A special little extra for visitors to this site. The behind the scenes read. Enjoy!

Here’s the latest from Brent Stafford at Regulator Watch:

Nicotine vaping devices are a disruptive technology that forever changed the prospects for cigarette smokers who want to quit.

But success comes at a price and for the vaping industry that price is the enmity of many tobacco-controllers and public health.

One such vaping opponent is philanthropist Michael Bloomberg. He’s provided hundreds of millions of dollars to groups and governments in support of their anti-vaping efforts. This is why many within the tobacco-harm reduction community, grew concerned when hearing chatter about Bloomberg’s possible financial involvement with a new nicotine vaping device called Hale.

In this episode of RegWatch we are joined by Josh Israel the CEO & Co-Founder of Hava, the company behind Hale. Hear first-hand about the genesis of the device, how it’s being brought to market, who is providing financing, and why its developers believe Hale, is the true smoking cessation alternative.

Only on RegWatch by RegulatorWatch.com.

Released: March 6, 2021
Produced by Brent Stafford

This episode is supported by DEMAND VAPE

Make RegWatch happen, go to: support.regulatorwatch.com

“The message brought to the streets Sunday was clear — amend state Senate Bill 1147 to add menthol to the list of banned tobacco flavors. The bill among other provisions would make unlawful the sale of flavored tobacco products, but does not inlcude menthol among the flavors. Valerie Saiki of the Kaua‘i CTFH said there are some 15,000 tobacco flavors, including menthol that was thrown out in the creation of SB1147. “The lawmakers who worked on this are not smokers,” Saiki said. “They aren’t aware that menthol is a flavor and needs to be added to the list of flavors contained in SB1147.” The bill was approved by various Senate committees last week.”

ARTICLE LINK:   Students call for amending SB1147

“The impact of the pending U.S. restrictions on shipping vapor products is being felt internationally. The U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA), for example, has expressed “deep concern” about the measures, saying that U.K. business are affected. In late December, Congress voted into law a $2.3 trillion coronavirus relief and government funding bill that contains a provision banning the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) from delivering vapor products. Tobacco and vapor companies may use private services to ship their products to consumers, but the PACT Act requires them to register with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the tobacco tax administrators of the states into which a shipment is made. Critically for the vapor industry, the most popular carriers, Federal Express and United Parcel Service, have recently announced that they would cease all deliveries of vapor products. “The vaping supply chain is a global one, bringing together resources and expertise from around the world,” said John Dunne, director general at UKVIA. “It is bitterly disappointing to see these American restrictions having a negative impact in the U.K., but the nature of the supply chain makes it inevitable. In the EU too we are hearing of vaping businesses being turned away from major carriers. The potential impact on public health is grave, as so many people are relying on shipped goods as a lifeline during the pandemic. Without proper access to harm-reduction products we know people can revert to smoking cigarettes, today in the U.S. but perhaps tomorrow in the U.K.””

ARTICLE LINK:   U.S. Vapor Mail Ban Reverberates Internationally

“Starting April 1, British Columbians will have to pay provincial sales tax on sugary drinks and vaping products sold online. They’re part of a pair of tax measures the NDP government unveiled in its 2020 budget, but delayed last year amid the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. That measure will also require Canadian sellers of vapour products to collect PST on online or mail-order services to people in B.C.”

ARTICLE LINK:
British Columbians to pay PST on sugary drinks, vapes, more online platforms starting April 1

“Marijuana policy reform, tobacco harm reduction and racial justice are all at the center of the fight for (or against) three Minnesota bills: HF 904, SB 1271, and HF 600. As former director for the Drug Policy Alliance in Colorado and years as a police accountability advocate, I assure you the effort to legalize marijuana while also prohibiting flavored tobacco is at odds with solution-based logic. Minnesota currently has a 21+ mandate for tobacco sales, and many jurisdictions only allow certain products to be sold in adult establishments. These safeguards are solutions to youth access that are driving down access to tobacco products. Before passing a blanket ban, legislators in Minnesota should bolster its state laws and allow these tighter regulations to take root.”

ARTICLE LINK:   Paradox of legalizing marijuana yet prohibiting flavored tobacco

“Cristine Delnevo, director of the Rutgers Center for Tobacco Studies and a professor of Health Behavior, Society, and Policy at the Rutgers School of Public Health, has been appointed to serve on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC). She will be one of nine voting members on the committee, which advises the FDA on regulating tobacco products. The four-year appointment will end on Jan. 31, 2025. Delnevo’s expertise spans population-level tobacco behavior trends, particularly non-cigarette tobacco products like cigars and e-cigarettes, tobacco control policy and regulation, and survey methods research. She co-leads one of nine Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science and has published extensively on tobacco-use behavior patterns.”

ARTICLE LINK:
Rutgers Professor Appointed to FDA’s Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee

“Pandemic-related anxiety, boredom, and irregular routines were cited as major drivers of increased nicotine and tobacco use during the initial COVID-19 “lockdown,” according to research just released by Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. At the community level, retail access impacted cigarette and ENDS use differently. While cigarettes were universally accessible in essential businesses, such as convenience stores and gas stations, access to preferred ENDS products was more limited, since “vape shops” and other specialty ENDS retailers were typically deemed non-essential and required to close or limit hours. This drove some ENDS users to order their products online, which often resulted in long wait times due to shipping delays, or product backorder as a result of high demand. As a result, some dual users of cigarettes and ENDS increased their use of readily-available cigarettes.”

ARTICLE LINK:   COVID-19 lockdown linked to uptick in tobacco use

“The Manitoba government is planning to extend its ban on smoking and vaping in indoor public places to First Nations communities, but it could face a court battle. The Progressive Conservative government introduced a bill in the legislature Thursday that would end an exemption for reserves and other areas of federal jurisdiction, including military bases, from the provincial smoking ban. Ceremonial tobacco use would still be allowed. The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs said the province does not have the right to impose a smoking ban and could end up in court if it proceeds. Many First Nations communities have their own bylaws that govern smoking in public places.”

ARTICLE LINK:
Manitoba may face court challenge in attempt to stamp out smoking on First Nations

“A Green MLA who voted in favour of legislation to restrict access to vape products on P.E.I. and ban the sale of vape flavours now says the ban goes too far. The ban on flavours came into effect March 1, restricting Island retailers to selling only tobacco-flavoured vape products. Steve Howard, the MLA for Summerside-South Drive, said his understanding was the ban would be on flavours that appealed to children, but that some options would remain for adults. The specifics around the flavours banned were drawn up in regulations after the bill was passed.”

ARTICLE LINK:   MLA who voted in favour of P.E.I.’s ban on vape flavours now says it goes too far