Tag: science

Canada Drops Findings From First Vape Legislation Review
The results of Canada’s first legislative review of the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (TVPA) has been submitted to its Parliament. The review focuses primarily on the vaping-related provisions of the TVPA, which includes an obligation for a legislative review three years after coming into force, followed by subsequent reviews every two years, according to a government press release.
Brought forth by the Honorable Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, the review is informed by public consultations and available evidence, which included peer-reviewed scientific journal publications, population-level surveys, and public opinion research.
“Vaping products offer the 3.8 million Canadians who smoke a less harmful source of nicotine than tobacco products, and do help people to stop smoking. These products, however, are not without risk — particularly to youth and people who do not smoke cigarettes,” Bennett said. “This first legislative review of the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act is a valuable opportunity to take stock of the progress we’ve made to address youth vaping – but there is more to do. Our government will continue to work to put the right safeguards in place to protect young people from the harms of vaping and nicotine addiction.”
The review’s findings suggest that the TVPA is making progress towards meeting the objectives it set out in relation to vaping. Notably, youth vaping rates, which were rising at a rapid pace, have leveled off over the past two years yet remain relatively high with more work to be done to protect youth.
The TVPA was implemented in 2018 to respond to the increasing availability of vaping products in Canada and to help ensure that Canadians would be informed about and protected from the health hazards associated with vaping. It regulates the manufacture, sale, labelling and promotion of vaping products sold in Canada.
The TVPA includes a requirement for a legislative review three years after coming-into-force, and every two years thereafter. Periodic reviews provide a means to examine and respond to tobacco and/or vaping related issues that may emerge over time.
The review was informed by a public consultation that ran from March 16, 2022 to April 27, 2022. Canadians were encouraged to provide feedback on a TVPA Legislative Review Discussion Paper. Health Canada received 3,092 submissions as part of the public consultation.
Information to help Canadians to quit smoking is available at Canada.ca/quitsmoking.
Health Canada provided financial support to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health to develop Lower-Risk Nicotine Use Guidelines. The Guidelines recommend that people who smoke cigarettes should try to quit using approved smoking cessation treatments first. If they are unable or unwilling to quit, vaping or e-cigarettes can be considered.
The review also identified areas for potential action, including examining access to vaping products by youth, communicating the potential benefits of vaping as a less harmful source of nicotine for people who smoke.
The report suggest smokers completely switch to vaping and addresses the health hazards, strengthening compliance and enforcement, and the scientific and product uncertainty in order to better understand the vaping product market and the health impacts of vaping.
December 12, 2022
Professor Receives Funding for Pilot Vaping Study
Nathan Jackson
A group of researchers from The University of New Mexico (UNM) in the U.S. are leading a project that would allow vapers to reap the benefits of electronic nicotine-delivery system (ENDS) products without the potential health risks.
Nathan Jackson, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, is one of the principal investigators on the project called “Droplet and Metal Particle Analysis of ENDS,” which has been selected for a pilot award through the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Jackson said that current vaping tools operate by heating liquid to high levels in order to vaporize it, which creates a chemical reaction that generates potentially toxic products such as formaldehyde and acrolein that have well-known long-term health risks for cardiovascular or respiratory diseases.
“Every vaping tool functions by heating the liquid to greater than 200 degrees celsius, which creates toxic byproducts, which then enter the aerosol droplets that are inhaled,” he said. “Our technology uses a different mechanism to create the aerosol that does not require heating, so it could potentially eliminate the harmful byproducts.”
Jackson is the inventor of an atomization technology based on silicon microfabrication called silicon-vibrating mesh atomizer (Si-VMA) that uses significantly lower heat, has the potential to eliminate ultrafine particles by producing low-span and high-efficiency uniform droplet distribution, and can potentially eliminate metal particles in the aerosol since it uses a silicon-based membrane instead of a metallic one, according to a press release.
“Our technology uses a silicon substrate, where no metal is in contact with the liquid and it uses less heat, so potentially we can reduce the health risks associated with vaping,” Jackson said. “Also, our technology can generate micro-scale droplets instead of the nano-scale droplets found in current vaping tools, so that means that droplets are less likely to enter the blood stream and cluster together, which could also result in safer aerosols.”
Co-principal investigators on the project, which is funded through June 2023, involve two researchers from the UNM Health Sciences Center: Pavan Muttil from the School of Pharmacy and Katie Zychowski from the College of Nursing.
Jackson said the market for this type of solution for a safer vaping tool is enormous, for both medical uses and recreational uses, and a safer technology could reduce potential health costs associated with vaping in the future.
Jackson said the short-duration pilot study is designed to assess the feasibility of developing safer vaping technology in the future. After the results of this study are reported, he said the group plans to pursue larger funded projects that would enable them to develop improved technology with the option of later commercialization.
December 8, 2022
EU Poll Finds Support for Smoke-Free Technologies

Photo: trodler1
Smoke-free technologies should complement the EU’s existing tobacco control measures, according to participants in a survey commissioned by Philip Morris International, according to Eureporter.
Carried out Nov. 10-15 by Povaddo and presented in Brussels on Nov. 17, the poll surveyed 13,000 adults spread over 13 European countries.
Among the participants, 73 percent said that industries should be incentivized to develop innovative products that are better for consumers and the environment. Sixty-nine percent said interested adult smokers should be encouraged to switch to scientifically substantiated, smoke-free alternatives by taxing these products at rates that are lower than cigarettes but high enough to deter youth and nonsmokers. Additionally, six in ten respondents agreed that government endorsement of innovative tobacco products would have a positive impact on smokers.
“We know the potential to do better for adult smokers exists, as several member states have carried out similar policy approaches in, among others, energy, cars and alcohol,” said PMI Senior Vice President for External Affairs Grégoire Verdeaux during the presentation of the survey results.
“Pragmatic policies have the power to improve people’s lives, incentivizing companies to innovate for the better and provide equitable access to technological advances, especially in a time of economic instability.”
Povaddo Research President William Stewart said he hoped the results would encourage EU and national authorities to assess the results of current policies and consider other approaches, including “sensible regulation and taxation, while creating an environment that fosters innovations.”
November 21, 2022
Latest Cochrane Review: Vaping Helps to Quit Smoking
Credit: Martin Budenbender
The latest Cochrane Review on e-cigarettes provides compelling evidence that quitting combustibles is easier with e-cigarettes. An update to the international independent think tank’s ongoing review, the latest research includes 17 additional studies that conclude that smoking cessation works significantly better with e-cigarettes than with other nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products.
“Electronic cigarettes have generated a lot of misunderstanding in both the public health community and the popular press since their introduction over a decade ago,” lead author Jamie Hartmann-Boyce said. “For the first time, this has given us high-certainty evidence that e-cigarettes are even more effective at helping people to quit smoking than traditional nicotine replacement therapies, like patches or gums.”
The total Cochrane analysis of e-cigarettes now includes 78 studies with over 22,000 participants. The body of evidence overwhelmingly supports the current updates findings.
The just-released Cochrane review also indicates that e-cigarettes containing nicotine are more effective than e-cigarettes without nicotine or smoking cessation without aids containing nicotine. However, there is less data for these comparisons, which is why the authors rate the reliability of the evidence as only moderate.
Co-author Nicola Lindson, from the University of Oxford and managing editor of the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group, said that while not risk-free, e-cigarettes containing nicotine only pose a fraction of the risk of smoking.
“However, due to the lack of data on possible harmful effects from long-term use of nicotine-containing electronic cigarettes, i.e. over a period of more than two years, questions remain about the long-term effects,” Lindson said.
According to the authors, the study’s key messages include:

Nicotine e-cigarettes can help people to stop smoking for at least six months. Evidence shows they work better than nicotine replacement therapy, and probably better than e-cigarettes without nicotine.

E-cigarettes may work better than no support, or behavioral support alone, and they may not be associated with serious unwanted effects.

However, more evidence is needed, particularly about the effects of newer types of e-cigarettes that have better nicotine delivery than older types of e-cigarettes, as better nicotine delivery might help more people quit smoking.
As far back as 2016, the Cochrane Review has found e-cigarettes were more likely to help smokers quit than nicotine patches or gum, but the available body of evidence at that time was slimmer.
“This comprehensive evidence review confirms, once again, that nicotine e-cigarettes help smokers to quit smoking; and that these products are more effective than medically licensed nicotine replacement therapies,” said John Britton, emeritus professor of Epidemiology, University of Nottingham, commenting on the study. “All smokers should therefore try vaping as a means to end their dependency on smoking tobacco.”
November 18, 2022
Marijuana Research Bill Heads to U.S. President’s Desk

Credit: Jose
For the first time, a standalone piece of marijuana reform legislation has been sent to the U.S. president’s desk. The “Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act” is just one signature away from historic enactment.
Just weeks after President Joe Biden issued a mass marijuana pardon and directed a review of the drug’s scheduling status, the U.S. Senate approved a House-passed bipartisan cannabis research bill on Wednesday.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he is continuing to have “productive talks” about a broader package of cannabis reforms. He hopes to pass them before the end of Congress’ lame duck session, according to Marijuana Moments.
The bill “would eliminate the red tape that hinders cannabis research, opening the door for new innovative treatments derived from cannabis,” Schumer said ahead of the vote. “If you’re one of the millions of Americans who deals with conditions like Parkinson’s or epilepsy or post-traumatic stress, or any number of other conditions, cannabis might hold promising new options for managing these diseases.”
“We need to do the research first,” he said. “And the federal government, sadly, has been woefully behind the times on this front. This bill will help fix that.”
Numerous marijuana measures have been filed and advanced in each chamber in recent sessions, however, reform has consistently stalled before reaching the president.
The bill was filed in July and quickly moved through the House before being taken up by the Senate, which approved the legislation under unanimous consent.
November 17, 2022
CDC: Teen Tobacco use Down Over 50% From 2019

Credit: Naypong Studio
The numbers are in and teen tobacco use is dropping. According to government data released last week, an estimated 3.08 million U.S. middle and high school students reported using a tobacco product in the last 30 days in 2022. That figure is down from 4.47 million in 2020 and 6.20 million in 2019.
E-cigarettes were the most commonly used tobacco product among teens for the ninth consecutive year, according to the study published in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
The survey found cigars to be second most popular with 500,000 reporting use, followed by 440,000 cigarette smokers.
Nearly 31 percent of the students surveyed reported using multiple products, which the CDC called “particularly concerning” as that has been linked to nicotine dependence and sustained use in adulthood, according to Reuters.
Cigarette smoking among U.S. youths has been steadily declining in the last two decades, although the CDC cautioned against comparing the results to previous years due to a change in the method of data collection related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The study was based on an annual national survey that took place from January to May this year, which showed that nearly 11.3 percent of all students had used a tobacco product in the last 30 days.
November 14, 2022
Study: Evidence on Heat-not-Burn Products Lacking

Photo: librakv
The quality of evidence available about heated tobacco products (HTPs) is substandard and policymakers should be wary of claims made about their role in harm reduction, say the authors of a new study published in Tobacco Control.
HTPs have gained popularity in recent years, with proponents insisting they are less harmful to health than conventional cigarettes. However, researchers at the University of Bath argue that the evidence underpinning these claims is largely unrepresentative of real-world use and at high-risk of bias.
In their analyses of 40 publicly available clinical trials for HTPs—29 of which were tobacco industry affiliated or funded—the researchers judged most of the available clinical trials “at high risk of bias” given their methodology and choice of study design.
The most common reason for studies being at high risk of bias was performance bias, whereby the interventions allocated were known to participants and those conducting tests. There was also failure to report all results data for all trial measurements, a shortcoming known as selective reporting bias.
The authors argue that presence of these biases compromises the validity of trials and can lead to overestimation of the effects of HTPs. They also identified further limitations within trials, including short durations, restrictive conditions unreflective of real-world circumstances, and a lack of relevant comparators, like e-cigarettes.
Bath’s Tobacco Control Research Group says much more detailed, independent research is needed to assess the short- and long-term health effects of HTPs.
In the meantime, they argue that consumers should be wary of harm reduction claims and that policymakers and regulators should carefully consider the usefulness of these trials when making decisions surrounding HTPs.
“Over recent years we have seen great expansion in the heated tobacco market in the U.K. and around the world. This growth has been predicated on a marketing claim that these products are better for health, in comparison with traditional cigarettes,” said lead researcher Sophie Braznell from Bath’s Department for Health.
“Our analysis suggests that the picture is far less clear-cut. The clinical trials available, which are used by the tobacco industry to substantiate these claims, were often substandard in terms of how studies were conducted and reported, and most were industry-affiliated in some way.
“As more consumers move away from cigarettes towards these new generation products, we need much better evidence to assess their health impacts now and into the future. In the meantime, the jury is very much still out on their benefits.”
“These findings in relation to clinical trials for heated tobacco products are significant and we need to be wary of health claims made,” added study co-author Gemma Taylor from the Addiction & Mental Health Group and Deparmtent of Psychology at the University of Bath.
“At the same time though, it is important to note the clear distinction between ‘heated tobacco products’ and ‘e-cigarettes.’ Consumers and health policymakers must not equate the potential benefits of e-cigarettes in helping people to quit smoking with heated tobacco products.”

November 10, 2022
Study: Evidence on Heating Products is Substandard

Photo: librakv
The quality of evidence available about heated tobacco products (HTPs) is substandard and policymakers should be wary of claims made about their role in harm reduction, say the authors of a new study published in Tobacco Control.
HTPs have gained popularity in recent years, with proponents insisting they are less harmful to health than conventional cigarettes. However, researchers at the University of Bath argue that the evidence underpinning these claims is largely unrepresentative of real-world use and at high-risk of bias.
In their analyses of 40 publicly available clinical trials for HTPs—29 of which were tobacco industry affiliated or funded—the researchers judged most of the available clinical trials “at high risk of bias” given their methodology and choice of study design.
The most common reason for studies being at high risk of bias was performance bias, whereby the interventions allocated were known to participants and those conducting tests. There was also failure to report all results data for all trial measurements, a shortcoming known as selective reporting bias.
The authors argue that presence of these biases compromises the validity of trials and can lead to overestimation of the effects of HTPs. They also identified further limitations within trials, including short durations, restrictive conditions unreflective of real-world circumstances, and a lack of relevant comparators, like e-cigarettes.
Bath’s Tobacco Control Research Group says much more detailed, independent research is needed to assess the short- and long-term health effects of HTPs.
In the meantime, they argue that consumers should be wary of harm reduction claims and that policymakers and regulators should carefully consider the usefulness of these trials when making decisions surrounding HTPs.
“Over recent years we have seen great expansion in the heated tobacco market in the U.K. and around the world. This growth has been predicated on a marketing claim that these products are better for health, in comparison with traditional cigarettes,” said lead researcher Sophie Braznell from Bath’s Department for Health.
“Our analysis suggests that the picture is far less clear-cut. The clinical trials available, which are used by the tobacco industry to substantiate these claims, were often substandard in terms of how studies were conducted and reported, and most were industry-affiliated in some way.
“As more consumers move away from cigarettes towards these new generation products, we need much better evidence to assess their health impacts now and into the future. In the meantime, the jury is very much still out on their benefits.”
“These findings in relation to clinical trials for heated tobacco products are significant and we need to be wary of health claims made,” added study co-author Gemma Taylor from the Addiction & Mental Health Group and Deparmtent of Psychology at the University of Bath.
“At the same time though, it is important to note the clear distinction between ‘heated tobacco products’ and ‘e-cigarettes.’ Consumers and health policymakers must not equate the potential benefits of e-cigarettes in helping people to quit smoking with heated tobacco products.”

November 10, 2022
Study Shows That Duel Use is Better Than Smoking

A new study published in the scientific journal, Addiction shows that people who both smoke combustible cigarettes and vape while trying to quit cigarettes have lower levels of toxic chemicals in their bodies.
The study looked at the biomarkers of almost 1,300 people who are either smokers, vapers, or both smokers and vapers, known as dual-users. The researchers found that dual-users had less prevalence of toxic chemicals like carbon monoxide in their bodies than people who only smoked.
The new research discredits the previously-held belief that using vaping as a quit-smoking method only led to more smoking and ingestion of more harmful chemicals from both cigarettes and e-cigarettes.
Many studies from the past decade have consistently shown that e-cigarette users often engage in dual use, meaning they continue to smoke while vaping.
This has been the case in the U.S., the UK, and the EU. For example, smokers in the U.S. reported a consistent level of e-cigarette use in three consecutive years ranging from 29.8 percent in 2015 to 27.7 percent in 2018.
The same has been reported in the UK. One study found that dual-use was higher in adolescents who only used e-cigarettes, even though the largest group in the survey was e-cigarette-only users, according to Vaping Daily.
It also showed that young people who began smoking cigarettes first continued to smoke even if they took up vaping.
November 8, 2022
ATR Submits Comment to Reagan-Udall FDA Review
Credit: Araki Illustrations
Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) has submitted a comment to the Reagan-Udall Foundation as the Foundation continues its external review of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration‘s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP)’s policies and procedures.
The ATR states that the FDA has “significantly and substantially failed” to fulfill the regulatory agency’s congressional mandate to act on behalf of the protection of public health.
Tim Andrews, ATR’s director of Consumer Issues, wrote that his organization is hopeful that the Reagan-Udall Foundation’s review could help the agency better the PMTA review process.
“[The PMTA] process has created impossible administrative burdens on applicants. When processes and requirements were changed, FDA failed to notify applicants and is alleged to have applied a new and different standard to certain applicants,” said Andrews. “FDA’s failures are structural. Our submission is cognizant of that and emphasizes that these issues can’t be solved with increased funding, especially not through user fees on small vape manufacturers.”
In its comment, the ATR also offered seven FDA reforms that the ATR hopes the Reagan-Udall Foundation would consider:
FDA should introduce cross-disciplinary expert analysis factoring input from fields like psychology and behavioral economics, to increase public awareness and engagement in the decision-making process.
FDA must provide an easy, streamlined, PMTA pathway, as initially promised.
FDA’s PMTA process should focus on product safety and individual risk, not behavioral and population assessments that are better gathered by a singular post-market surveillance team.
FDA should be in regular, proactive contact with all PMTA applicants, as opposed to merely issuing MDO’s after year long periods of silence.
FDA should consider implementing product standards, to assist in the streamlining process, and look also to countries such as the United Kingdom as a model for a regulatory system that works.
FDA must urgently act to combat significant public misinformation that it admits exists in the community and is a barrier to smoking cessation.
FDA must reform its approach to youth risk behavior. FDA should accept that youth can benefit from harm reduction and properly evaluate the consequences of reduced vape access for both adults and youth.
The ATR also complained about stringent rules vape manufacturers and retailers are forced to follow, such as being forbidden by law from sharing scientific studies about their products with consumers. The responsibility for correcting the public’s perception of reduced-risk products “lies at the feet” of the CTP.
“There is a desperate need for widespread public messaging that vaping is safer than smoking and can save lives,” Andrews stated. “[The] FDA should be the agency that educates the public about the safer nicotine products that exist to help adults who smoke quit the deadly habit of cigarettes.”
The ATR comment also mentions significant and fundamental structural problems at the agency. After numerous purported FDA staffers have revealed that FDA’s tobacco program “has a toxic internal culture, rife with racism, sexism, and unconscious bias. FDA employees have shared concerns that [the] FDA allows political pressure to influence scientific decisions and that scientific staff feel intimidated in the workplace.”
November 8, 2022