Vape News | Gottleib Attacks JUUL | 75% Vape Tax Considered + More

Vaping News Headlines

Canada and New York Flavour Bans? – Gottleib Attacks JUUL – Pod Market Soars – Vapers Busted In Singapore – 75% Vape Tax Considered – Vape Bans In India Continue – Vaping In the UK Parliament and Is It A War On Smoking Or Nicotine?

Canadian Health Organization Wants Flavour Ban

Ottowa Public Health is the latest Canadian health group pushing for an e-liquid ban in order to ‘save the children‘ and wrongly claim vapour can give you cancer.

As I’ve said many times there’s a slow – but growing – rumbling of opposition to the current laws on vaping in the country, and now OPH says it’s worried about a ‘teen vaping crisis‘.

Sounds worryingly familiar.

The OPH bases its call to ban flavours on a study it carried out recently which they say shows 23% of kids in Ottawa have ‘tried‘ an e-cigarette, and that 48% ‘mistakenly‘ believe vaping is safer than smoking.

Yeah, I know the kids have got it right those bumbling health officials have got it wrong – very wrong – vaping IS considerably safer than smoking.

What stands out and what shows the Canadian ‘kids are alright’ is the drop in youngsters trying a lit cigarette showing just 6% smoked at some level in the past year.

This hasn’t stopped OHP who are now calling for a ban on flavours to ‘clampdown’ on companies targeting children.

*sighs*

Marino Francispillai – the head of community mental health and wellness said:

You’ve got a product that is tasting like cherries and root beer and strawberries being sold, and youth are picking it up.

It’s become a bit of an epidemic at this point.

It still has harms because you’re inhaling particulate matter, and some of that particulate matter is carcinogenic.

It’s our role to make sure we keep the products that are not safe out of the hands of youth.

We wouldn’t hesitate to say we don’t want a bottle of whisky in their hands, but we’ve got vape products in their hands right now.

Oh my – the ignorance is strong with this one!

For a start off you can’t have a ‘bit‘ of an epidemic, that’s just silly.

And secondly as I’ve already said, there’s no evidence whatsoever that vaping causes cancer.

I could go on, but you get my drift. Another day and another set of scaremongering BS from those who should know better.

Canadian based vape advocacy groups need to start gearing up right now, because this is how it began in the US.

Gottleib Says JULL Will NEVER Get FDA Approval

Our old ‘friend‘ Scott Gottleib the former FDA supremo is at it again and once again has targeted vape company JUUL.

He just can’t let it go can he! He reminds me of a jilted lover spitting venom at his ex…leave it son she ain’t worth it 😀

Gottleib reckons when JUUL seeks FDA approval for its pod kit, they’ll fail, telling the media:

Juul is in a hard spot to ever get their product approved.

They have so much historical youth use with their product. I don’t know how Juul gets through an application process.

He says he has an inkling JUUL is trying to create a ‘child-proof’ kit but given the recent bringing forward of the FDA approval process they won’t have time as it’s the current kit that will need to be processed.

Surely the FDA approval process will be based on scientific merits and not over emotional rhetoric? Or am I asking too much?

Unsurprisingly JUUL was quick to respond with spokesman Ted Kwong saying the company was working on:

…a comprehensive application to demonstrate the potential public health impact of Juul products, including the unprecedented rate at which our products are switching adult smokers from combustible use, which will be reviewed by FDA technical and scientific experts.

Taken together with our industry-leading action on youth prevention and hopefully category-wide actions from FDA in the near future, we are confident adult smokers will not be left without a viable alternative to combustible cigarettes, the leading cause of preventable death.

Love them or hate them JUUL is here to stay – whilst Gottleib is not – despite his constant sniping from the sidelines.

BTW following Gottleib’s comments, shares in Big Tobacco company Altria – that owns a 35% stake in JUUL, dropped…things that make you go ummm…

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Pod Market Set To Grow As Profits Soar

If you think the pod kit phenomena is a passing phase think again!

According to market experts pod systems are big business and set to see a ‘stellar growth‘ between now and 2026.

BitCoin website TheWindReports says the driving force comes from developed countries looking for alternative to smoking products – and says the Asian market is going to be particularly lucrative:

Asia Pacific region has the largest number of smokers in the world.

Factors such as rise in disposable income, increase in awareness about tobacco related problems, changing lifestyle, and less penetration of pod vapes as compared to conventional cigarettes are projected to create lucrative opportunities for pod vapes manufactures in Asia Pacific.

The battle lines are already being drawn with vape giant JUUL holding the flag so to speak with other Big Tobacco companies surrounding them with their own pod kits.

However a kind of ‘scuffle‘ has broken out according to financial site Bloomberg, with Phillip Morris Inc desperately trying to block companies from creating ‘heat sticks’ that fit inside the company’s IQOS heat not burn kits.

The Imperial Brand’s latest HNB device – the Pulze – says the heat sticks can only be used in their devices however users have found they can be vaped in the IQOS.

In order to shut out the competition PMI’s Chief Operating Officer Jacek Olczak said the next version of the IQOS HNB kit will tackle that:

We’re working on heatstick-recognition technology,Only our stick will activate the device.

Stock market analyst Nico von Stackelberg reckons Imperial Brands would do very well indeed to get retailers to stock their heatsticks:

Imperial could get a lot of earnings growth simply by getting iD sticks on-shelf next to the IQOS heat sticks and by educating retailers that iD sticks can be used with other devices.

The heat’s definitely on as Big Tobacco companies vie for the lucrative pod market – expect plenty of fallout’s and court cases over the next couple of years.

And if this pans out – expect a lot more pod kit reviews…ouch 😉

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Flavour Ban In New York Looming?

Despite a couple of bills trying to ban flavoured e-liquids and tobacco in New York still not being passed into law, protestors are now ramping up the heat.

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson is under intense pressure from groups such as the American Heart Association, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Lung Association, and American Cancer Society all of whom appeared at the recent National Association for the Advancement of Colored People – NAACP – calling for the bans to be brought into law.

Campaigners say the black community in particular needs to be protected from flavoured tobacco saying 85% of African-Americans compared to around 20% of white people use those kinds of products and suffer the most from lit tobacco related diseases.

The first bill would ban the sale of flavoured tobacco products except: menthol, mint, and wintergreen flavors.

The second would see the banning of all flavoured e-liquids meaning pre-filled pods and juices.

A spokesman for Johnson was extremely coy saying:

The Council is always working to improve the public health outcomes of all New Yorkers, and we are continuing to review these proposals as they go through the legislative process.

Interestingly enough Johnson recently tweeted he was 40 days smoke free telling a local newspaper – the Gotham Gazette no less lol – it was because he’d taken up a JUUL – haha excellent.

Source

Vapers Busted On Singapore Border

And no – we’re not talking about smugglers bringing in hoards of e-cigarettes either.

2 Malaysian vapers were stopped on the border with Singapore and found to be carrying a couple of vape mods – a few bottles of e-liquid and were arrested.

Vaping is banned in the country – effectively criminalized – and those caught can face fines of up to $20,000 or 1 year in jail!

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority plastered the ‘seizure’ all over its social media as I guess a direct warning to others:

During the course of checks, officers found a total of two e-cigarettes and eight bottles of e-cigarette liquids strapped to the legs of a 22-year-old male Malaysian.

Officers found e-cigarette ‘parts’ on another man using the same taxi.

The ICA has placed ‘vaping paraphenalia‘ in the same category as: undesirable persons, drugs, weapons, explosives or other contraband.

Crazy times!

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75% Vape Tax Would Kill Off Industry

Politicians in Massachusetts USA are mulling over a huge vape tax of 75%.

This says opponents would effectively kill off the local thriving vape industry forcing the closure of vape shops and businesses leading to hundreds of job losses.

Rep. Marjorie Decker said taxation was an effective solution to the ‘teen vape crisis’ adding:

We know that taxing has been proven to reduce consumption of tobacco products, and we know it will also reduce consumption of cigarettes,.

We reduce consumption. We reduce addiction. We reduce health care costs.

Maybe leaving e-cigarettes alone would see a significant drop in health care costs – they are after all considerably healthier than smoking – but hey WTF do I know!

Decker wasn’t finished there though adding:

Target young people, get them consuming. They become addicted.

I will not serve as a representative and stand by idly as they steal our children.

Now vaping is ‘stealing children’ FFS – pass me my sack and pipe lol.

Source

Another Indian State Bans Vaping

Gujurat has become the latest Indian state to ban e-cigarettes saying it’s to ‘protect the youth’.

Oh…my…God…

Minister of State, Home, Pradeepsinh Jadeja said:

To ban the e-cigarettes, the Home department will bring a bill in the upcoming session of the Assembly to amend the law (the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products– Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution Act) which regulates the sale and consumption of such items.

We have observed a disturbing trend wherein youths are purchasing the e-cigarettes online, as there is no specific law which bans their sale or consumption in the state.

That makes it 13 states in India now banning e-cigarettes and despite the country having 12% of the world’s smoking population resulting in over 1million tobacco related deaths per year.

Not only that the so called ‘expert’ told the media e-cigarettes contained carcinogenic ‘hazardous chemicals’ such as Propylene Glycol [lol] and lead…WTF?

Undeterred by the true facts Jadeja ended with:

This is a dangerous form of addiction which is becoming popular among youths and even young children. In India, youths below the age of 18 years are also buying it online.

Words fail me.

Might I suggest the following article: What’s really In Your E-liquid

Source

Question On Vaping In UK Parliament

I’m not sure what Labour MP Paul Farrelly was worried about given the UK shows teen vaping is extremely low.

However in a recent written question to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, he wanted to know what the UK Government was doing to tackle ‘underage vaping’.

Virtue signalling much?

Here’s the full reply from Seema Kennedy, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care:

The European Union’s Tobacco Product Directive (2014/40/EU) legislates for, amongst other matters, the regulation of electronic cigarettes. It has been transposed into United Kingdom law by the UK Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016.

The legislation introduced measures to regulate e-cigarettes to reduce the risk of harm to children through rules on product safety, labelling and restrictions on advertising for electronic cigarettes.

Furthermore, the Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale and Proxy Purchasing) Regulations 2015 makes it illegal to sell an electronic cigarette to any one aged under 18 years. Local trading standards have enforcement powers to take action on breaches of both sets of regulations.

We continue to monitor the evidence and data on youth vaping. Public Health England’s latest e-cigarette evidence review published in February 2019 indicates regular youth use of electronic cigarettes remains low.

The Government has also made a commitment to review the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 by May 2021, and the Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale and Proxy Purchasing) Regulations 2015 by May 2020.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it and stop looking for a bloody headline.

Incidentally and given the current furor around a Tory MP ‘manhandling’ a female protestor, back in 2010 and during a Parliament ‘karaoke party’ [*shudders*] the MP allegedly wrestled a man to the ground leaving him with a cut eye lol.

Not sure why I added that – made me chuckle and I guess it shows the MP in question enjoys a good fight – but back off e-cigs mate, you will lose lol.

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and finally…Is It A War On Smoking OR Nicotine?

The American Lung Association was virtue signalling again and calling for a ban of all flavoured ‘tobacco products’ meaning of course e-liquids.

However the excellent Greg Baughman aka the Vaping Vigilante took them to task asking the simple question – “when did the war on smoking turn into the war on nicotine?”

When indeed and a great point considering nicotine falls into the same overall chemical category as caffeine!

I’m loving that image ridiculing the approval of caffeine and the demonization of nicotine – nice job mate and one to share all over social media 😉

More vape news on Wednesday!