Vape News Headlines:
Total US Flavour Ban Looms – Scotland ‘Cautious’ On Vaping – UK Smokers ‘Suspicious’ Of E-Cigs – New Jersey Criminalizing Vaping? – Canada Flavour Ban Creep – and Dripping and Driving Device…
Outright Ban On Flavoured E-Liquids In America Edges Closer
Two new pieces of legislation introduced last week could spell the end of vaping as we know it in America with 95% of vape products effectively banned.
The anti-vaping FDA commissioner – Scott Gottlieb – might have resigned but his legacy lives on as politicians from both parties look to crack down on the alleged ‘teen vape epidemic‘.
The bills will go before both the House of Representatives and the Senate with those introducing them saying the have ‘plenty of support’.
Known as SAFE – Stopping Appealing Flavors in E-Cigarettes for Kids – in effect vape companies will have to jump through expensive red tape and ‘clinical trials’ which could cost them millions.
From my point of view it seems what the politicos are asking from the vaping industry is not only expensive but pretty much impossible with these three key points needing to be ‘proven’:
- Place Strong Restrictions on E-Cigarette Flavorings: The bill would generally restrict flavored e-cigarette products, but allow manufacturers one year to prove to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that their e-cigarette flavorings meet three criteria. If companies can prove that their e-cigarette flavors meet these three criteria, they can remain on the market:
- Help adults quit smoking cigarettes;
- Do not increase youth initiation of nicotine or tobacco products; and
- Do not increase the risk of harm to the person using the flavor.
- Ban Cigar Flavorings Altogether: Given that there is no public health benefit to smoking cigars, the bill would ban the use of all flavors in cigars within one year
In a press release co sponsor Senator Lisa Durbin said:
The health and safety of our nation’s children should always be a priority.The harsh reality is children are being targeted by unfair marketing tactics to make tobacco products more appealing to kids. From gummy bears to cotton candy and fruit loops, there is a laundry list of candy-flavored e-cigarette and cigars.
I’m glad the FDA finally took regulatory actions last year, but those restrictions should be made into law.
She was joined by health ‘expert’ Karen Perdue – a former commissioner of health and social services in Alaska who said:
Last fall the FDA announced that youth e-cigarette use reached epidemic levels. E-cigarettes didn’t become this popular with kids by accident.
I commend Senator Murkowski and Senator Durbin for their efforts to ban flavored tobacco products that are clearly meant to hook kids.
We cannot stand by and watch a whole new generation become addicted to these harmful toxins. Together, we can turn back this epidemic and take a stand for our kids’ health.
Another of the Bill’s sponsors is GU.S. Rep. Diana DeGette – speaking out against the bills Gregory Conley, president of the American Vaping Association said:
Rep. DeGette’s bill would constitute a de facto ban on over 95 percent of vaping products available on the market today.
[and she has]…little regard for the adult smokers and small business owners she represents.
I keep saying it…extremely worrying times in America regarding vaping…
Scotland Continues With ‘Cautious Approach’ To Vaping
Scotland has the toughest vaping legislation in the UK and shows no signs of loosening its stance any time soon.
Speaking after a meeting of the Cross Party Group for Independent Convenience Stores at the Scottish Parliament – Morris Fraser – who’s head of the government’s tobacco control scheme also hinted on a crackdown of advertising rules around e-cigarettes.
He told the media that despite Scottish jails now becoming ‘smoke free’ with prisoners offered e-cigarettes – the government was still ‘cautious’ about the risks around vaping:
We have regulated them more closely than anywhere else in the UK.
You have to be registered to sell e-cigarettes in Scotland, and we also restrict the sale of e-cigarettes which contain no nicotine – that is not the case in the rest of the UK.
He also stated the ‘bleedin’ obvious’ ruling out e-cigarettes being given out on prescription:
Just an example of how cautious we are on vaping – there is one e-cigarette product which has so far passed the test of being a prescription medicine in the UK.
But the firm was bought over and never put into production, so the NHS cannot currently prescribe e-cigarettes.
If you find that you can’t give up by other means, then switching is definitely better for your health, but vaping is not a healthy thing to do if you don’t smoke.
As to a possible complete ban on advertising he said:
But we want to do it in such a way that smokers still know that the product is there and know that it is better than smoking.
His suggestion of a tightening of e-cigarette advertising goes against the recent call from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that wants to see a relaxing of legislation and indeed allowing vape companies to make ‘health claims’ e-cigs ARE safer than smoking – something I reported on in the article: Relaxing Of The Rules On Advertising E-Cigarettes In The UK Welcomed.
Looks like the politicos in Holyrood know best or at least better than the UK Government – Public Health England and the ASA!
UK Smokers ‘Suspicious’ About Benefits Of Vaping
It’s a bit rich UK tabloid the Sun latched on to an article this week suggesting a number of UK smokers were ‘suspicious’ of e-cigarettes as being less harmful than smoking to say the least.
They used a study by Yorkshire Cancer Research that suggests three main reasons: stress – peer pressure and a lack of support…
Of course they failed to note extreme media bias and fake news was surely the key point that pushed users of lit tobacco away from the 95% proven to be safer e-cigarettes!
However the meat of the report makes for worrying reading.
844 smokers and 1,156 ex-smokers took part in the survey with 1:10 saying they had quit thanks to vaping not only improving their health but also saving an average of £337.80 per year – two figures
that seem suspiciously low to me…I guess I have to bare in mind this was a very localized study.
Dr Kathryn Scott – the Chief Executive of Yorkshire Cancer Research said:
Vaping is a great tool to help people quit – and it’s 95 per cent less harmful than cigarettes.
But everyone is different, so the best way to help you give up is to get support from a local stop smoking service.
These services understand people smoke for a whole host of reasons and know it is really hard to stop.
They can help smokers quit using a method which suits them, whether it be vaping, patches or something else.
I have no doubt whatsoever that if the mainstream media stopped latching onto every single anti-vape study and followed the facts – many more smokers would quit the killer habit…sadly bad news sells more papers and always has…
A point in case being this headline just a day or two later in the same newspaper: VAPING TOLL E-cigarettes ‘increase risk of heart attack and depression’ – as expert BANS family from vaping.
The so called ‘expert’ in this case was the well known vape expert [irony me naw lol] Dr Mohinder Vindhyal, assistant professor at the University of Kansas School of Medicine Wichita…
Like I just said – a responsible media wouldn’t give obscure ‘health experts’ with outdated thinking the platform in the first place…
And BTW we’ve tackled this issue around vaping and the heart: NO! Your E-Cigarette Is NOT About to Give You a Heart Attack!
New Jersey To Criminalize Vaping?
As its neighbour New York bans flavoured e-liquids New Jersey is getting tough on vaping among under 21s turning it into a criminal offense.
Under new legislation currently being considered – 18 to 20 year-olds ‘caught’ in possession of tobacco OR vape gear – could be arrested and charged with a ‘petty disorderly person’s offense’ and fined.
Co-sponsor of the legislation Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce said:
We need to do more to protect our youth from the harmful effects of nicotine products like e-cigarettes and vapes.
The popularity of electronic smoking devices among our youth is growing at an alarming rate. We need to send a stronger message to young people about the dangers of vaping.
*sighs*
In America it seems you can send the under 21’s to war and they can buy guns but NOT an e-cigarette…crazy if not sad and stupid times indeed…
Note: Kentucky dismissed a similar bill last week by a vote of 33-3 against.
Is Canada Creeping Towards A Flavour Ban?
I keep seeing warning signs that Canadian health officials are taking a leaf out of their American counterparts and considering an all out attack on vaping.
Canada relaxed legislation around vaping recently but a spate of media reports suggests city and national health groups are coming together under the anti-vape umbrella.
This week officials from Ottawa Public Health launched what they’re calling a “de-normalization campaign” to combat what they perceive as growing problem with city youths vaping.
The campaign will roll out in schools across the area where official figures show almost 50% of students don’t believe vaping and e-cigarettes holds any ‘significant’ risk to health…clever kids 😉
Rolling out the same old tired argument a spokesman for the health unit said:
Flavours appeal to youth and encourage experimentation.
According to a systematic review of consumer preferences, adolescents consider flavour an important factor in their decision to try e-cigarettes.
*Ahem* – so do adults…
Health groups are now hoping than can bring a vape ban in line with the current smoking bans meaning e-cigarettes being banned from public spaces and parks…
I have to say the phrase ‘de-normalization’ sounds like something you’d see in North Korean re-education camps rather than an extremely liberal leaning country like Canada…and again one asks the question – did they put this sort of effort into ‘educating’ kids about the dangers of lit tobacco? And if not why not…
…and finally…Dripping and Driving Device!
If you’re a dripper that drives you’ve probably pulled over and dripped because dripping whilst driving can result in a wet sticky crotch…nasty 😉
However help is now at hand thanks to the EZ Dripper – a device you can stick to any surface on your car – home or workplace – and drip!
It follows the same kind of principle as those spirit optic bottles in pubs – you push your RDA against the nozzle which releases the e-liquid.
I reckon it’s a great idea – however I’m pretty sure it’s yet another nail the anti-vape brigade will use to slam vaping…
So…good idea or bad? Let us know in the comments…
