News Roundup
More stories regarding vaping and tobacco harm reduction from around the world
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by Dave Cross
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An assistant vice president of the staunchly anti-science American Lung Association (ALA) has stated there will be “an epic storm” if the FDA fails to ban Juul from continuing to sell vape products.
The ALA is still clinging to the debunked claim that there is a “teen epidemic” of vaping despite the evidence proving there is no such thing; smoking rates and vaping rates have declined in teens and never-smoked teens are not taking up vaping in anything approaching significant numbers.
As University of Michigan Tobacco Research Network’s Cliff Douglas says, vaping products should be judged on their “scientific merits”.
Scientific merits appear to be taking a low priority as the administration hides behind procedural tactics to continue to deny applications to list vape products on the market. Business owners are responding to this unjust and ignorant approach by saying they’ll exploit a loophole and switch out tobacco derived nicotine for synthetic nicotine.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia now has another major brand importing and selling stock. RELX reportedly sees this as an opportunity to expand further into the Middle East and African markets – but is being met with predictable nonsense.
Dr. Abdulaziz Sallam is quoted as (laughably) saying: “E-cigarettes and vape devices are not an alternative to quitting smoking because they are harmful to the body just as cigarettes are because they also contain nicotine."
It will surprise nobody to discover that the emergency medicine consultant is not a specialist in the area of tobacco harm reduction. Worse, for him to believe that nicotine is a cause of cigarette related disease and death undermines any confidence in whatever area he does consider himself to be a specialist in.
The nonsense Sallam is peddling is symptomatic of the disinformation at play around the world, Hong Kong a case in point. The snappily titled Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong party has recently held a democratic closed session where it decided it would push for a ban on all vaping and heated tobacco products.
The move will build on the 2019 law that banned the import and sale of vape products. Now, the act of vaping will also be prohibited. Activists make the claim that it is needed to protect children – yet the Chinese state-owned tobacco company will still be allowed to sell their toxic wares.
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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Parliament Fears Two
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs faced questions from a Conservative MP and, oddly, a member of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
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by Dave Cross
Harm Reduction For The Rich
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Sacrificing Health For 2p Cut
Tory Government alienates vaping voters with its mission to cut tax by an unaffordable 2p to attract voters by placing a tax on vape products in the forthcoming budget
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Scotland Announces Single-Use Vape Action
A ban on the sale and supply of single-use vapes in Scotland is due to come into effect on 1 April 2025, under proposed legislation published today
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by Dave Cross
