“Among environmental advocates the increasingly popular products pose another challenge — how to get rid of them after they’re used. E-cigarettes and pods for e-cigarettes or vapes can be both hazardous and electronic waste — depending on the product — and the plastic poses the same concerns as other plastic products that can add to overall waste and break down into microplastics that harm ocean ecosystems. There’s very little data available about e-cigarette waste, but Jeremiah Mock, an associate professor who researches tobacco use at the University of California, San Francisco, conducted a study surveying high schools in the San Francisco area and the kind of waste found around the building. He said the nicotine residue, liquid and flavor in the cartridge or device could pose environmental concerns as well as the plastic itself as it degrades. The lithium ion batteries in electronics can also pose a fire risk in waste and recycling facilities, causing expensive damage and putting workers’ safety at risk. “Now we have the fourth generation of devices with built-in lithium ion batteries that, you know, people are told by the manufacturer is disposable, it’s the thrown in the garbage or wherever. You know, there’s no, there’s no information about how to dispose of them properly,” Mock said.”

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E-cigarettes highlight the challenges of dealing with plastic waste

“Maryland regulators will immediately begin enforcement of a new federal ban on e-cigarette cartridges that come in flavors other than regular or menthol. Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot (D) ramped-up enforcement comes as the General Assembly considers legislation that would ban flavored tobacco products of all kinds. House Bill 3 and Senate Bill 233 would prohibit the sale of tobacco products “with a taste or smell of fruit, menthol, mint, wintergreen, chocolate, cocoa, vanilla, honey, a candy, a dessert, an alcoholic beverage, an herb, or a spice.”

MAIN ARTICLE LINK:

State Regulators to Target Flavored Vaping Devices

HOUSE BILL 3 & SENATE BILL 233

“Providing that licenses to manufacture, sell, buy, and store cigarettes, other tobacco products, and electronic smoking devices do not authorize the licensee to manufacture, ship, import, or sell into or within the State a tobacco product with a taste or smell of fruit, mint, candy, or other non-tobacco flavors; providing that a public statement that cigarettes, other tobacco products, or electronic smoking devices have or produce a certain smell or taste is presumptive evidence that they are flavored tobacco products: etc.”

Business Regulation – Flavored Tobacco Products – Prohibition

“The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is now enforcing its new policy prohibiting the sale of unauthorized flavored vapor cartridges. The ban went into effect on Feb. 6, and the FDA immediately began enforcing the policy shift. Tobacco and menthol vapor cartridges can remain on the shelf. “The agency intends to prioritize enforcement against certain illegally marketed flavored e-cigarette products, focusing on products that are particularly popular with youth and are easily accessible or marketed to them — such as flavored, cartridge-based e-cigarette products (other than tobacco and menthol),” the agency has stated.”

ARTICLE LINK:

NACS Warns Retailers About E-Cigarette Flavor Ban Stings

“After smoking cigarettes for 45 years, Tom Morawetz made the move three years ago to vaping. Before taking up vaping, he tried to give up smoking six times but always returned to cigarettes. He says his health has improved dramatically since making the shift. His lifestyle has also changed for the better and he has saved a considerable amount of money.”

ARTICLE LINK:

Former smoker describes dramatic impact of his switch to vaping

“State lawmakers are moving to ban the sale of all flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, and cigars. When California state Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, and his 29 co-authors introduced the bill last month, they said stopping youth vaping was the top goal. But Hill made it clear this law goes much further. “No flavored tobacco products, no exceptions, regardless of the device, the delivery system, or the product,” Hill said. Rather than implementing an unnecessary ban that would deliver numerous negative consequences, California’s lawmakers and public health officials should recognize youth smoking is already on the decline and setting record lows.”

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There seems to be no end to the bans California will pursue

“Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot announced Monday that his Field Enforcement Division is taking a first-in-the-nation approach to prohibiting the sale of certain Electronic Smoking Devices marketed toward kids. “Today, in addition to the FDA’s prohibition of flavored e-cigarette cartridges, I have directed our enforcement agents to take more aggressive action by prohibiting the sale of disposable ESDs with flavors other than tobacco or menthol,” Comptroller Franchot said. The task force has met three times, according to the comptroller. It will hold its final session on February 17 to discuss recommendations.”

ARTICLE LINK:

Maryland Comptroller Announces Prohibition On Sales Of Disposable Flavored E-Cigarettes

“A national watchdog group is criticizing what it calls a “unjustifiable…unconscionable” decision by the Center for Disease Control to use animals to study toxic compounds involved in the health crisis arising from e-cigarette or vaping associated lung injury (EVALI). CAARE emphasized that the CDC’s decision to use live animals is “totally out of step with the current trend to reduce and eventually eliminate animal testing in regulatory toxicology studies,” citing “decades” of studies that have shown significant differences in the anatomy and physiology of the respiratory tract of humans and other animals make them unfit for studying human health challenges.”

BILL TARLING – The EVALI lung injuries and deaths were caused by and illegal cannabis and THC products, not by unrelated nicotine based E-liquid Vapor Products

ARTICLE LINK:

Watchdog Criticizes CDC Plan to Use Animals in Study of Vaping / E-Cigarettes Health Crisis, Calls It ‘Unjustifiable, Unconscionable’

“President Trump has proposed removing the Food and Drug Administration’s responsibility for tobacco regulation in his latest budget request, an ask likely to be met with backlash from tobacco control advocates. The budget request, released Monday, calls for creating an entirely new agency nested under the Department of Health and Human Services to regulate tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. Currently, the role of the director of the Center for Tobacco Products is part of the FDA, and the person overseeing the department doesn’t need Senate confirmation. Any agency tasked with overseeing tobacco products would look at rules relating to reducing nicotine in cigarettes, regulating flavors, and putting warning labels on packets, among other ways to reduce smoking.”

ARTICLE LINK:

Trump calls for ending FDA authority for regulating tobacco

“Rep. Frank Pallone is now pushing for a ban on the sale of all flavored tobacco products, including smokeless tobacco, e-cigarettes, cigars, and, of course, menthol cigarettes. The New Jersey Democrat’s proposal would amount to the most sweeping prohibition in 100 years. But the traditional arguments for menthol prohibition are themselves a relic of a bygone era when smoking rates were high, cigarette prices were low, and tobacco advertising was ubiquitous.”

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The nanny state comes for menthol cigarettes

“Health Canada and its provincial counterpart in Quebec are investigating a widely disseminated Imperial Tobacco advertisement on vaping to see whether it violates advertising laws. The ad in question, which ran on several media platforms, warns of an “epidemic of disinformation” and of “hypocrisy” surrounding vaping. It was launched by Imperial Tobacco, which sells Vype vaping products through its parent company, British American Tobacco. The website for Imperial Tobacco’s “facts not fear” campaign describes vaping as a less harmful alternative to cigarettes. It talks about preventing youth from vaping, and mentions vaping-related illnesses.”

ARTICLE LINK:

Health Canada, Quebec investigating Imperial Tobacco vaping ad campaign