Author: Bill Tarling

“A London courtroom on Friday is set to see a patent battle between Philip Morris and two British American Tobacco units as they fight to corner the rapidly expanding electronic cigarette market. The two sides are going to trial in a High Court case focused on a patent owned by BAT subsidiary for a device that heats tobacco instead of burning it like traditional cigarettes. The first of Philip Morris products SA and BAT startup Nicoventures Trading Ltd.’s patent disputes to be heard in the U.K., the case is just one of a series of lawsuits worldwide.”

ARTICLE LINK:   Tobacco Giants Poised For Patent Trial Over E-Cigarettes

“The UK government is reviewing how the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 (TRPR) and the Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations 2015 (SPoT) are achieving their objectives. The public is being invited to make comments and it has been welcomed by the UK Vape Industry Association (UKVIA). “We’re asking for feedback on the effectiveness of the legislation in achieving its objectives along with any unintended consequences that may have occurred. TRPR and SPoT require the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to complete a review of the legislation within 5 years of the regulations coming into force. This is known as a post implementation review (PIR). We expect a wide range of industry, charities, academic researchers and members of the public to respond to this consultation,” says the UK government. UKVIA hailed the announcement with its director general, John Dunne commenting: “The UKVIA has been preparing for the consultation for several months and we will be engaging with politicians prior to the review to share our vision for the future of British vaping.”

ARTICLE LINK:   Government Launches Consultation

“Vaping is likely to be less addictive than smoking, researchers have concluded, after they found smokers had a higher spending limit than vapers. The study, published yesterday by London Southbank University, compared 25 smokers and 20 vapers, and how much they were willing to spend on cigarettes and e-cigarettes respectively. Participants were asked to say how many puffs of their chosen product (either cigarettes or e-cigarettes) they would purchase at increasing price points. They also had to choose between earning money or access to their chosen product. Vapers were more likely than smokers to turn down puffs as price increased and less likely to opt for their chosen product when presented with money instead. This suggests vaping is likely to be less addictive than smoking, as drug addiction is characterised by doing whatever it takes to access a substance, the study authors concluded. Over 90% of e-cigarette users are current or ex-smokers and e-cigarettes are the most popular method for quitting smoking in the UK.”

BILL TARLING — This is a casual study with a very small number of participants, so unfortunately we can only use it as a potential indicator, and not a formal scientific study as proof.

ARTICLE LINK:   Vaping less addictive than smoking, study suggests

“The Malaysian Vape Chamber of Commerce (MVCC) has called on the government to regulate the industry as it is no longer a niche market. Valued at RM2.27 billion, the vape industry is “too substantial to remain unregulated.” While the government has already implemented an excise tax on vape devices and e-liquids since January 1, 2021 MVCC believes that the tax regime needs to be broadened to include e-liquids with nicotine which make up 97 per cent of the Malaysian market.”

ARTICLE LINK:
Malaysian Vape Chamber of Commerce wants govt to regulate industry worth RM2.27b

“Tax increases, advertising bans and no-smoking zones are too biased as measures are still not successful in stopping addicts from smoking.” “Once again, the EU Commission is focusing on the obsolete “quit or die” approach when it comes to tobacco cessation, instead of designing a reality-based addiction policy.” Stöver also regrets that the EU Commission ignores the scientifically proven benefits of e-cigarettes in smoking cessation and even goes so far as to portray them as part of the problem. E-cigarettes are about twice as successful as other nicotine replacement products in helping people quit smoking, he said. “In addiction research, it has long been known that people more likely succeed in overcoming their addiction when they take many small steps instead of one big step” said the addiction expert. It is therefore not surprising that surveys in Great Britain show, that more than one million ex-smokers who used e-cigarettes during the interim phase are now completely abstinent.”

ARTICLE LINK:

Expert for addiction studies, Prof. Dr. Heino Stöver, criticizes the new EU Beating Cancer Plan

“Just before the first cases of the novel coronavirus began popping up in the U.S. around this time last year, public-health agencies’ biggest concern seemed to be e-cigarettes. In January 2020, the Food and Drug Administration announced stringent bans on many of these nicotine-vapor products, teenagers’ use of which former FDA director Scott Gottlieb called an “epidemic.” That same month, the Centers for Disease Control ended its months-long recommendation that all Americans avoid e-cigarettes, after mistakenly blaming them for causing several thousand cases of lung injury nationwide. For all this activity, though, the CDC was failing in its core public-health functions. Despite an $11 billion budget, the agency had never produced useful modeling of how a novel virus might spread and be contained. U.S. public health must return to its core function of protecting Americans from transmissible diseases—not from themselves. A downsized CDC should rebrand under its original name, the Communicable Disease Center, and stop trying to control behavioral health decisions like vaping.”

ARTICLE LINK:   A Private Fix for Public Health

“A month ago, American vapers were coming to terms with the government instructing the United States Postal Service (USPS) that it was no longer allowed to ship vape products including eliquid. The delivery company UPS has announced that it will cease carrying shipments in, across, or out of the USA. The options for those alternative arrangements are getting shorter by the week. FedEx already has a block and USP’s announcement compounds problems for vapers across the States. UPS has been contacted for comment about the likelihood of the ban being extended to the United Kingdom but has not replied”

ARTICLE LINK:   UPS To Block Vape Deliveries

“A total of 22,500 bottles of flavoured vape liquid estimated to be worth RM825,000 were seized by a team from the 9th Battalion of the General Operations Force (GOF9) at a house in Kampung Degong Telaga Mas, Pasir Mas, early today. GOF9 commanding officer Supt Nor Azizan Yusof said they also arrested a 30-year-old local man in the 1am raid. He said a number of boxes were found in the passenger seat of the van, and further inspections revealed that the boxes contained bottles of vape liquid. “All the vape flavours are believed to be smuggled into neighbouring countries through “rat lanes” around Pasir Mas, and sold on the black market at higher prices. The seized items will be handed over to the Ministry of Health Malaysia and the case will be investigated under Section 13 (a) of the Poisons Act 1952,” he said.”

NOTE: RM825,000 is approximately $204,000 U.S.

ARTICLE LINK:   GOF seizes vape liquid worth over RM800,000 in Pasir Mas

“In a submission to the U.K. All Party Parliamentary Group for Vaping Inquiry, the International Network of Nicotine Consumer Organizations (INNCO) has expressed its concerns about the World Health Organization’s stance on tobacco harm reduction. Specifically, INNCO is concerned about the WHO’s treatment of low-risk nicotine products and its refusal to recognize harm reduction principles to lower the disease and premature death caused by use of high-risk forms of tobacco such as combustible cigarettes and certain oral tobacco products.”

ARTICLE LINK:   Consumer Group Worried About WHO THR Stance

“Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ (ARFNZ) are urging that the new Vaping Act regulations focus on the end goal of quitting both smoking and vaping. Public consultation is now open for the ‘Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act 1990’ regulations, calling for feedback on proposals under review including displays of vaping products in retail stores, the use of harm-reduction statements, and packaging requirements for vape products. The Government consultation closes on March 15, 2021. The Foundation suggests mandatory staff training in smoking cessation for all specialist vape retailers.”

ARTICLE LINK:   Smokefree And Vapefree Advice Crucial At Point Of Sale