Author: Bill Tarling

“An MP has lobbied the Government to label stop smoking products as essential, so that people who have quit smoking can better access vaping products. ‘Vape shops’ should be treated as essential to help make sure ex-smokers do not turn back to tobacco products, wrote Stockton North MP Alex Cunningham in a letter to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. Whilst shops that sell tobacco are open and accessible to the public, those shops which sell successful stop smoking aids such as e-cigarettes have been identified as non-essential. This has caused a concern that any supply issues with e-cigarette liquids could cause people to turn back to tobacco.”

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Vaping products should be labelled essential, says MP

“New Zealand vaping representatives have joined forces to condemn the Government continuing with its plan to rush legislation through Parliament to regulate vaping despite the Covid-19 lockdown. The Vaping Trade Association of New Zealand (VTANZ), New Zealand Vaping Alliance (NZVA), and Aotearoa Vapers Community Advocacy (AVCA) say their pleas for more time have been ignored, making the process grossly unfair. Parliament has confirmed that public submissions for the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Bill will still close on 1 April after less than three weeks, with the Health Select Committee having to report back to the House by 2 June. The committee is expected to meet remotely from tomorrow, with oral submitters to present via videoconference.”

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Rushed Bill “Grossly unfair”

“Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, sent a letter urging the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to use its authority to clear the market of e-cigarettes for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic and use all available tools to encourage Americans to stop smoking and vaping.

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Subcommittee Chairman Demands FDA Clear Market of E-Cigarettes Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

“The executive who was overseeing Juul’s cost-cutting efforts is leaving the e-cigarette startup after less than a year on the job, the latest of several high-profile departures. Guy Cartwright, the chief transformation officer, is out, according to a staff memo sent Tuesday and obtained by BuzzFeed News. In the memo, CEO K.C. Crosthwaite said Cartwright had been “instrumental” in the company’s effort to cut $1 billion in costs, which began late last year. That included laying off 650 staffers, or about 16% of the startup’s global workforce.”

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The Juul Executive Who Was Overseeing $1 Billion In Cuts Is Leaving

“The Food and Drug Administration asked a federal judge to grant a 120-day delay for a deadline for e-cigarette manufacturers to submit applications to keep their products on the market. Citing “the exceptional circumstances presented by the global coronavirus outbreak,” the agency proposed moving the deadline to Sept. 9. The agency said its priorities hadn’t changed, but disruptions caused by the outbreak would make it difficult for companies to meet the deadline. Tony Abboud, executive director of the Vapor Technology Association, called the move “a step in the right direction” but said it likely won’t go far enough. The trade group sent a letter to the FDA earlier this month requesting a 180-day extension for large manufacturers and a 270-day extension for small ones.”

BILL TARLING – The FDA has submitted a Request — it has not yet been approved. Until it is accepted and approved, the deadline for the applications is still May 12th (even though labs are not fully functional or in operation to handle all the required testing and results on time for submitting PMTA applications.

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FDA Asks Judge to Delay E-Cigarette Deadline, Citing Virus

“Smokers who received smoking cessation counseling and used electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) containing nicotine were more than twice as likely to successfully quit smoking compared to those who received counseling but did not use e-cigarettes, in a clinical trial presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session Together with World Congress of Cardiology (ACC.20/WCC). At 12 weeks, 21.9% of participants given nicotine-containing e-cigarettes had quit smoking, 17.3% of participants given non-nicotine e-cigarettes had quit and 9.1% of participants given only counseling had quit. Overall, those using nicotine-containing e-cigarettes were 2.4 times more likely to quit than those who did not vape at all.”

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E-Cigarettes more effective than counseling alone for smoking cessation

“The COVID-19 pandemic has provided the media another opportunity to foment vaping-related panic. Little is known as to why some victims of this new virus are more afflicted than others. Such ambiguity presents an opportunity for the media to pick up where they left off only months ago when they were ginning up anti-vaping hysteria via a different culprit: illegal, counterfeit THC cartridges. Journalists frightened the public only to be proven wrong after thorough investigation by the CDC. Have they learned their lesson? Let’s have a look at what they are reporting about vaping and COVID-19.”

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Media is Woefully Irresponsible on Supposed Link Between Vaping & COVID-19

“Roberto Sussman and Carmen Escrig have updated their fact sheet on information about COVID-19 and vaping to include descriptions of the aerodynamics of breathing, sneezing coughing and vaping. They say it is needed because the pandemic has provided “fertile ground for spreading misinformation on vaping and that vapers must be equipped with solid information and data to counterargue.” “Unfortunately, the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic follows the years long ongoing pandemic of serious misinformation on vaping,” say Sussman and Escrig. “One of the main spearheads of this misinformation is undoubtedly Professor Stanton Glantz from the University of California at San Francisco.””

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Sussman Advises Vapers

“VApril, the annual campaign to help smokers make the transition to vaping, will launch on the 1 April and is going digital following the coronavirus outbreak. John Dunne, a director of the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) which organises and co-ordinates VApril, said: “Our VApril campaign aims to address the misinformation out there and give smokers all the evidence-backed advice and information that they need to make informed decisions about vaping and to give them peace of mind.””

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VApril 2020 campaign is rolled out

“The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received complaints that adverts on buses illegally targeted an underage market because they were used by school children. The ASA assessed the complaint and decided Vape Nation had not broken any of the standards. Two complainants reported Vape Nation to the ASA. The complaints were over an advert appearing on the back of a South Shields bus. The second complaint was about an advert on the side of a Chesterfield bus. The complainants said these buses are used by school children and therefore the marketing campaign was directed at them. Vape Nation Ltd said the adverts were placed on buses that were being used on commercial routes. The bus companies for both adverts confirmed to their media agency that they were only displayed on buses intended for commercial use by the general public and not on designated school routes.”

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Vape Nation Cleared