VAPING NEWS

VAPING NEWS: INDIANA [Vape Tax]

“Senate Republicans won’t include an increase in the state’s cigarette tax in their budget proposal. The House Republican budget included a 50 cent hike. But Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray (R-Martinsville) said his caucus isn’t prepared to do even that. “Obviously it’s a very regressive tax and so we want to be cognizant of that,” Bray said. Bray said the Senate GOP budget (which will be unveiled next week) will likely impose a new tax on e-cigarettes, which he said brings them into parity with traditional cigarettes.”

ARTICLE LINK:   Senate Republicans Won’t Include Cigarette Tax Hike In Budget

VAPING NEWS: AUSTRALIA [Beach Ban]

“Smoking will be banned at some of Mornington Peninsula’s most popular beaches and public areas in a bid to reduce the tens of thousands of cigarette butts littering the coastline. The beaches and foreshore areas at Rye, Safety Beach and Mount Eliza will be subject to the smoking bans from this month. The Point Leo Foreshore Reserve management committee said it was also considering a ban this week. The Bayside City Council followed suit last year, introducing a smoking ban across all its beaches. In May the council warned that local laws officers would patrol beaches, issuing warnings for a first offence and $200 infringement notices for subsequent offences. The Bayside ban also applies to vaping and e-cigarettes.”

ARTICLE LINK:
‘Dirty look is enough’: Mornington Peninsula beach smoking ban steers clear of fines

VAPING NEWS: WHO PUSHING FOR E-LIQUID VAPE PRODUCT PROHIBITION

“The All Party Parliamentary Group on Vaping has published its report on the WHO’s secretive tobacco conferences, the latest of which is due to be held in the Netherlands in November. Known as COP meetings (conference of the parties), they have become a hotbed of anti-vaping agitation in recent years. The WHO encourages member states to impose the strongest regulation on e-cigarettes, preferably including prohibition. They made the wrong call early on and has been doubling down ever since… Two leaked papers from WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO) suggest that the WHO is exploring whether to advocate that reduced risk products are treated in the same manner as cigarettes or to ban them outright. The WHO continues to undermine a policy which has been proven to help people stop smoking.”

ARTICLE LINK:   The APPG on Vaping’s report about the World Health Organisation

“In a report released March 31, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Vaping calls upon the U.K. government to make the most of Brexit by challenging the World Health Organization’s (WHO) opposition to vaping at the upcoming Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Conference of Parties (COP).”

ARTICLE LINK:   Call for Britain to Make Its Mark in Fight to End Smoking

“The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Vaping has been holding an evidence gathering inquiry in advance of the next World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC) Conference of Parties (COP9). As well as hearing from experts, organisations have been uploading evidenced documents to the APPG’s website.”

ARTICLE LINK:   APPG for Vaping’s COP Inquiry Submissions

VAPING NEWS: ALABAMA [Vape 21 Plus More]

“The Alabama House on Tuesday passed a bill that would ban the sales of e-cigarettes and vaping products to people under 21, the Alabama House Democratic Caucus said Wednesday. Along with prohibiting the sales of e-cigarettes and vaping products to people under 21, the bill would also create a database to track retails to monitor that they are following the law and regulate advertising to make sure minors are not being targeted if passed by the Alabama Senate and signed by Gov. Kay Ivey. There could be additional legislation regulating tobacco use, including classifying vaping devices and alternative nicotine products as tobacco products and penalties for businesses that sell such products to youth instead of criminalizing the minors.”

BILL TARLING — Rep. Barbara Drummond is putting fraudulently forward legislation based on her fabricated and unsubstantiated claims when she says “The simple truth is that these products are dangerous, highly addictive, and they are killing our young people.”. E-liquid vape products have not resulted in any deaths whatsoever when used properly, unmodified, and as intended.

ARTICLE LINK:   Alabama House passes bill banning sales of e-cigarettes, vapes to people under 21

VAPING NEWS: EU [Cancer Plan Vape Tax At Cigarette Rate, Public Ban, Flavor Ban]

“The European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS), a think tank, has produced a quick overview covering the initial reactions to the European Commission’s Beating Cancer plan. Initial feedback from nicotine consumer organisations was far from positive as the plan looked to tax vape products like cigarettes, to extend bans on vaping in public areas, and to ban flavours. Initially, The European Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (ETHRA) called the plan “perverse”, the World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA) said “the European Commission is allowing ideology to get in the way of science”, and The Independent European Vape Alliance (IEVA) said it needed “to consider all means available to reduce the burden of cancer related risk”. The Consumer Choice Centre, “a global consumer advocacy group, declares itself to be ‘deeply concerned’ by the Commission’s decision to equate conventional smoking with vaping and introduce restrictions that ‘don’t stand up to scrutiny and disregard consumer choice’. The statement notes that, ‘despite consistent calls from activist groups, including the CCC, and scientific evidence at hand, the Commission has chosen to pursue the path of paternalism as opposed to innovation and freedom’.””

ARTICLE LINK:   Think Tank Considers Cancer Plan Feedback

VAPING NEWS: SAN DIEGO [RJ Reynolds Can’t Stop Flavor Ban]

“A California judge on Monday thwarted R.J. Reynolds’ challenge to a local law banning the sale of flavored tobacco in San Diego, finding federal regulations don’t bar the policy that was enacted out of concerns about youth smoking. U.S. District Judge Janis L. Sammartino said the San Diego County law isn’t preempted by the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which authorizes the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco products. While the federal law preempts state and local laws on tobacco standards, it does not block states or local governments from passing laws.”

ARTICLE LINK:   RJ Reynolds Loses Bid To Strike San Diego Flavor Ban

VAPING NEWS: NEW ZEALAND [Flavour Ban]

“The Vaping Regulatory Authority has confirmed it received a total of 2,518 submissions on the Ministry of Health’s draft vaping regulations which closed on 15 March. Over half of the submissions – 1,375 – came from ‘general retailers’, leading a key tobacco harm reduction advocate to conclude the Government’s plan to remove all but three vape flavours from general retail has clearly prompted Kiwi businesses into action. “Petitions and submissions are great democratic tools, but the problem is this Ministry of Health made up its mind months ago, despite insisting in this process that ‘every voice counts’. In fact, before even reading these submissions the Ministry recommended that the flavour restrictions ‘should come into force as intended on 11 August 2021’. We now need pro-public health politicians to intervene,” Nancy Loucas, co-director of Aotearoa Vapers Community Advocacy (AVCA) says.”

ARTICLE LINK:   Submissions Reveal Concern About Loss Of Vape Flavours

VAPING NEWS: DHL EXPANDING VAPE MAIL BAN

“Following the government banning the carriage of vape products by the US Postal Service (USPS), a number of courier companies announced they would be joining the ban on shipping devices and e-liquids too. A number of British vapers announced they were experiencing problems shipping products in and out of the UK with a well-known company. A number of vapers have been complaining over the last weekend of packages being opened, returned, or refused to be accepted for shipping by DHL. DHL says: “Please note that the prohibited items listed below apply to parcels being sent from and within the United Kingdom. For international carriage there may be additional prohibited items specified by the country of destination.” We sought clarification from DHL and asked them if vape products are now banned for shipments within the UK and what the justification was for this. DHL refused to provide an official statement, but someone who wished to remain non-attributable confirmed that the ban applies to all UK consumers trying to send vape related products on an ad-hoc basis. At this moment in time, it appears business account holders will remain unaffected.”

ARTICLE LINK:   UK’s Vapemail Ban

VAPING NEWS: WS-23 TOXICITY STUDY

“LX Technology(RELX)’s latest peer-reviewed study published in Journal of Applied Toxicology showed the cooling agent WS-23 widely used in e-cigarette has limited impact on the experiment animals at the tested dose. The study showed that there were no deaths in any of WS-23 treated groups in the acute and subacute inhalation studies, with no remarkable changes occurred in body weight, organ weight, hematology, and serum biochemistry, and no toxic effects in the histopathologic analysis. WS-23 is a well-known artificial synthesis cooling agent widely used in foods, medicines and tobaccos. As a commonly cooling agent in e-cigarette liquids, WS-23 has led to concerns about the inhalation toxicity with the prosperous of e-cigarettes in recent years. The study shows that at the tested dose level, inhalation of WS-23 will not bring toxic side effect to test animals.”

NOTE: We put forward the same caveat, as we would with negative ANTZ studies, that studies using rats does not mean the exact same results are always applicable in people.

ARTICLE LINK:
Latest Finding in Journal of Applied Toxicology on the Inhalation Safety Assessment of the Cooling agent WS-23 in E-Cigarette

VAPING NEWS: ALBANY COUNTY, NEW YORK [Multi-Unit & Apartment Vape Ban]

“To protect the public health and welfare of its residents, the Albany County Legislature has proposed prohibiting smoking and vaping in indoor common areas of apartments and other multi-unit housing. As the director of respiratory services for St. Peter’s Health Partners, I see first-hand, every day, the health impact smoking and vaping has on individuals’ health. Secondhand smoke is a common trigger for asthma, irritating airways and making it difficult or even impossible to breathe.”

BILL TARLING — The letter/article is by Brandi Ewing, Director, Respiratory Services, St. Peter’s Health Partners — whose expertise is extremely questionable considering their absolute lack of understanding that e-liquid vape products do not produce smoke.

ARTICLE LINK:   Smoking should be prohibited in common areas of multi-unit dwellings