Author: Bill Tarling

“By not scheduling a hearing, lawmakers in Hawaii have killed a bill proposing to ban flavored vaping and other tobacco products in the state. Legislators had until Thursday to schedule the hearing for H.B. 551, however, the legislation failed to get voted out of a Hawaii Senate committee, meaning the bill will not move forward. The bill passed the House earlier this month. If passed, H.B. 551 would have banned the sales of flavored tobacco and vaping products effective Jan. 1, 2024. Retailers caught violating the standard would have been fined at least $100 for a first offense and up to $1,000 for subsequent violations. This is the latest attempt at banning flavored tobacco sales in Hawaii. Last year, the Hawaii Legislature passed a flavor ban bill, but it was vetoed by the governor.”

ARTICLE LINK:  Hawaii Flavored Tobacco Ban Dies in State Senate

“E-cigarettes (vapes) are currently the most popular aid used to quit smoking in England and are used by around 4.3 million adults in Great Britain, the majority of whom are ex-smokers. A recent Cochrane systematic review found that e-cigarettes are a more effective quitting aid for smokers than nicotine patches or gum.

A major independent review of the evidence on the health effects of vaping, commissioned by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, concluded that “vaping poses only a small fraction of the health risks of smoking and that smokers should be encouraged to use vaping products (or medicinally licensed products) for stopping smoking”.

E-cigarette use among 11-17 year olds who have never smoked remains low, with only 1.7% of never smokers vaping at least monthly. While we are seeing an increase in vaping among children and young adults, the vast majority are young people who’ve already tried smoking. Vaping among those who haven’t tried smoking has to date largely been experimental with people just trying it once or twice.

It is vital that health professionals are provided with accurate, evidence-based information on vaping so that they can deliver advice and support to smokers, children and families.”

ARTICLE LINK:  ‘There are many myths about e-cigarettes and vaping’

“Kenneth Warner, dean emeritus and the Avedis Donabedian Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health, says there is enough evidence to support e-cigarettes’ use as a first-line aid for smoking cessation in adults. “Far too many adults who want to quit smoking are unable to do so,” Warner said. “E-cigarettes constitute the first new tool to help them in decades. Yet relatively few smokers and indeed health care professionals appreciate their potential value.” In a study published in Nature Medicine, Warner and colleagues took a global view of vaping, examining countries that promote vaping as a smoking cessation and countries that don’t. While agencies in the United States and Canada acknowledge the potential benefit of e-cigarette use, they deem the evidence to recommend e-cigarettes for smoking cessation as insufficient, according to the authors. However, in the United Kingdom and New Zealand there is high-level support and promotion of e-cigarettes as a first-line smoking cessation treatment option. “We believe that governments, medical professional groups and individual health care professionals in countries such as the U.S., Canada and Australia should give greater consideration to the potential of e-cigarettes for increasing smoking cessation,” Warner said. “E-cigarettes are not the magic bullet that will end the devastation wrought by cigarette smoking, but they can contribute to that lofty public health goal.””

ARTICLE LINK:  Researchers: Rethink e-cigarettes’ role in treating cigarette smokers’ nicotine addiction

“In a two-part Sensible Medicine post, Dr. Satel will argue that the use of electronic cigarettes should be welcomed as a disruptive public health innovation. Electronic cigarettes easily top the list of “disruptive technologies in public health.” In 2014, the Oxford English Dictionary christened “vape” the Word of the Year, a tribute to the impressive rise of the electronic cigarette, a battery-powered device that heats a flavored solution containing nicotine and converts it into an inhalable, or “vape-able,” aerosol. Electronic cigarettes have become the most important tool in the battle against cigarette smoking. And yet, today, instead of rejoicing at the promise of electronic cigarettes, health agencies have fueled a massive campaign of doubt regarding its health advantages to smokers. E-cigarettes are also more effective than nicotine-replacement aids. In the second part of this post I will discuss the (debunked) claim that vaping poses a “gateway” to smoking for teens, a brief history of the distrust of tobacco harm reduction, the lop-sided risk communication mischaracterizing teen vaping at the expense of informing adults accurately, how anxiety over teens has shaped the FDA’s heavy-handed regulatory approach, smarter approaches deployed in the UK, and how Big Tobacco wins when adult smokers are scared away from vaping.”

ARTICLE LINK:  Vaping: The Great Innovation Public Health Failed to Embrace

“There is now high certainty of evidence that nicotine e-cigarettes lead to higher success rates for quitting smoking compared to nicotine replacement therapy. This is the latest finding by the Cochrane living review on electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation, the objective of which is to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of using e-cigarettes to help people who smoke achieve long-term smoking abstinence. Backed by the National Institute for Health Research and Cancer Research UK, the living review is updated monthly as new data emerges and the latest results include 78 studies encompassing over 22,000 participants. The release of the latest findings of the live systematic review, which commenced in 2012, follows two critical evidence reviews published in October 2022. A secondary analysis of the Cochrane systematic review found that switching from smoking to vaping or dual-use appears to reduce levels of biomarkers of potential harm significantly.”

ARTICLE LINK:   78 studies and 22,000 research participants prove e-cigarettes help smokers quit successfully

“Vape shop, liquor store, convenience store, and hookah lounge owners in Tempe breathed a sigh of relief Friday after the city announced that it will no longer target a ban on flavored nicotine products. The City Council has been considering an ordinance banning the sale of flavored tobacco and vapes since August. But the proposal has come under fire for a host of problems: conflating the vape and tobacco industries, factual errors, its impact on Arab business owners and hookah users, and unintended consequences such as fueling a black market. After Friday’s public hearing, the council’s Human Services and Community Safety Committee said it’s shifting focus toward “establishing a tobacco seller’s license and fees to ensure compliance.””

ARTICLE LINK:  Tempe Swaps Controversial Flavored Tobacco Ban for Seller’s License