Author: Bill Tarling

“New NHS data shows that in London, local council spending on stop smoking services per successful quitter has more than doubled since 2016. Fewer than 80,000 UK smokers use the service each year according to latest data, down 70% from 2011 when this number was over 250,000. Meanwhile smoking rates have continued to plummet as smokers chose vaping as the most effective aid to help them quit. Recent data shows that there are now 3.6 million vapers in the UK, with 1.7 million of them having quit smoking entirely since switching to vaping.”

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Cost of NHS stop smoking services soars

“R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and other plaintiffs allege the ordinance banning menthol-flavored vapor products and other nonvapor products is an “overbroad reaction to legitimate public-health concerns” about youth vaping that bars even adults from buying the products. “The City’s Ordinance … bans sales to adult tobacco consumers and, moreover, indiscriminately extends the ban to every conceivable flavored tobacco product,” reads the lawsuit filed in Minnesota District Court on Wednesday. All involved plaintiffs either manufacture or sell tobacco products. The list of plaintiffs includes two Edina convenience stores: Lang’s One Stop Market and a BP gas station on Vernon Avenue.”

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Tobacco company, convenience stores sue Edina over tobacco ban

“Vapers have been largely reassured by recent EU safety regulations, but some have been pushed to the black market for stronger hits – according to new research from the University of East Anglia. The regulations include things like a maximum volume for liquid, limits on nicotine concentration, and the need for health warning labels. The legislation also prohibits specific hazardous ingredients. The study reveals how, from a consumer perspective, future regulation should not further restrict liquid or tank volumes and nicotine concentration, but should focus on ensuring e-liquid product safety.”

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How EU safety legislation has affected UK vapers

“The Australian Government has announced that they intend to ask the Governor-General in Council to amend the Customs (Prohibited Import) Regulations from 1 July 2020 prohibiting the importation of e-cigarettes containing vaporiser nicotine (nicotine in solution or in salt or base form) and nicotine-containing refills unless on prescription from a doctor. If the Governor-General agrees to make the regulations, the following questions and answers provide further information for individuals, health professionals and importers who may be affected by the prohibition.”

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Prohibition on importing e-cigarettes containing vaporiser nicotine

ADDITIONAL INFO:

“To date, no e-cigarette products have been approved as smoking cessation aids in Australia. These products are considered to be ‘unapproved’ therapeutic goods and the TGA has not evaluated them for quality, safety and effectiveness. E-cigarettes containing nicotine and nicotine for use in e-cigarettes to help a person to quit smoking can be prescribed by an Australian registered doctor and supplied with approval from the TGA. If you think these products may help you to quit smoking, you should speak to your doctor. If they believe it is the most appropriate treatment for your situation, they will be able to apply to the TGA for the necessary approval and help to arrange supply.”

Accessing e-cigarettes containing liquid nicotine

“The share of people who believe e-cigarettes are equally harmful or more harmful than traditional cigarettes depends on how the question is asked. the studies they cite predominantly use one specific measurement of comparative risk, according to the researchers. The authors say researchers should use both direct and indirect risk questions when assessing the public’s perceptions of harms associated with novel tobacco products.”

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Study: Assessment of Relative Risk Determined by Questioning

“The Michigan Senate approved a six-bill package Wednesday that would impose an 18% tax on the liquid nicotine solution used in electronic cigarettes and would specifically allow individuals to sell flavored vaping products. The new legislative package, which gained the backing of the Republican-controlled Senate, would set up an enforcement and licensing system for shops that sell vaping products. It would also change the age requirement for buying tobacco and vaping products from 18 years old to 21 in state law. It would also change the age requirement for buying tobacco and vaping products from 18 years old to 21 in state law.”

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Michigan Senate approves bills to tax vaping products, allow flavored vaping

“Louise Ross, former stop-smoking service manager at Leicester City Council, now a freelance smoking cessation consultant and Deputy Chair of the New Nicotine Alliance, maps out the role vaping can play in smoking cessation for the readers of Nursing Times. Louise was attempting to educate front line staff, but also conscious of the research showing that many of them hold reservations about vaping or are opposed to it entirely. “Nurses may encounter patients who have just started using vaping devices or have been using them for years. The popularity of these devices means it is worth considering how they fit into the pre- and post-operative pathway. The evidence to date has not identified any major concerns about the use of electronic cigarettes around surgery and, although vaping is not completely risk free, it carries a fraction of the risk of smoking and is helping thousands of smokers to quit and stay smoke-free. Nurses should, therefore, feel confident about encouraging patients to try or to continue with vaping, if it allows them to be smoke-free.””

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Nurses Educated About Vaping

“At this year’s online Global Forum for Nicotine, Doctor Riccardo Polosa spoke about smoking, vaping and COVID-19. His presentation was accompanied by Dr Konstantinos Farsalinos speaking on the role of nicotine and its relationship with the viral pandemic and the ACE2 enzyme.”

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COVID, Smoking, and Vaping

“Asian consumer advocacy groups and tobacco harm reduction advocates have welcomed Hong Kong Legislative Council’s (Legco) decision to suspend discussions on a proposed ban of vapor products, saying this will provide smokers with safer smoke-free alternatives. On June 2, Legco’s bills committee on smoking announced it had ceased discussions over the proposed ban on electronic cigarettes, heat-not-burn tobacco products (HTPs) and other electronic nicotine-delivery systems.”

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Hong Kong: Vapor Ban Threat Lifted

“A New Zealand city famous for its university, scientists, and academics is now being accused of making decisions about vaping based on emotion, not evidence. Palmerston North City Council believes there is an “unpleasantness of being exposed to vapour in public” and stands to reverse the gains made in tackling tobacco-related harm. “Palmerston North’s Draft Auahi Kore Smokefree and Vapefree Policy 2020 does not support the country’s smokefree ambition. In fact, confusing vaping with smoking only hinders national progress on Smokefree 2025,” says Jonathan Devery, spokesperson for the Vaping Trade Association of New Zealand (VTANZ).”

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‘Unpleasant’ Ban