Category: Vaping News

“A team led by Anusha Chidharla at the Department of Internal Medicine, University of Illinois College of Medicine, claimed in a published paper that vaping is linked with a number of different cancers. The World Journal of Oncology has now retracted their paper due to concerns about how the investigation was conducted, how the data were analysed, and the lack of evidence to support their claims. This is the latest in a series of deeply flawed studies that have been allowed to avoid serious peer review and been published in journals – only to be retracted later when placed under scrutiny due to their ludicrous claims. Once more, ever having vaped was conflated with being a regular vaper and, more importantly, no consideration was given to whether the cancer was caused by prior smoking or when the diagnosis was made and how that relates to the initiation of e-cig use. Journals need to start holding themselves to higher standards and prevent junk science like this work from being published in the first place.”

ARTICLE LINK: Cancer Risk Paper Retracted

“Research led by the University of Oxford, and funded by Cancer Research UK, has found the strongest evidence yet that e-cigarettes, also known as ‘vapes’, help people to quit smoking better than traditional nicotine replacement therapies, such as patches and chewing gums. New evidence published today in the Cochrane Library finds high certainty evidence that people are more likely to stop smoking for at least six months using nicotine e-cigarettes, or ‘vapes’, than using nicotine replacement therapies, such as patches and gums. Data from the review showed that if six in 100 people quit by using nicotine replacement therapy, eight to twelve would quit by using electronic cigarettes containing nicotine. Dr Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, Associate Professor at the University of Oxford, Editor of the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group, and an author of the new publication, said: “For the first time, this has given us high-certainty evidence that e-cigarettes are even more effective at helping people to quit smoking than traditional nicotine replacement therapies, like patches or gums.””

ARTICLE LINK: Latest Cochrane Review finds high certainty evidence that nicotine e-cigarettes are more effective than traditional nicotine-replacement therapy (NRT) in helping people quit smoking

““Vaping e-liquids can disrupt heart’s rhythm” report newspapers covering a new study, but fail to emphasise the fundamental point that it involved poisoning mice. A genuine tobacco harm reduction expert pointed out that the only important message is that “owners of pet mice should not allow their mice to use e-cigarettes”. Professor Jacob George, Chair of Cardiovascular Medicine and Therapeutics at University of Dundee Medical School, said: “The metabolism of mice is very different from humans and any extrapolation to overall, long-term human health is, frankly, guesswork at best. If this was indeed true, given the significant numbers of vapers worldwide, we would have expected to see an explosion in cardiac arrhythmia cases which we are not seeing in clinical practice, at all.“

Professor Peter Hajek, Director of the Tobacco Dependence Research Unit, Queen Mary University of London, added: “There are several problems with generalising the findings to humans. Vapers are not exposed to any significant levels of acrolein because overheated e-liquid has an unpleasant taste and so this is avoided. The study used exposure levels of the other chemicals that are tolerated by humans, but the same doses can be distressing to much smaller mammals with much more sensitive sense of smell and very different tolerance of drug effects. It would be odd if animals exposed to aversive stimulation did not show a cardiovascular response! The reason for conducting the study in mice is unclear. Animal models are used when the experiment cannot be conducted in humans, but there are no barriers to comparing heart rate and ECG responses to e-cigarette components and to smoking in humans.””

ARTICLE LINK:  Not Nice Mice Research

“US research that has said vaping can lead to “worrisome changes” in blood pressure and heart function has drawn criticism from British scientists who told the evidence remains that e-cigarettes are significantly safer than smoking. Senior academics in the UK expressed dismay and incredulity after suggestions by a US team of researchers that measurements of heart rate and blood pressure cast doubt on findings that smoking is much more dangerous than vaping.

UK-based scientists were critical of how the research, at abstract stage, had been introduced. Professor Peter Hajek, from the Wolfson Institute of Population Health at Queen Mary University of London, was among them and told the US researchers had been “irresponsible”. He said: “Like a number of such previous reports, the heart rate part is just noting a well-known short-term effect of nicotine that accompanies all types of stimulation. The same effect is generated by watching a thriller or a football match or sitting an exam. Drinking a cup of coffee actually produces a larger response of much longer duration.”

ARTICLE LINK:  Why UK scientists are calling new research on the effects of e-cigarettes ‘irresponsible’

“For those unfamiliar with the National Youth Tobacco Survey, the just published survey data showed that 9.4 percent of youth in the U.S. had used an e-cigarette in the last 30 days, that 84.9 percent of flavored e-cigarette-using youth had used a non-tobacco flavor, and that 26.6 percent of those had used menthol flavored e-liquids. On the face of it the NYTS figures are very scary, seemingly justifying immediate action on the part of FDA. But as with all percentages you have to look a little closer at what is actually being reported before you push the red button of alarm.

Within the CDC Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report setting out the NYTS results, the prevalence of youth use of Logic products is shown to be 4.3 percent. However, that is not 4.3 percent of all U.S. youth but 4.3 percent of the 9.4 percent of youth who were currently vaping within the U.S. With that clarification the numbers here begin to look very different to the headline announcements. The extent of that use reported by the CDC researchers is 4.3 percent of 9.4 percent, i.e. 0.4 percent. By their own calculations, the CDC authors estimate this to be 100,000 of all U.S. youth—hardly an epidemic.”

ARTICLE LINK: Fuzzy Math

“Prof Caitlin Notley: “The latest evidence review confirms that vaping is substantially less harmful than continuing to smoke tobacco. Reassuringly, the evidence shows that people who switch away from smoking to vaping are exposed to fewer toxic chemicals that may cause disease in later life.”

Dr Lion Shahab: “This latest report on nicotine vaping is by far the most rigorous, comprehensive and up-to-date piece work on this topic ever published in the UK. It confirms findings from previous reviews in this area that nicotine vaping is far less harmful than smoking tobacco, based on a summary assessment of numerous studies on the likely health impact of vaping. By implication, this should give reassurance to health services and policy makers that encouraging smokers who are unable to stop smoking to switch to these reduced harm products will benefit population health.”

Dr Jamie Hartmann-Boyce: “This is a comprehensive, well-conducted review covering a large and ever-growing body of evidence showing that, though not risk free, vaping exposes users to considerably lower levels of harmful substances than cigarettes. The findings in this new review support the use of e-cigarettes as a way to help people quit smoking”

Prof Peter Hajek: “The clearest evidence comes from looking at blood and saliva samples of vapers and smokers. In vapers, the chemicals responsible for smoking-related death and disease are either completely absent, or present at much lower levels, often similar to levels found in non-smokers. Smokers should be emphatically advised that switching to vaping removes almost all of the risks of smoking.”

Dr Sarah Jackson: “Many smokers are unsure whether e-cigarettes are a safer alternative to smoking but, as this report shows, the evidence is clear. If you’re a smoker, you can substantially reduce the risks to your health by switching completely to e-cigarettes and continuing to use them for as long as you need to avoid relapse to smoking. If you don’t smoke, it is safer for you not to start vaping.”

 “There’s been no honeymoon period for the Food and Drug Administration’s new tobacco chief, Brian King. The AP spoke to King about his approach to regulating tobacco and nicotine, including the potential for e-cigarettes to serve as as a less harmful alternative for adult smokers. Notably, he cited so-called nicotine salt technology pioneered by Juul as a potentially promising tool for smokers, but also warned of its risks for young people.

Q: Surveys have shown many adults think e-cigarettes are as dangerous as traditional cigarettes. Is that a problem?

A: I’m fully aware of the misperceptions that are out there and aren’t consistent with the known science. We do know that e-cigarettes — as a general class — have markedly less risk than a combustible cigarette product. That said, I think it’s very critical that we inform any communication campaigns using science and evidence. It has to be very carefully thought out to ensure that we’re maximizing impact and avoiding unintended consequences.

Q: What’s your view on the potential for vaping to help reduce adult smoking?

A: I think there’s a lot of really important science and innovations that have occurred in the industry in recent years. The most notable I think is nicotine salts (in e-cigarettes).”

ARTICLE LINK: Insider Q&A: FDA official on vaping’s “promise or peril”

“Juul Labs has sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration over the agency’s refusal to disclose documents supporting its order banning the company, which has been blamed for fueling a teenage vaping crisis, from selling e-cigarettes on the U.S. market. In a complaint filed on Tuesday with a federal court in Washington, D.C., Juul accused the FDA of invoking the “widely abused” deliberative process privilege to improperly withhold scientific materials that are “central” to understanding the basis for the June 23 sales ban. Juul said the materials would show whether the FDA conducted a legally required balancing of the public health benefits and risks of its products, including claims they help smokers quit cigarettes, and whether the agency’s reasoning was scientifically sound. Juul accused the FDA of violating the federal Freedom of Information Act by withholding a majority of the “scientific disciplinary reviews” underlying the sales ban.” 

ARTICLE LINK: Juul sues FDA for documents said to justify e-cigarette ban

“There were a couple of studies published last week that are worth bookmarking. They don’t tell us anything we don’t already know, but they contradict what a lot of people think they know. The first looks at smokeless tobacco and oral cancer risk. Gutkha, is strongly associated with oral cancer (partly because these products contain many other ingredients in addition to tobacco), but there is one notable exception. Snus was banned in the EU because it was assumed to have a similar risk profile to other smokeless products. It doesn’t. Not even close.

The other study looks at a remarkable feature of vaping – its extraordinary ability to help people quit smoking even when they have no intention of doing so. 12.7% of smokers quit smoking. Smokers not initially planning to quit within 6 months experienced higher odds of smoking cessation when they took up daily vaping (32.4%) versus no vaping (6.8%). The difference between a 6.8% quit rate and a 32.4% quit rate is enormous.“

“Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Friday vetoed a bill that would have raised the minimum age to purchase and legally possess tobacco products from 19 to 21 years old. The bill also included a tax on electronic smoking products that contain nicotine, which is what Dunleavy took issue with. In vetoing the bill, the governor wrote, “There were many conversations about what an appropriate level to tax would be, but ultimately a tax increase on the people of Alaska is not something I can support.”

Bill sponsor Kodiak Republican Sen. Gary Stevens said if he’s back in the Legislature in January, he will pursue another version of the bill. “It just means that we have to be smarter next year and work with the administration to make sure that we come up with a bill that they can support. And I think we will,” he said.

This is the only bill that Gov. Dunleavy’s has vetoed in the past two years, other than vetoing specific line items in budget bills. It’s his second veto in his time as governor.”

ARTICLE LINK:  Alaska governor vetoes bill to tax e-cigs and raise minimum age for tobacco