Two students from the University of Miami are spearheading a petition which will see the university mascot (Sebastian the Ibis) given an electronic cigarette like Juul instead of having a pipe in its mouth like it has been in the past. Alex Castillo and Kevin Fernandes feel that the pipe is an “old-school” device which is out of touch with the current realities. Vaping is the in-thing, they say, and they want the university mascot to be updated to reflect this contemporary reality. The petition is running on Change.org and requires at least 200 signatures in order to compel the president of the students’ union to raise the matter with the higher levels of the university’s administration. Such petitions reveal how much vaping has become an integral part of life today to the extent that even students want it reflected in various aspects of campus life. I wonder what Sebastian the Ibis would feel about losing the tobacco pipe he has had for so long?!
Research Finds High Vaping Voltage May Expose Users to Formaldehyde
As the world waits for more scientific information about the long-term effects of electronic cigarettes, new findings show that vapers should be cautious about the voltage of their devices as they vape. This is because a group of researchers discovered that vaping at high voltages resulted in the production of formaldehyde due to the heating of the PG in the e-juice. Users should therefore be cautious about ramping up the voltage to the limits of their devices. The research has attracted debate regarding the practicality of vaping at the voltage levels used in the study since such high levels can make vaping unpleasant. Don’t wait for the scientific community to reach a consensus on the matter. After all, there is agreement that vaping isn’t entirely risk-free, so keep your voltage as low as possible in order to reduce that potential risk to a lower degree.
FDA Seizes Juul Documents in Teen Vaping Crackdown
The documents relate to the marketing and sales practices of the company. The regulator is trying to understand why different electronic cigarette products, especially Juul products, are so appealing to teens. Juul currently commands about 72% of the electronic cigarette market in the U.S. Kevin Burns, the CEO of Juul Labs, revealed that they are cooperating fully with the regulator in order to be part of the solution to what the FDA calls an epidemic of teen vaping. It is not yet clear which other e-cigarette makers will be the subject of similar seizures.
FDA Seizes Juul Documents in Teen Vaping Crackdown
The FDA announced last week that it had seized about 1,000 pages of documents from Juul Labs during a surprise inspection. The documents relate to the marketing and sales practices of the company. The regulator is trying to understand why different electronic cigarette products, especially Juul products, are so appealing to teens. Juul currently commands about 72% of the electronic cigarette market in the U.S. Kevin Burns, the CEO of Juul Labs, revealed that they are cooperating fully with the regulator in order to be part of the solution to what the FDA calls an epidemic of teen vaping. It is not yet clear which other e-cigarette makers will be the subject of similar seizures. Do you think the action taken by the FDA will help the regulator to unearth why “Juuling” has become such a hit among teens?
North Carolina Updates No Tobacco Signs in Schools to Include Electronic Cigarettes
Cleveland County has become the first jurisdiction in North Carolina to update its tobacco-free signs in schools to include e-cigarettes. The signage is in line with state law which includes electronic cigarettes among the tobacco products banned on school grounds or premises. The Cleveland County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition partnered with the public schools to put up those signs. North Carolina passed a law to make schools tobacco-free zones about 10 years ago and the policy has been rewarded with a 50% drop in cigarette smoking among high schoolers since that law was passed. The inclusion of e-cigs in the signage is intended to make it clear that vaping is also illegal on school campuses. Should this approach be borrowed by school districts in other states where “juuling” has become a popular activity? The results of this new campaign in Cleveland County will guide other school districts on the effectiveness of this approach.
Juul Imitations Flood American Market
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration stopped the introduction of new electronic cigarette products without regulatory approval in August 2016. Existing products on the market would also need to seek approval by 2022. However, that deadline seems to have been flouted by numerous manufacturers who have brought Juul look-alikes on the market. The manufacturers include Kandypens, VGOD, Myle Vapor, Imperial Brands Plc and British American Tobacco Plc. The copycats are less pricy than Juul and are already making inroads among teens who welcome the cheaper alternative to the Juul pods. The new products are openly marketed on company websites and on social media channels. This mutation is sure to increase the headache of regulators who are grappling to understand the appeal of Juul and flavored e-liquids among minors. It remains to be seen what the FDA will do in response to the blatant defiance of its restriction by the makers of the new products.
Swiss Vaping Industry Players Agree to Ban Sales to Minors
Producers and retailers of electronic cigarette products in Switzerland have voluntarily agreed to stop selling e-cigs to minors even if no law exists in the country banning such sales. The code of conduct agreed to by a consortium of large retailers and e-cig makers took effect on October 1, 2018. This decision was welcomed by the regulator (Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office) under whose docket the electronic cigarette industry lies. Laws are currently being drafted to regulate the electronic cigarette industry on various aspects, such as who should or shouldn’t be allowed to buy the products. The voluntary ban comes after the Federal Administrative Court in Switzerland overturned the government ban of e-cig sales in the country. The court argued that those products are allowed in the EU, so the government had no right to ban them in an EU member state. The court’s ruling was issued in April. It remains to be seen what specific measures the electronic cigarette manufacturers and retailers will enforce in order to prevent teens from buying their products.
FDA Launches Ads in High School Bathrooms to Prevent Teen Vaping
The FDA started implementing its “The Real Cost” campaign in 2014 in order to educate teens about the dangers of tobacco use. That campaign has now been expanded to include messages to teens about the dangers of vaping electronic cigarettes. Social media as well as ads placed in high school bathrooms will be used to get these messages to as many teens as possible. The FDA is particularly concerned by “an epidemic” of vaping among teens, with Juul pods as the most popular product among underage vapers. The education campaign comes at a time when the regulator is threatening “historic” action against several e-cig manufacturers that are thought to target teens with their product designs and marketing messages. Anyone with useful suggestions that can help to put an end to underage access to electronic cigarettes and other addictive substances should share that information so that teens can be saved from the risks associated with these products.
UAE Could Lift Ban on Electronic Cigarettes
The authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are reviewing available information about the potential benefits of novel tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes, with a view to lifting the ban on those products in case the review concludes that they will bring public health benefits to the smokers in the country. ESMA (Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology) is the government consumer watchdog charged with the responsibility of conducting that data review. Industry players like Philip Morris International have welcomed the review saying that they are willing to work with the authorities in order to create conditions that avail needed products without creating any additional risks. Will the UAE think carefully about the challenges that the U.S. FDA is facing in trying to curb teen vaping as it ponders whether to open its borders to electronic cigarettes?
Prisoners in Scotland to Vape at No Cost
Scotland plans to offer prison inmates free electronic cigarettes starting in November 2018 for two months. Thereafter, inmates will buy their own e-cigs at subsidized rates until April next year. Prisoners who wish to continue vaping after April 2019 will buy their devices at the normal market rates. The Scottish government has taken this rare step in order to enable prisoners to transition to vaping once smoking is banned in all prisons at the end of November this year. The ban brings Scotland in line with the UK’s decision to ban smoking in all public places, including prisons. Millions die each year due to secondhand smoke, so prisons are going to be smoke-free zones for public health reasons. What lessons can the correctional facilities in the US learn from the Scottish example? Read the entire article and learn why Scotland chose a different approach to enforce the ban on smoking in prisons after observing what transpired in England and Wales.