Vape News Headlines:
UK Youth Vape Numbers Fall | Huge Drop In Amount Of Cigs Smoked | Gottlieb On THC Health Scare | Altria and PMI To Combine? | Mo Mad About Vape Advert
Huge Drop In the Number OF UK Kids That Vape
The number of UK kids vaping has dropped considerably since 2016 and continues to fall.
Research from the NHS shows the figure of those who have tried an e-cig remains a sub 1% of all under 18’s and that figure is falling all the time.
The results have been welcomed by the UK Vaping Industry [UKVIA] that points out:
- Public Health England figures from February 2019 found that while 1.7% of under-18s vape weekly, the vast majority of those also smoke. Public Health England say that among young people who have never smoked, only 0.2% vape regularly.
- The suggestion that young people experiment with vaping because it is cool has also been disproved by figures from June 2019 from Action on Smoking and Health which shows that only 1% of young vapers experiment with vaping because they think it “looks cool”.
- We want to keep it this way – vaping is not cool. It is a consumer product to help adult smokers quit and to help prevent adult vapers switching back to smoking.
- The ongoing debate comparing the UK to the vastly different situation in the USA may ironically have the perverse effect of glamorizing vaping for young people in a way that the responsible industry in the UK does not do.
Ben Timberley from Zeus Juice and a board member of UKVIA said:
These statistics just add to the growing body of evidence which shows that the responsible steps being taken by the vaping industry to prevent access to products by young people are having an effect.
Our own Association code of conduct insists on robust online age verification methods, a challenge 25 policy in-store and sets a clear expectation that products are only to be marketed towards adult smokers, vapers and consumers of other nicotine products.
UKVIA members will continue to work together to ensure high standards of youth access prevention across the industry whilst helping the remaining seven million smokers in the UK make that switch to a far less harmful product</span
Great news indeed and good to see the Challenge 25 scheme is in some way having a positive impact on underage sales of all things vape.
- Source
- Read the full NHS study: Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People in England 2018 [NS]
1 Billion Less Fags Smoked In the UK
More smokers are stubbing out the cigs in the UK says a new study funded by Cancer Research UK.
Whilst the continued growth in the use of e-cigarettes to switch is not mentioned in the findings, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see the link.
Between 2011 and 2018 [key growth years in the use of e-cigs] the average monthly use of lit cigs fell month on month by over a quarter which in real terms means 118 million less cigarettes smoked.
Lead scientist Dr Sarah Jackson, from UCL’s Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group, said:
It’s brilliant that over a billion fewer cigarettes are being sold and smoked in England every year.
The decline in national cigarette consumption has been dramatic and exceeded the decline in smoking prevalence, which, over the same time period, was around 15%.
This means that not only are fewer people smoking, but those who continue to smoke are smoking less.
Studies like this help to give us an accurate picture of cigarette consumption so we know where we’re at and what more needs to be done.
George Butterworth, CRUK’s senior policy manager was obviously pleased, but slammed the cuts in the NHS stop smoking services and called for the Government to make Big Tobacco pay for them:
It’s great news that fewer cigarettes are being sold and smoked.
Big tobacco said that introducing stricter regulation wouldn’t work and campaigned against it, but this is proof that smoking trends are heading in the right direction.
But smoking is still the biggest preventable cause of cancer, and certain groups have much higher rates of smoking, such as routine and manual workers, so we can’t stop here and think job done.
Last month the government committed to making the UK smokefree by 2030. But stop smoking services, which give smokers the best chance of quitting, have been subject to repeated cuts in recent years. We need the government to fix the funding crisis in local stop smoking services.
The tobacco industry could be made to pay for these services to clean up the mess their products have created.
Good news indeed – pity the study didn’t recognize the obvious HUGE impact e-cigarettes are having on the health of the nation.
More choice and less legislation mean more folks are quitting the cancer sticks – it’s that simple.
Read the full study: Comparison of Trends in Self-reported Cigarette Consumption and Sales in England, 2011 to 2018
Death and Lung Disease: Gottlieb Talks Sense For Once
As the American Government warns about buying illicit THC laced e-cigarette cannabis oil cartridges, former FDA supremo Scott Gottlieb agrees.
As you’ve seen in the media there’s been a sudden spate of ‘mysterious’ respiratory illnesses – including one death – apparently linked to vaping.
The truth is, of course, more sinister and the link between the 200 cases appears to be street bought cartridges containing Tetrahydrocannabinol [THC] the active ingredient in the cannabis plant, all of which appear to have other dangerous additives.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – CDC – warned last Friday that vapers should stop buying street-based nicotine or cannabis e-cig devices and buy only from reputable shops adding:
Even though cases appear similar, it is not clear if these cases have a common cause or if they are different diseases with similar presentations, which is why our ongoing investigation is critical.
The FDA is currently testing 80 samples of the suspected cartridges but no results have yet been made public, however former FDA boss Scott Gottlieb said:
I think this is probably going to be associated with illegal products.
It’s not like the major manufacturers have suddenly changed their ingredients.
It’s probably something new that has been introduced into the market by an illegal manufacturer, either a new flavor or a new way to emulsify T.H.C. that is causing these injuries.
As I said, he’s talking sense for a change.
Of greater concern should be what will happen if/when the USA’s PMTA legislation comes into effect.
As vapers favourite flavours are removed from sale more and more unscrupulous individuals and organizations will step into the breach creating an underground network selling juice with God knows what ingredients are used.
It’s a ticking timebomb, to say the least.
- Source
- Useful article from Rolling Stone: How to Spot a Bootleg Cannabis Vape Cartridge
Altria and Phillip Morris To Create Super E-Cig Corporation?
They spilt over a decade ago, but two of the biggest players in Big Tobacco could get back together to create the largest vaping company on the planet.
Altria spilt from PMI in 2008 and concentrated on global sales, whilst PMI pushed it’s Marlboro brand in the states.
The arrival of vaping on the scene has impacted on both companies bottom line and both are now making vast inroads in the world vape market.
PMI has created the IQOS brand, given approval by the FDA for sale in America, whilst Altria recently bought a 35% share in vape giant JUUL, and has begun investing in the cannabis market.
If the two corporations do reunite it would mean a combined company value of $200billion plus and see investment in more vape devices.
One thing is very clear and that’s of all the ‘vape’ companies on the planet, if they do team up again, they’ll be one of the few out there able to afford the astonishing cost of FDA PMTAs.
‘Mo’ Not Mad About Menthol
The Advertising Standards Authority has banned an ad they say features a Mo Farah lookalike promoting a menthol flavoured e-liquid.
Just 3 people complained about the advert, for juice company Diamond Mist, seen plastered on the side of a London bus and showed a man’s eyes and eyebrows with the phrase “Mo’s Mad For Menthol”.
They reckoned the image not only looked identical to Sir Mo but also suggested he had endorsed the product.
Diamond Mist denied this saying they’d used other faces and names in the ad campaign with no problems.
However, the ASA didn’t agree:
Overall, we considered that the ad was likely to give consumers the misleading impression that the product had been endorsed by Sir Mo Farah.
We, therefore, concluded that the advert breached the code,” referring to the CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.45 and 3.48 (Endorsements and testimonials).
We told Diamond Mist Ltd not to imply that Sir Mo Farah, or any other person, had endorsed their products if that was not the case.
More vape news on Wednesday.
