before 2020. Researchers concluded that there were viral infection cases among EVALI infections reported in the U.S. in 2019, and the possibility of Covid-19 in the vaping-related lung disease in the U.S. cannot be ruled out, sources said.

    Yang Zhanqiu, a virologist at Wuhan University, said that due to the similarity of symptoms between EVALI and Covid-19 patients and since no nucleic acid detection kits were available at the time, it’s highly likely that some Covid-19 patients were actually misdiagnosed as EVALI patients in 2019.

  • VPZ Opens First Vape Clinic to Help Smokers Quit

    VPZ Opens First Vape Clinic to Help Smokers Quit

    U.K.-based vaping retailer VPZ launched its pilot Vape Clinic on July 5 at its flagship Newbridge store. The company now plans to roll out the service across all its locations in the coming months. According to a press release, the vape clinic was begun to meet the growing demand for smoking cessation services.

    Credit: VPZ

    The moves comes as access to local stop smoking services and vaping retailers massively reduced during Covid-19 lockdowns, according to the release, adding that thousands of smokers were left without any services to help them quit smoking combustible cigarettes. Vape Clinic quit coaches will be specialists in helping smokers quit and advising the alternatives available. VPZ recently announced it had opened five stores since the end of lockdowns.

    “With around 78,000 people in the U.K. dying from smoking year on year, and with many more living with debilitating smoking-related illnesses, the vape clinic has been designed to support the nation’s smokers quit for good,” the release states. “VPZ’s confidence in the success of the new Vape Clinic service is backed by its customer promise to provide a money back guarantee for hardware purchased and any unopened boxes of e-liquids and coils if customers are unable to make the switch to vaping entirely.”

    Doug Mutter, director of VPZ, said the company is spearheading the fight against the nation’s No. 1 killer: smoking. He says that the “coaches” are trained and have expert knowledge and work to the individual needs of the customer. Many of the specialists are former smokers who have quit through vaping, so they understand the ups and downs of the journey.

    “Smoking statistics are continuing to rise as the pandemic has triggered an increase in smoking rates and the public health problem has been compounded by funding cuts for National Health Service (NHS) stop smoking services and local support groups,” Mutter stated in the release. “Our new Vape Clinic concept is an investment to fill the void left by the loss of local NHS stop smoking services. We are so confident in the success of our new service that we are offering our customers a money back guarantee if they are unable to make the switch entirely.”

    VPZ Vape Clinic is open 7 days a week, 10am to 5pm to all customers who book a free, 30-minute appointment here.

  • Video: Coping With Covid

    Video: Coping With Covid

    Watch Cara Leach, Patricia Kovacevic, Monica Vialpando and Elise Rasmussen discuss how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected them personally and professionally.

  • New Jersey Prioritizes Smokers for Vaccine

    New Jersey Prioritizes Smokers for Vaccine

    Photo: torstensimon from Pixabay

    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.

  • Anti-Tobacco Activist Joins U.S. Covid Team

    Anti-Tobacco Activist Joins U.S. Covid Team

    Bechara Choucair
    (Photo: Kaiser Permanente)

    President-Elect Biden has appointed Bechara Choucair as vaccinations coordinator of the White House Covid-19 response team.

    Choucair is senior vice president and chief health officer for Kaiser Permanente and a board member of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK). Previously, he served as Chicago’s public health commissioner.

    Choucair will step down from his board position at CTFK as he assumes his new position. 

    “In appointing Dr. Choucair as vaccinations coordinator, President-Elect Biden has chosen an extraordinarily experienced and capable public health and medical leader,” said Matthew L. Myers, president of the CTFK, in a statement. “We congratulate Dr. Choucair and look forward to working with him in the future.”

  • UKVIA Wants ‘Essential’ Label for U.K. Vape Shops

    UKVIA Wants ‘Essential’ Label for U.K. Vape Shops

    Photo: VPZ

    The U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) is calling on the government to reconsider classifying vape shops as essential retail, as parts of the U.K. enter restrictions under tier 4 and with potential lockdowns following in the new year.

    John Dunne

    “It’s not just about providing a lifeline to vape businesses but also to vapers and smokers for whom vaping represents a life changing decision, especially at this time of year,” said John Dunne, director general of the UKVIA, in a statement.

    “As smokers make New Year resolutions, we should remember that earlier this year Public Health England acknowledged the contribution played by vaping in helping smokers quit and the Royal College of Physicians has found that e-cigarettes are effective in helping people to stop smoking. Recent research has again highlighted that vape products are much more effective than NRTs [nicotine-replacement therapies] in helping smokers give up.”

    Dunne said that vape retail stores are well equipped to be COVID compliant. “Our stores do not deal with the high volumes of traffic like other outlets and are easily able to control the number of customers in a store at any one time,” he said.

    “We want to make sure that smokers who might be aiming to quit in the New Year, and those who already vape, can continue to gain access to vape devices, e-liquids, and specialist advice that our members can offer.”

  • Trump Sends Back Bill With U.S. Post Office Ban on ENDS

    Trump Sends Back Bill With U.S. Post Office Ban on ENDS

    President Donald Trump has sent back to Congress a Covid-19 relief bill that included language to ban the U.S. Post Office (USPO) from mailing vapor products.Trump had the authority to use a line item veto on the provision and still pass the larger bill, however, he sent the bill back to Congress in its entirety saying he would not sign the proposal without $2,000 individual payments to taxpayers.

    Congress banned all electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) products from being mailed by the USPS on Monday. The rule change was lumped into the Covid-19/ omnibus budget bill passed yesterday. The proposal, collectively called the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021.

    The updated provision redefines the word “cigarette” under the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (PACT Act), which is part of the federal Jenkins Act, to include ENDS products.

    By including ENDS products within the PACT Act, manufacturers and retailers will be banned from shipping vaping products to consumers using the USPS within the next 120 days. All orders of vaping products will be required to ship using an alternate (and considerably more expensive) service that verifies the recipient of a package is at least 21 years old.

    Beginning 90 days after enactment, all online retailers also will be required to file monthly reports with native, state and local governments disclosing the identity, address and product received for all customers, as well as remit any excise taxes owed.

    Many vaping industry advocates are angered by the text of the proposal because legislators used an expansive definition of what qualifies as an “electronic nicotine delivery system” that seems to include products that may not contain nicotine. The term “means any electronic device that, through an aerosolized solution, delivers nicotine, flavor, or any other substance to the user inhaling from the device,” the legislation states.

    Greg Conley, president of the American Vaping Association, said that despite the inclusion of the word “nicotine,” the definition used in the bill is so broad that it appears to capture vaping liquids containing CBD and standalone devices intended for vaping THC or other substances.

    “The sponsors of this legislation repeatedly refused to consider common sense amendments that would have protected youth, while also not needlessly shutting down small businesses. Thanks to their intransigence, the language included in the omnibus is so sloppily drafted that it will also ban the USPS from shipping CBD liquids intended to be vaporized, as well as devices intended for use with THC or other non-nicotine substances,” said Conley. “There are still 36 million American adults smoking combustible cigarettes and over 400,000 will die from smoking-related illnesses this year alone. The American people should start questioning why their government is so intent on making it harder for adults to quit smoking.”

    According to its website, UPS prohibits the shipment of all cigarettes and little cigars to consumers, regardless of destination state. Other tobacco product shipments must be made using the “UPS Delivery Confirmation Adult Signature Required service, requiring the signature of an adult 21 years of age or older upon delivery.”

  • VPZ Donates £100,000 to Help Frontline Workers Quit Smoking

    VPZ Donates £100,000 to Help Frontline Workers Quit Smoking

    Doug Mutter

    In an effort to help front-line workers quit combustible cigarettes, VPZ is donating £100,000 worth of products. VPZ, the UK’s largest vape retailer, said the initiative was started in order to show appreciation for these workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Key workers including police officers, NHS staff and blue light card holders will all be able to benefit from free products as the company says thank you to the frontline people that were tackling the virus head on, according to a press note.

    “It has been a long and difficult fight against this pandemic, and it is has been in large part the work of front line staff that we are beginning to see parts of the country reopen and a sense of normality return, said Doug Mutter, director for VPZ. “Now that we have been open for nearly a month, we had a discussion with the all our staff to see how we could give back to the people that have been supporting us, now just as a business but also in keeping us safe during the lockdown. So, we all agreed to offer free products to the front-line staff.”

    Mutter says that there is no catch, and the initiative is just a simple thank you. Customers only need to visit VPZ’s website, register with their photo ID card. Customers will then be emailed a voucher that can redeem in any VPZ store.

    There is a wide range of devices available from beginner devices to advanced mods.

    “We have tried to cater for as many different types of vapers as we can. We know many front-line workers have wanted to quit smoking but not had the time or opportunity to test out devices to find the right one for them,” said Mutter. “”Our customers and each of their unique requirements are always top of mind, with that we’ve made sure that even on a free giveaway, customers can choose from a range of devices that will suit their specific needs.”

    Mutter says the greatest challenge for many smokers is finding the right advice and guidance with vape stores being closed during lockdown. Many customers have turned back to smoking so it is critical for VPZ to offer as many options as possible to help them quit tobacco for good, said Mutter.

    “Stop smoking services have also been slashed across the country and with us now re-open we have a lot of smokers who are looking to quit but are stuck without proper guidance,” he said. “We know that a lot of smokers have used the lockdown as a time to finally quit smoking, but front line workers have been very busy so we hope that our donation can go some way to helping any who do smoke an opportunity to use this offer for them to quit and our way of saying thank you.”

    Customers can check their eligibility and register for their free product here: https://vpz.co.uk/pages/key-workers-device-giveaway?mc_cid=58a0d0cea4&mc_eid=[UNIQID]. Once registered customers will receive an email voucher which can be redeemed in any of VPZ’s more than 150 stores in the UK.

  • Trump Officially Withdraws U.S. From WHO

    Trump Officially Withdraws U.S. From WHO

    It’s official. The Trump administration has withdrawn the United States from the World Health Organization. The news comes as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to grip the globe and infections spike across the U.S.

    Withdraw requires a years notice, so it will not go into effect until July 6, 2021. This raises the possibility the action could be overturned. 

    Congress received formal notification of the decision on Tuesday, more than a month after President Donald Trump announced his intention to end the U.S. relationship with the WHO and blasted the multilateral institution as a tool of China, according to an article in USA Today.

    Democrats said the decision was irresponsible and ill-considered, noting it comes as the pandemic is raging and international cooperation is vital to confront the crisis.

    “This won’t protect American lives or interests – it leaves Americans sick & America alone,” Sen. Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, tweeted after receiving the White House’s notification. “To call Trump’s response to Covid chaotic & incoherent doesn’t do it justice.”

    The formal withdrawal comes as the United States nears 3 million reported coronavirus cases and more than 130,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Globally, there have been 11.6 million cases and almost 540,000 deaths, according to the story.

    Trump and his advisers have blasted the WHO for failing to press China to be more transparent about the scope and severity of the Covid-19 outbreak, which began in Wuhan, China.

    Trump has said that China “has total control” over the WHO, even though it contributes far less than the US to the health organization’s budget. The U.S. has contributed approximately $450 million dollars a year, according to the story.

    Amanda Glassman, a public health expert and executive vice president of the Center for Global Development think tank, noted the world doesn’t just face today’s threat of Covid-19 but also the threat of future pandemics, which are more likely because of increased zoonotic transmission.

  • Nicotine Effective for Covid-19 at Most Virulent Stage

    Nicotine Effective for Covid-19 at Most Virulent Stage

    Nicotine can help battle Covid-19, according to new research. A Spanish study found that the drug that can be found in vapor products can be an effective tool in stopping coronavirus in its most virulent phase.

    Researchers at the University of Castilla-La Mancha, working with the public hospitals of Alcazar de San Juan, Avila and Salamanca, made the discovery. According to the study, while smokers are more vulnerable to catching Covid-19 due to damaged and weakened lungs, less of them end up in hospital or ICUs compared to non-smokers.

    Researchers say this is because the nicotine in their system can act as an inhibitor, stopping Covid’s cytokines from inflaming the lungs, which often proves fatal. The study analyzed patients across the three hospitals during the peak of the pandemic, according to a story on politicopathy.com.

    Investigators discovered that there were far fewer numbers of habitual smokers than expected. This, the study suggests, is because the chemical can prevent a so-called cytokine storm, which can lead to respiratory failure and the attack of healthy tissues, causing multi-organ failure.

    Several other studies, including in Israel, the U.S. and the U.K., have also suggested that nicotine could be beneficial in fighting the virus. “Nicotine has effects on the immune system that could be beneficial in reducing the intensity of the cytokine storm,” said Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos, from the University of West Attica, Greece, writing in Internal and Emergency Medicine in June.

    “The potential benefits of nicotine…. could explain, at least in part, the increased severity or adverse outcome among smokers hospitalised for COVID-19 since these patients inevitably experience abrupt cessation of nicotine intake during hospitalization,” says Farsalinos. “This may be feasible through repurposing already approved pharmaceutical nicotine products such as nicotine patches.”