The isolated incidents of exploding electronic cigarette batteries in the recent past have given e-cig detractors ammunition to claim that vaping is dangerous, perhaps even more dangerous than combustible cigarettes. This safety concern has driven a team of scientists to come up with a new battery recipe which would prevent lithium-ion batteries from exploding. The new formula entails placing silica nanoparticles within the lithium fluid (electrolyte) in order to form a thick paste when the battery is involved in an impact. That paste prevents the electrodes in the battery from touching and triggering a fire. However, the new formula may reduce the power-storage capacity of the modified lithium-ion batteries. Would a reduction in power be a good tradeoff for greater safety for you as an e-cig user? Read more about this new invention and decide which way your opinion would be swayed.
FDA Announces Companies Are Complying With Ban on Kid Friendly Vapes
This needs a bit of a rewrite
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a press release in which it revealed that all the companies which had been warned to stop selling e-liquids that were packaged in a way that made them look like kid-friendly consumer products, such as candy. It is expected that the products which are no longer on the shelves of vape shops may return in different packaging that complies with all the requirements of the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) and the FDA. The agency reiterated its commitment to continue taking any measures necessary to ensure that tobacco products don’t get into the hands of minors. Do you think the measures taken by the FDA to prevent youth from accessing tobacco products and ENDS will yield the desired results in the long term?
https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm618169.htm
Vape Detector Gains Traction in Schools
Innovators have responded to the concerns of authorities and parents regarding teen smoking and vaping, especially given the wide popularity of JUUL among teens. The “Fly Sense” vaping detector has so far been sold to 21 school districts across the US and many more are interested in trying out this new technological intervention which can also be helpful in sending alerts about other incidents, such as fighting and bullying. The devices are cloud-based but have hardwired sensors installed in carefully selected locations, such as washrooms. Do you think such tools provide a way to stem the tide of vaping (or more specifically Juuling) among school-going kids? Read the press release containing the upgrades made to this software so that you can make an informed decision about how useful this technology may be.
FDA Renews Its Commitment to Tobacco Education Campaign After Positive Review
The FDA launched a Youth Tobacco Prevention Plan which entailed educating youths against the dangers of tobacco use. Research findings have shown that the campaign has prevented about 350,000 youth from taking up smoking. These results have given the FDA momentum to get into high gear in their preparation for a similar education campaign about the use of e-cigarettes among the youth. A key question arises, will that campaign look at electronic cigarettes in the same way as the FDA regards tobacco cigarettes? Is there a better way in which the youth can be educated about electronic cigarettes without demonizing vaping? All these and more questions will be answered once the FDA campaign kicks off.
MPs Urge UK Government to Relax Vaping Laws
Various health organizations, such as Public Health England, have voiced their support for electronic cigarettes as a safer alternative to smoking traditional/combustible cigarettes. In fact, the UK (and England in particular) is seen as one of the progressive countries with regard to their view of the vaping industry. However, the existing laws in UK treat vaping in the same way as smoking since both are banned in public spaces, such as on buses and trains. A joint committee of the UK parliament is now urging the government to relax the vaping laws so that smokers can find it easier to switch. For example, restrictions on advertising should be relaxed so that the public can be equipped to make informed decisions. What are your thoughts on this matter? Do you think that the benefits of vaping from a public health perspective outweigh the need for a cautious approach since the long-term effects of vaping aren’t yet known?
Vaping Poses No Air Quality Issues, Study Finds
It is likely to become harder for detractors of electronic cigarettes to come up with any claims which they can use to discredit vaping. Information keeps coming to light showing the numerous benefits of vaping, or disproving claims of harm against these devices. The latest research published in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research established that the vapor exhaled as one is using an electronic cigarette dissipates or evaporates within seconds after it has been discharged from the mouth or nose. The air returned to what it was before the aerosol was exhaled. This also applied in closed environments without any ventilation. These findings contrast with a comparison which found that smoking combustible cigarettes leaves smoke particles to linger for nearly an hour. Vaping is therefore a better option from a public health perspective since these findings show that indoor air quality will hardly be affected by the presence of someone vaping. Isn’t it time to stop looking at vapers in the same way that smokers are viewed?
Vape Flavors Key in Luring Smokers to Switch, Study Finds
Research that has been recently published in Harm Reduction Journal shows that the majority of the people who have made the switch from smoking to vaping preferred non-tobacco flavors. First-time buyers of e-cigs who opted for non-tobacco flavors increased from 18% in 2011 to more than 34% in 2016. These findings raise questions about the motivation behind the recent moves by some states, such as San Francisco, to ban non-tobacco flavors under the doubtable belief that such flavors appeal to kids and get them hooked on nicotine. The research also raises questions about the seriousness of the desire to reduce combustible cigarette use. This is because clamping down on non-tobacco flavors may prevent those who would have switched to e-cigs from doing so and continuing to smoke tobacco cigarettes. Get the details of the research findings and learn how important fruit flavors and dessert/pastry flavors are in getting people to switch to vaping.
Prominent Journal Editor Draws the Line on E-Cig “Tobacco Product” Label
What is in a name? A lot, if the unending debate about how electronic cigarettes should be viewed is considered. The infamous “deeming rule” which saw the FDA regard e-cigarettes as tobacco products has been challenged by various pro-vaping parties for years. Now, Dr. Marcus Munafo, the powerful editor-in-chief of the Journal of Nicotine and Tobacco Research, has written stating that any researcher who wishes to have his or her work published in the Journal of Nicotine and Tobacco Research should refrain from using the label “tobacco products” when referring to electronic cigarettes. Dr. Munafo feels that the scientific and academic communities should no longer take part in perpetuating misleading name since electronic cigarettes don’t contain any tobacco. Calling them tobacco products misleads the public and entrenches a “patently incorrect” description. Read his entire submission and learn why he seems to disagree with Shakespeare’s famous line that “What is in a name? A rose by any name would smell as sweet”.
Issue #10
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Does the San Francisco Vote Point to a Tide Against Vaping?
Published: 2018-06-14
San Francisco voters cast their ballots to ban the sale of flavored e-liquids and other flavored tobacco products on 5 June, 2018. This first-of-a-kind vote should be analyzed for its symbolic significance because it could mark the start of a trend in different jurisdictions across the country and around the world. The fear is that flavored tobacco or nicotine-containing products lure kids into consuming and becoming addicted to nicotine. Do you agree with this thinking? Read the entire article and learn the issues that each side presented during the polarized campaign just before that landmark vote.
FDA Extends Deadline for Comments on Flavors Regulation
Published: 2018-06-07
The American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it was increasing the time within which scientists and members of the public could send comments about the advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) on the plans to regulate the flavors used in tobacco products, including electronic cigarette liquids. The new deadline is July 19, 2018. Read the entire press release and learn how you can take advantage of this added time to make your thoughts known by the policymakers.
FDA Responds to Survey Showing Teen Smoking and Vaping Declined
Published: 2018-06-07
The CDC recently released findings of a survey which revealed that teenage smoking and vaping had declined from the figures registered in 2015 (16%) to those noticed in 2017 (11.7%). The FDA welcomed the findings but warned that hundreds of thousands of kids are still using nicotine or tobacco products. The agency therefore vowed to continue its efforts (blitzes on offline and online retailers, formulating rules on flavors, packaging and design controls, etc.) until the dangers posed by nicotine and tobacco products are stemmed. Do you think the decline in teen tobacco/e-cig use has anything to do with the actions of the FDA?
Fire Department Throws Its Weight Behind Vaping
Published: 2018-06-13
As the debate around e-cigs rages on, support for the devices has come from an unexpected direction; the London Fire Brigade issued a press release in which they expressed their wish that all smokers could switch to vaping. Their statistics show that smoking plays a role in 26.1% of all people who die in fire-related incidents. Switching to vaping would save a significant proportion of those people and avert the damage to property resulting from fires connected to smoking. This press release sheds more light on the numerous public health benefits which can be reaped in case vaping is encouraged by all regulators.
Should Vaping Be Regarded Similarly to Seatbelts for Cars?
Published: 2018-06-19
When auto accidents started claiming millions of lives annually, seatbelts were introduced and widely promoted as a way to save lives. When HIV/AIDS started claiming millions of lives, condom use was promoted as a way to prevent the infection (and other STIs). Today, there is consensus across the medical/scientific community that nearly half of all smokers will die from smoking-related causes. However, a different tune is being played when it comes to the adoption of vaping and other safer ways to get a nicotine hit. Dr. Joe Kosterich writes a captivating article about these double standards regarding e-cigs as a way to save the lives that are lost to combustible cigarette smoking. Why should double-blind studies be required for vaping when condoms and seatbelts werenât subjected to the same trials before they were promoted as a way of saving lives? Read his arguments and see how he links seemingly unrelated activities (driving, having sex and smoking).
Teenage Vaping Takes a Downward Trend
Published: 2018-06-15
In what may be the best news for US parents, research has emerged that the number of teens who vape has been reducing steadily since 2015. Before these findings are dismissed as the âtwisted scienceâ of the vape industry, consider the fact that the study was conducted by none other than the Centers of Disease Control (CDC). The reality on the ground shows that teenage vaping has dropped from 16 percent in 2015 to 11.7percent in 2017. These findings by a widely trusted authority challenge those who have always said that e-cigarettes are a gateway for teens to start smoking combustible cigarettes. Read the entire article and learn the implications of these findings, and what different public health bodies have to say about these latest revelations.
JUUL Shows That Marketing Expenditure May Be Outdated as a Sales Predictor
JUUL e-cigarettes have managed to become the dominant brand on the US market in less than four years since JUUL Labs released their maiden product. The “JUULing” phenomenon has left regulators baffled about why this product is so appealing to users, especially the youth. Some researchers have found that the exponential growth of the JUUL brand may be attributed to their use of new media to reach their clients. Regulators need to be quick in playing catch up so that appropriate measures are put in place to prevent electronic cigarettes and tobacco products from being marketed to youth. Parents should also be more vigilant in talking to their kids so that those kids aren’t lured by social media content to start smoking or vaping too early.