Vape News Headlines: Gottlieb Resigns – India Fights To Save Vaping – Vape Tourist Jailed In Thailand – Free Vape Kits In Manchester – NNA’s February Newsletter and Wine Snob Calls Vaping Vile!
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb Resigns
I’ve written a larger article on Gottlieb’s shock resignation last night on the main page…but this wouldn’t be vape news without mentioning this bombshell!
The FDA supremo claimed he was leaving his post ‘to spend more time with his family’ – a wishy washy phrase used by politicos for years…reading between the lines that phrase is the spin put on the real truth…in this case it could be anything…maybe it’s true and he does want to spend more time with his wife and kids…we shall see…
Gottlieb said:
It was a very hard decision. This is the best job I will ever have.
I’m leaving because I need to spend time with my family. I get home late Friday, work on weekends and come back to Washington on Sunday.
I did the job 100 percent.
On one hand it’s good news for the vaping industry whilst on the other it could be a case of ‘better the devil you know’…though to put it bluntly he wasn’t exactly a popular devil among the pro-vape community…we shall find out over the coming days.
Gottlieb had single handedly created the ‘war on vaping’ after being prompted by a barrage of anti-vape publicity in the US media. He labeled it ‘a teen vape epidemic’ which it has since emerged is over-hyped to say the least.
The Washington Post broke the news last night and say the current plan to restrict flavoured e-liquids in the USA will still go ahead. However the ban on flavoured lit tobacco and the idea of reducing nicotine levels in lit cigarettes will probably not go ahead…great news for Big Tobacco…
India Fights To Save Vaping and Lives
The Indian Government seems hell bent on banning e-cigarettes in the country despite over 1million deaths per year from lit tobacco related illnesses.
They are currently considering a total ban of any mention of e-cigarettes on the internet however 30 organizations including Heart Care Foundation of India and Amnesty India no less are fighting the plans.
They have been joined by the Association of Vapers India and director Samrat Chowdhery said:
India is reeling under a tobacco epidemic which causes nearly a million deaths a year. We stated in our submission th that denying people access to information on safer alternatives will, therefore, be highly detrimental and in violation of Article 21 of our constitution.
Amnesty India said the ban was a violation of human rights adding it is:
…concerned that the rules use vague and overly broad terms to identify expression that can be restricted, going well be well beyond both Indian and international human rights standards on freedom of expression.
It’s going to be a tough fight to say the least…let’s hope they are successful.
Thai Police Jail French Tourist For ‘Holding’ An E-Cigarette
After a female French tourist was jailed in Thailand for merely holding an e-cig the country’s vapers are calling for the current ban to be revoked.
Media reports say before her arrest in the popular destination of Phuket – 31-year-old Cecilia Cornu was asked to pay a bribe of over $1,000 to avoid detention – she refused and the cops locked her up in jail for four days!
She was eventually fined just $26 for the ‘offense’ of carrying not vaping on an e-cigarette and deported!
The current e-cig ban now has to stop says End Cigarette Smoke Thailand not only for health reasons but also for the terrible message it gives to tourists.
Spokesman Maris Karanyawat said the Government needs to remove the ban and regulate all things vape adding:
The news hurts the country’s image as a tourist destination. It’s a result of the ban on e-cigarettes, which is causing confusion in law enforcement.
Last year Thailand was shown to be the ‘worst country for vapers‘ to visit by the Global Forum on Nicotine – GFN – with ECST spokesman Asa Ace Saligupta saying:
Thailand has a draconian approach with tourists as well as local people regularly getting arrested for vaping.
Police often search vehicles at road blocks for e-cigarettes and then use them to extract fines.
This is not just terrible for Thai smokers who want to quit but also makes it a country to avoid for the tens of millions of tourists and business people around the world who vape.
The UK Government has issued a warning for vapers traveling to Thailand and those ‘caught’ can face up to 10 years in jail. The ban was introduced in 2014 however last year the Thai Government announced they would be looking at regulation.
Crazy to say the least…especially when you look at what happened following international outcry about the arrest and bribery allegations.
Police swooped on a number of market stall and shops arresting 23 people for apparently selling vape gear and e-liquids worth over £2K!
Free Vape Kits For Manchester’s Smokers
If you’re a smoker looking to quit in the Trafford area of Manchester go get yourself a free vape kit from one of 6 participating chemists.
I mentioned the council and NHS backed scheme in the APPG article earlier this week and whilst having some reservations I still think it’s a great opportunity.
The scheme includes a one on one session with a stop smoking advisor and as well as the device four weeks worth of e-liquid will be included and the offer runs throughout March coinciding with No Smoking Day here in the UK.
Ben Fryer, Public Health Registrar at Trafford Council said:
While e-cigarettes contain nicotine, just like traditional nicotine patches and gums, they don’t produce the cancer-causing carcinogens that are produced by burning tobacco.
As a result, Public Health England estimates that e-cigarettes are 95% safer than tobacco.
E-cigarettes are recommended as one option to help people stop smoking by Public Health England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the medical royal colleges.
To take part smokers must be over 18 and NOT pregnant…the latter going against the grain on current thinking on vaping during pregnancy…
To find out the chemists where you can get a free vape kit check out the link below.
Voices In the Calm – February Update From the NNA
Despite the furore over nicotine in the USA February was a very quiet time on the UK vaping scene but that didn’t mean the NNA put its feet up!
In its most recent newsletter the New Nicotine Alliance shows its advocates have been busy and welcomes the recent report on vaping from Public Health England. In a blog post on the matter they said:
All in all, this is a welcome report from PHE although we worry that the focus on youth use of vaping products is distracting from more important aspects of the role e-cigarettes can play to the benefit of public health.
We hope this is not in response to the wild irrational panic currently taking place in the USA where attitudes towards less healthy choices are completely different to the UK and where the system of politics lends itself to overblown reactions.
The UK is getting the balance mostly right with harm reduction and we look forward to PHE’s other two reports for, hopefully, more encouraging news and recommendations which can carry the success of e-cigarettes for public health further onwards.
Read the full February report from the NNA – Voices In the Calm.
and finally…Wine Tasting Scientist Says Vaping Is VILE!
If you think some of my reviews on e-liquids have been a bit colourful and critical thank God wine expert Anna Trapido isn’t doing them.
The lady in question apart from being an anthropologist and a food and wine expert has a claim to fame of baking a cake for actor Wil Smith and the late great Nelson Mandela as well as cranberry scones for Michelle Obama…impressive…
However after becoming fascinated by e-liquids she decided to put her well traveled taste-buds to the test. I have to say I do love her explanation of how e-liquids are used with a vape device describing them as:
…teeny tiny bottles of those liquids that attach to e-cigarettes.
Bless…
She told South Africa based wine lover website Wine Mag:
Essentially, I wanted to know whether I could recognize the flavours without looking at the label. So, I conducted a (somewhat tongue in cheek) taste test.
I got the über-obvious ones (cherry, cola, orange) right but not much else.
Sadly the shop she bought the juice from was all out of Merlot flavoured e-liquid lol…
…having vaped up a storm, I cannot understand what drives uncoerced human vapers. E-cigarettes are often used by those trying to quit ‘real’ cigarettes. Since a side effect, the aforementioned cancer sticks can be smell and taste dysfunction, I can only imagine it is this that allows them to tolerate the vileness that is vaping.
Given I recently got a taste for red wine – see my Facebook photo below – I guess I too should make the cross over and begin my career as a pretentious wine tasting expert/snob…
Here goes…
Surfs UP is a fruity little number that explodes with an almost incandescence rage of berry notes that quickly surf their way into a crescendo of tart sweet notes reminiscent of a slap on the cheeks from a buxom fruit seller of yore…gets you nicely pissed too…hic… 😉
I think I’d better stick to my day job 😉
*Shuffles Papers*
More vaping news on Sunday!
