Author: Bill Tarling

“Vaping has been proven to be an effective harm reduction tool for adults who are trying to quit traditional cigarettes. New research from the Consumer Choice Centre and the World Vapers’ Alliance shows that flavours in vapes are essential for helping smokers quit. In our recent policy paper entitled, ‘Why Flavours Matter’ we were able to show that banning flavours would have a profoundly negative effect on society, pushing smokers back to cigarettes or to the dangerous black market. Two-thirds of current vapers are using some form of flavoured liquids. Vapers prefer flavours over tobacco flavoured e-cigarettes, mainly because flavours don’t remind them of the taste of cigarettes.”

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A vaping flavour ban sets back public health

“Sky News host Alan Jones says the idea vaping could become illegal without a prescription under the grounds it may be defined as a drug of abuse is an appalling justification on the government’s part. The Therapeutic Goods Administration on Wednesday will hand down a draft of guidelines in relation to vaping nicotine liquid, it is expected the federal Coalition will classify vaping as a drug of abuse. This would mean vaping nicotine liquid will be illegal without a prescription and those who are found in possession without a prescription would be prosecuted.”

“No federal or state legislation governing e-cigarette end-of-life disposal currently exists, although some attempts are underway. Recycling and safety advocates say now is the time for action, before the devices’ popularity further expands with negative repercussions. Generally, e-cigarettes are operated by the user pushing a button that heats a liquid-containing plastic cartridge. The devices are not considered a safety hazard under normal conditions, but they do pose a danger when operated in ways not intended by manufacturers or disposed of improperly. “If you put a whole vape pen in a [collection] box and the button gets pressed, or it gets compressed just right or its battery is punctured, I think certainly the potential is there for a fire,” said Tony Smith, vice president of safety at the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI). Li-ion batteries still hold a charge even when they appear to no longer be useful, and small charges can cause a thermal event.”

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Calls for e-cigarette legislation increase amid growing fire hazard to waste and recycling industry

“Three recent studies demonstrate the improved health effects that come from the use of e-cigarettes, when such vaping products are used on a permanent basis and the use of all tobacco products is halted. The arguments used to promote the use of e-cigarettes and other vaping products is with a reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease or cancer, and as a strategy to decrease the addiction to conventional cigarettes.”

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Studies show e-cigarettes reduce smoking related illnesses

“The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Advocates (CAPHRA) believes Australia is increasingly out of step with forward thinking nations, rapidly becoming the “odd one out” in the Asia Pacific region when it comes to tobacco harm reduction and vaping. “Ignoring all evidence, the Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt’s determination to ban the importation of all e-cigarette products containing nicotine from 1 January next year is a big backward step which will sadly lead to more Australians smoking,” Nancy Loucas says. CAPHRA says there are rumblings that the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration will make an announcement in the next month or so for the full medicalisation of nicotine and vaping for smoking cessation. Ms Loucas says that if the rumblings are correct, Australia will create a huge black market for nicotine and vaping liquids, which opens up the possibilities of creating harm rather than reducing it.”

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Backwards Australia

“For people who believe that nicotine is the problem because it’s addictive and therefore will cause smoking, there is bad news. It does not not cause smoking, any more than a glass of wine creates blended whiskey drinkers. For those of us who care about public health, the news is good. Former smokers dismissed both Stanton Glantz and his Johnson  & Johnson funding – they make nicotine patches that compete with vaping – as a little too convenient, and data since has shown his claims were unfounded. Vaping is twice as successful as patches and gums (which have only slightly more success than hypnosis), so such smoking cessation and harm reduction, coupled with continued awareness of the dangers of what remains the world’s largest lifestyle mortality cause, will mean more people are living healthier for longer.”

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Smokers Use E-Cigarettes To Quit

“A industry consultation on how to approach regulating flavoured vaping products in Saskatchewan is underway. The consultation calls for stakeholder input on such options as restricting flavoured vapour product sale to adult-only specialty shops and online or in pharmacies, prohibiting flavoured products with high levels of nicotine or restricting flavoured products to only those currently available in nicotine replacement therapy. A Saskatchewan health advocacy group, meanwhile, is hoping Saskatchewan follows the precedent some other provinces have set in banning flavoured vaping products altogether. They plan to send statements on their position to the Ministry of Health later this week to coincide with the closing of the consultation.”

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Provincial consultation on flavoured vaping products underway in Saskatchewan

“The Michigan Supreme Court on Friday denied a request to reconsider a lower court’s ruling that halted Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s ban on flavored vaping products. The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled 3-0 in May to uphold an injunction on the ban put in place by Court of Claims Judge Cynthia Stephens. The state had appealed the decision to the Michigan Supreme Court and was denied in short order Friday.”

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Supreme Court won’t revive state’s flavored vaping ban

“The Office of the Ombudsman in Thailand has called on the government’s agencies to listen to the voices of vapers and harm reduction advocates before continuing or lifting the ban on vaping. Thailand has implemented a number of bans over the years, but the current one has been implemented with ferocity and seen many arrested, fined, and/or jailed. Ends Cigarette Smoke Thailand (ECST) told Planet of the Vapes that the push to ban vaping and criminalise vapers was rooted in the bogus work of Stanton Glantz. “The current ban on e-cigarettes is a violation of the people’s right to access safer alternative products and accurate information about e-cigarettes. We have requested justice from the Office of the Ombudsman to provide fairness to e-cigarette users in the country.” The organisation estimates that over half a million Thai vapers currently use a secretive black market to source their supplies.”

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Ombudsman Supports Consumer Voices

“The upcoming European Union’s Beating Cancer Plan is a historic chance to improve public health in Europe. A comprehensive approach needs to include prevention and harm reduction. While it is important that lawmakers do everything, they can to prevent people from starting smoking, it is equally important to support current smokers in their quest to quit. There is no tobacco nor tar in e-cigarettes and many of the toxins in cigarettes are not present in e-cigarettes. While often well intentioned most newly proposed regulations, such as flavour liquid bans or higher taxes, would disproportionately harm smokers who are trying to quit. Lawmakers should include vaping in the plan as a harm reduction tool to prevent cancer. We know that abstinence is not as effective as alternatives, such as vaping. According to a 2019 study from Queen Mary University London of 100 smokers trying to quit cold turkey, only three to five succeed – while according to the same study, vaping is even more effective for smoking cessation than nicotine-replacement therapy, like patches or gums.”

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Backing #Vaping to beat #Cancer