Author: Bill Tarling

“The Aspen City Council gave its support to replace the city’s smoking ordinance during a work session Monday night. An updated law would include e-cigarettes and vaping among the public-smoking restrictions related to other tobacco products in the city’s regulations. Jannette Whitcomb, senior environmental health specialist for the city, will be presenting the actual repeal-and-replace language in a future council meeting. She will also be researching how the potential introduction of marijuana smoking lounges to the city would be affected by the indoor smoking and vaping ban.”

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Aspen council looks to crack down on vaping

“While youth vaping rates have increased in recent years, most middle and high school students don’t vape or smoke and very few vape or smoke daily, finds a study led by researchers at NYU School of Global Public Health. The study, published this month in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research, finds that over 80 percent of youth do not use any tobacco and over 86 percent don’t vape–and among the minority who do vape, most are not regular users. In addition, the study reveals that most youth who are vaping are also current or former smokers. “The faster drop in smoking suggests vaping is helping displace youth use of much more deadly smoking–a net harm reduction benefit to the population as a whole,” said David Abrams, a professor of social and behavioral sciences at NYU School of Global Public Health and a study coauthor. The researchers also found that while youth vaping increased from 2017 to 2018, the increase was driven by infrequent e-cigarette use rather than regular use: in 2018, while 13.8 percent of students had vaped in the 30 days, more than half of them vaped five days or fewer.”

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Most young people do not vape, and even fewer vape regularly

“Anti-tobacco campaigners try ever so hard to be hip. No one tries harder than the Truth Initiative. They employ outdated internet memes, puppets mimicking the Breakfast Club, and zombies harassing innocent store clerks. Their actors can be awkward and theatrical, their messages ham-handed and overwrought. Badly designed ads can indeed have such a rebound effect. Manufacturing a cool image to stop teens from smoking is one thing; broadcasting half-truths to stop them vaping is another. Sadly, the teen vaping rate is rising. But the teen smoking rate is still falling—faster than ever, in fact—and it’s a good, even if not ideal, thing if teens switch from the one vice to the other. “No one knows the long-term effects of Juuling,” warns one ad. True enough, but those long-term effects, whatever they are, will almost certainly be better than the long-term effects of smoking. The Royal College of Physicians has found, for instance, that “the hazard to health arising from long-term vapour inhalation from e‑cigarettes” is “unlikely to exceed 5% of the harm from smoking tobacco.”

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Teen Vaping Is Bad. So Are Many Ad Campaigns Against Teen Vaping.

“According to doctors Konstantinos Poulas, George Lagoumintzis and Konstantinos Farsalinos, a new study published in the journal Toxics provides important insight into the recent lung intoxication epidemic referred to as “e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury” (EVALI). The trio say the study presents, for the first time, a comprehensive analysis of products used by EVALI patients.”

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Nic Vaping Doesn’t Cause EVALI

“The Philippine unit of Juul Labs on Monday (Jan. 27) said it will stop selling its products to people below 21 years old which is mandated by the new sin tax law. Republic Act (RA) No. 11467 signed by President Rodrigo Duterte last week prohibits the sale of e-cigarettes (heated tobacco and vapes) to anyone younger than 21 years old and nonsmokers starting on Feb. 7. Juul also said it would stop making mango, creme and mint flavors available at any Juul seller or online. The company said it would also stop delivering these flavors to any of its retail outlets. It said, though, that it would continue selling the Virginia tobacco flavor”. It added that it would pay higher excise for nicotine-based vapes provided by the new law”

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Leading maker of vapes to heed ban on sale to minors ahead of Feb. 7 deadline

“A legislation coming into effect on March 1 is set to lower the excise tax on e-cigarette liquids that contain nicotine, meaning that prices are expected to drop at national tobacco shops. The tax will be lowered from the current HUF 55 per ml to HUF 20 per ml. BAT Pécsi Dohány Gyár Kft., a subsidiary of BAT, says that it welcomes the decision, as it does not only make higher-quality products more accessible but help fighting black market liquid sales. Currently, black market sales account for an outstandingly high 80-85% of all e-cigarette liquid sales in Hungary”

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E-cigarette liquid prices to fall

“The use of nicotine-based e-cigarettes has been cautiously recommended as a potential second-line aid for people who want to quit smoking. In an updated guide on supporting smokers to stop, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) also said prescribing options for nicotine replacement therapies should be widened. Chairman of the expert advisory group behind the guide Nicholas Zwar said the recommendation that e-cigarettes could help people quit smoking came with many caveats. “The [therapies] that have been tested and been through therapeutic approval would be the first choice, but if you have someone who has not succeeded in quitting using those methods and they are interested in nicotine vaping, there is some evidence of benefit and they could be considered,” he said.”

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GPs cautiously recommend e-cigarettes to help smokers give up

“Last year, state legislators punted on a statewide ban on flavored tobacco sales after facing pressure from the tobacco industry. Now, state Sen. Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) is back with his proposed statewide flavor ban, which may have more momentum this year. Hill’s bill would ban retail sales of flavored products related to electronic cigarettes, e-hookahs and e-pipes, including menthol flavor. Newsom has also called for a new tax on e-cigarette products — $2 for each 40 milligrams of nicotine, on top of already existing tobacco taxes on e-cigarettes. The tax would have to be approved by the legislature as part of the budget process and could face heavy industry opposition.”

BILL TARLING – Example of what the proposed $2/40mg could mean — if you have a 30ml e-liquid with 20mg/ml [such as common for nic salts], that could cost you an additional $30 just in new tax alone per 30ml bottle of e-liquid. [(20×30)/40 x $2]… then you also have to add on current tobacco taxes already charged

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California Governor Proposes Bold Plan

“Police in Cheyenne don’t have the authority to enforce the new federal law that increased the legal age to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21, the agency said. Officers can only legally enforce state laws and Cheyenne city ordinances, spokesman David Inman said. He said city officials posted the clarification on its Facebook page on Wednesday because they’d been receiving calls from residents and local businesses. Nonetheless, it’s still illegal for someone under the age of 21 to purchase products containing tobacco or nicotine, including vaping products.”

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Cheyenne police say they can’t enforce federal tobacco law

“Before you head on your next holiday, you should check if you can travel with e-cigarettes as a rising number of countries are banning them. Some countries ban the sale of e-cigarettes, but not their possession, while others ban nicotine-containing liquids. The strictest countries are the ones who forbid- or at least strongly frown upon – everything from the sale and import to the use of the devices altogether.”

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Vaping is banned in countries like Mexico and Thailand – here are the countries where it’s illegal or restricted