Author: Bill Tarling

“Philip Morris International is ratcheting up its efforts to become the world’s largest maker of alternatives to cigarettes and indicated that it has not given up on a potential reunion with sister company Altria Group at some point in the future. Philip Morris is getting ready to launch a new vaping device, IQOS Mesh, early in 2020. Philip Morris’s merger talks with Altria failed in 2019 amid mounting controversy over the health effects of Juul, the top-selling e-cigarette device Altria has invested in. 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗤𝗢𝗦 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 , he said. Altria markets that product in the US and Philip Morris elsewhere. Philip Morris will launch its e-vapour IQOS Mesh product in the next few months and 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟱𝟮 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 where it is already selling its IQOS heat sticks”

ARTICLE LINK:

Philip Morris aims to snuff out rivals in e-cigarette market

“On January 10, the civil aviation ministry issued a notice banning transport of e-cigarettes at Indian airports and aircraft citing the E-cigarette Prohibition Bill passed in Parliament in December 2019. This has led to confiscation of vaping devices from travellers passing through Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi and Bhavnagar airports. The Association of Vapors India objected to the seizures insisting that it violates the law and fundamental rights of citizens. Association director Samrat Chowdhery said, “During the Lok Sabha debate on the e-cigarette bill, Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan had assured Parliament that personal use is excluded from the ambit of this law as it would criminalise laypeople and violate fundamental rights.”

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Confiscation at airports, e-cigarette users cry foul

“Pregnant women in a Dublin maternity hospital who used e-cigarettes delivered babies who had the same birthweight as non-smokers, a new study reveals. The study at the Coombe Hospital found it was significantly greater than the birthweight of tobacco smokers.”

VAPING NEWS:

Vaping mums’ babies weigh same as non-smokers’

STUDY:

Electronic cigarette use in pregnancy is not associated with low birth weight or preterm delivery

“In her latest video for National Review, reporter Kat Timpf challenges the Trump administration’s ban on the sale of pre-filled flavored e-cigarette cartridges. According to Timpf, this is a move “which is both a terrible idea and the perfect example of what happens when government officials insist on legislating what they don’t understand.””

VIDEO LINK:

Kat Timpf Warns FDA’s New Vape Ban ‘May Kill People’

“The Government keeps promising to regulate vaping. However, with no end in sight independent Kiwi vape businesses are left hanging and many smokers remain confused about transitioning to something that’s actually 95% safer, says Jonathan Devery, spokesperson for the Vaping Trade Association of New Zealand (VTANZ).”

ARTICLE LINK:

Govt’s ongoing vaping delay is helping no one

“The commentary claims to show the “invalidity” of the statements made by Public Health England (PHE) and the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) regarding the relative risk of vaping and smoking. At best, the authors try to show the absolute risk of vaping is not zero and that some harm is plausible. In doing so, they are refuting a claim that neither PHE or RCP make and an argument not used by anyone sensible in tobacco harm reduction. However, not a single word of their paper addresses the supposed foundation of their critique – that PHE/RCP are wrong and the risks of vaping are likely to exceed five per cent of those of smoking. As well as a number of baseless assertions that are not even relevant to the “at least 95 per cent lower” relative risk claim (gateway effects, smoking cessation efficacy and second-hand aerosol exposure), there is just nothing in the paper about the relative magnitude of smoking and vaping risks. 𝗡𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀, 𝗻𝗼 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮, 𝗻𝗼 𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 – nothing that discusses relative risk and why PHE/RCP are supposedly wrong. Niente. Nada. Rien. Nichts. Nothing.”

ARTICLE LINK:

Vaping is still at least 95% lower risk than smoking – debunking a feeble and empty critique

“While lawmakers warned the vaping illnesses underscored largely unknown e-cigarette health risks, pro-vaping groups noted the lung injuries have been linked to marijuana, revealing a robust and unsafe illicit market for vapes. “If the New York Legislature decides to wrongly focus on a flavor ban, then it should prepare for a black market where hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers seek out their flavored vapor products from unregulated sources, as opposed to from the well-regulated, professional retailers already licensed by the state to sell tobacco products,” Abboud said. Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, D-Manhattan, said the 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗵𝗶𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 needs to include every nicotine flavor product”

BILL TARLING – “every nicotine flavor product” wouldn’t include Pharma NRT products as they’re protected under a different act, even though they have over a 90% failure rate

ARTICLE LINK:

Vaping crisis: Why New York push to ban all flavored tobacco, e-cigarettes faces challenge

“The European Conference on Tobacco or Health (ECToH) is organised every three years by the Association of European Cancer League. The eighth ECToH will take place in Berlin and claims to be the main European forum for tobacco control advocates – but 𝘃𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘃𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, in the same way they do at the World Health Organisation FCTC Conference of Parties.”

ARTICLE LINK:

ECToH-Spasm

“The Oroville council chambers will likely be jam-packed Tuesday as two public hearings are scheduled to headline the City Council meeting. Along with holding a second public hearing to consider approving a ban on the sale of all flavored tobacco products, the meeting will also include a hearing to receive input regarding the city’s transition to a by-district election process. After the public hearing, the council will likely approve the second reading of an ordinance to prohibit the sale of flavored tobacco, including menthol, in city limits. If approved, the ban would go into effect 30 days after its signing. City Council unanimously approved the first reading of the ordinance at the Jan. 7 council meeting.”

ARTICLE LINK:

2 public hearings likely to dominate Oroville City Council meeting

“The board ultimately voted not to move forward with the regulations at this time, with three votes against and Levy abstaining. The board said they want to see how effective the state’s new flavored vape and tobacco ban will be at curbing youth tobacco and nicotine use, which Gov. Charlie Baker passed in November. “𝗜 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵,” said board member Laurent Levy. “We came up with these regulations because the state wasn’t doing its job. As we were getting ready to vote, it did.” 𝗗𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱’𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿. The board could revisit the regulations at a later time if they’re deemed necessary, they said.”

ARTICLE LINK:

Northampton Board of Health snuffs out proposed tobacco restrictions