Midweek Vape News | UK Teen Smoking Drop | Celebs ‘Caught’ Vaping

Vaping News Headlines:

FDA Falsifying Teen Vape Figures? – UK Teen Smoking Drop – UK Vape Advertising Under Fire – Remove Vaping From TPD Campaign Launched – Australia’s Vaping Woes – Ban All E-Liquid Flavours and Celebs ‘Caught’ Vaping

Is the FDA About To ‘Falsify’ The Teen Vaping Figures?

The annual National Youth Tobacco Survey is currently underway in America and adding the word ‘JUULING’ could boost the belief there really is a teen vaping epidemic in the states.

Shortly before his premature retirement as FDA supremo, Scott Gottlieb said they would be taking an extremely close look at this years survey to see if there’s been another ‘spike’ in teen vapers. If there has he warned the consequences for the vaping industry over the pond would be severe.

Now imagine my shock to see the researchers adding the word JUULING to the survey…they say because younger JUUL users don’t realize it’s actually vaping. This they say has led to false results with kids saying they don’t vape but they do JUUL!

Brian King, deputy director for research translation in the Centers for Disease Control said:

We suspect that we may see an increase as a result of the more precise language.

Most kids are aware of Juul now that it has become a household name, but it has also become so ingrained in the culture that some of them may not know it’s an e-cigarette.

Things that make you go ummm…so let me get this straight…the kids vaping on a JUUL don’t realize they’re vaping? So by adding the term JUULING you’re expecting a bump in the numbers of young folks vaping and therefore adding to the already disputed figures?

I call that BS…and a flagrant massaging of the figures to attack vaping in America…

Lindsay Andrews from JUUL said:

We follow FDA in calling our products e-cigarettes, electronic nicotine delivery systems or vapor across our various forms of communications.

Expect outrage when the results of this year’s survey come out with a real risk of knee-jerk reactions from politicians. Things are bad enough over there as it is without fluffed up false figures adding to the troubles…

Worrying times indeed.

Source

Smoking Among Teens Continues To Drop In the UK

A new study shows the number of kids taking up smoking in the UK continues to fall and e-cigarettes have not ‘re-normalized’ the habit.

Researchers studied data from x3 national surveys involving 248324 youngsters aged between 13 and 15.

They found regular smoking in the age groups had fallen significantly by 41% year on year and the ‘acceptability’ of smoking had dropped to 43%.

The study found the decline mirrored the arrival of e-cigarettes which they say proves youngsters are not vaping then moving to the cancer sticks.

In conclusion the study states:

There was a marginal slowing in the decline in regular smoking during the period following 2010, when e-cigarettes were emerging but relatively unregulated.

However, these patterns were not unique to tobacco use and the decline in the acceptability of smoking behaviour among youth accelerated during this time.

These analyses provide little evidence that renormalisation of youth smoking was occurring during a period of rapid growth and limited regulation of e-cigarettes from 2011 to 2015.

Good news indeed.

Source

Vape Advertising Under Fire In the UK

The anti-vape brigade are up in arms over the way Big Tobacco in particular is ‘marketing’ it’s vape devices on social media.

The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority is believed to be currently ‘investigating’ seven cases reported to them by ASH – the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids and Stopping Tobacco Organizations & Products (STOP).

They say the use of ‘stars’ such as Lily Allen and paid ‘influencers’ on social media platforms means many of the posts are seen by youngsters.

Mark Hurley, from the American based Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids said:

By advertising on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, British American Tobacco will reach kids and young people.

Tobacco companies like British American Tobacco use social media to promote their products because they think they can get away with it and because they know it reaches young people in the UK and around the world.

However Will Hill, BAT’s head of legal affairs, as you might expect strongly disagreed:

Our response to the ASA will include independent data that we believe proves we take all reasonable measures to ensure our communications are targeted at adult smokers and vapers.

It is disappointing that these three groups are attempting to influence the ASA’s process by pre-judging the outcome of an investigation they have not yet been able to complete.

We believe the ASA’s team should be given the chance to conclude their investigation before we comment further.

Those folks from the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids are moving into the UK anti-vape scene quite rapidly it would seem.

Sure they’re a bit loony tunes with most of their BS rhetoric – but dangerous nonetheless…expect to hear more from them particularly in the UK media attacking JUUL every chance they get…

Source

Vaping Is NOT Tobacco Campaign Launched

I wrote a while ago about this EU based pro-vaping campaign and it’s now been launched and is calling for vapers across Europe to get involved.

It’s part of the European Citizens’ Initiative – which was designed to give all people within the EU a direct voice to the politicians.

This campaign is calling for clear blue water to be put between vape products and tobacco and the removal of all things vape from the TPD.

The campaign’s mission statement reads:

Our vision is to create a world where the evidence about the life changing public health benefits of vaping products is fully understood and their positive impact is maximized.

We therefore call upon European regulators to take vaping products out of the Tobacco Products Directive and to create a proportionate and evidence-based regulatory environment…

I hope to do a larger piece on this very soon.

Is the Door Closed For Good On Vaping In Australia?

Both sides of the political divide in Australia seem to have decided that vaping on nicotine based e-liquid will NOT be legalized down under.

As it stands now ‘offenders’ caught using nic based e-liquids can be fined and even jailed.

Australia has among the highest prices in the world for lit tobacco however despite the cost it’s estimated there’s still around 2.5million smokers in the country and the slow drop has now stalled.

Latest reports show well over 15,000 smokers die each year from smoking related illnesses – a staggering 50 deaths per day.

Despite all the evidence proving vaping is considerably safer than smoking the Aussie Government has steadfastly refused to even consider legalizing it completely.

And last week the idiotic Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt pointed to the alleged teen vaping epidemic in America adding:

What has occurred, I think, is a public health disaster, and that is not something that on my watch I’m willing to countenance.

He also used the false chestnut that vaping leads to smoking – disproved so many times it’s getting silly:

It is far more a case of being a ramp on, rather than a pathway off smoking.

So no, that’s not what I’m proposing, on my time, on my watch, so long as I’m in this role.

Like I’ve said before, the bloke’s ignorant in the trust sense of the word…

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Another Call To Ban All E-Liquid Flavours

A powerful US public interest group is calling for the immediate ban of all flavoured e-liquids in America.

The Public Interest Research Group [PIRG] has campaigned against tobacco products for years and has now turned its attention to vaping.

It has launched a new campaign titled “End the Nicotine Trap” and fears the current so called teen vape epidemic must be stopped now with the banning of all flavoured e-liquid products and the removal of e-cig devices that have not passed through the FDA’s health review criteria.

Director of the campaign, Matthew Wellington, said:

The FDA opened Pandora’s box when it allowed e-cigarettes to remain on the market without proper review of the public health risks and potential appeal to young people. Now, we need bold actions to remedy the damage done.

Whilst PIRG President Faye Park said:

Given the rampant rise in vaping in one year, it’s critical that the FDA pull e-cigarettes that haven’t been properly reviewed off the market quickly. Otherwise, potentially millions more kids will get caught in the nicotine trap.

Pig ignorant if you ask me…

Source

and finally…the Daily Mail’s Fascination Over Celebs That Vape!

Not sure why, but the Daily Mail can’t seem to go a week without a huge photo splash of celebs ‘caught’ vaping.

Last week it was Dec or was it Ant who was shown vaping in New York…

However it seems to be the ladies the showbiz reporters love to out as vapers and this week saw not one but two.

First up it was Boris Becker’s soon to be ex wife Lilly who seemed to be enjoying puffing on an IQOS at the ‘star studded’ German launch of the brand…

Then it was actor Maisie Williams puffing on a JUUL whilst filming…I have to confess I had no idea who she was – thanks Google lol…

One thing is for sure and that’s if any of the fans of these ‘minor’ celebrities are smokers seeing their heroes vaping might just get them off the cancer sticks I suppose…every cloud and all that 😉

*Shuffles Papers*

More vaping news on Sunday!