Scientists Tell WHO E-cigs Could Save ‘Hundreds of Millions of Lives’

The World Health Organization (WHO), an arm of the U.N. with an already long history of opposing electronic cigarettes — often with wildly nonsensical  claims, is being urged by a group of 53 scientists not to classify electronic cigarettes as tobacco products.

“These products could be among the most significant health innovations of the 21st century — perhaps saving hundreds of millions of lives. The urge to control and suppress them as tobacco products should be resisted.”

The agency is still trying to figure out what to say about e-cigarettes, but scientists have urged them not to overreact, saying e-cigarettes are not part of the tobacco problem, but “part of the solution.”

Considering past efforts from WHO against e-cigarettes, logical arguments for reason in future decisions may not be enough to sway the agency. In January of this year, for example, they issued a warning against e-cigarettes, claiming that they may contain toxins, following a claim in July of 2013 that electronic cigarettes were more dangerous than tobacco cigarettes because they are not filtered.

A formal position from WHO is not expected until after discussions scheduled from October 13 through 18 in Moscow.

E-cigs could save ‘hundreds of millions of lives’: scientists | New York Post.

Scientists Tell WHO E-cigs Could Save ‘Hundreds of Millions of Lives’

Happy Mother"s Day!

A very happy Mother’s day to all the vaping moms out there. And, while we’re at it, a good one to anyone out there who came from a vaping mom. Or a non-vaping one. There… that seems pretty inclusive. If you didn’t come from a mom, we hope you’re not offended, and would love to hear the details.

Happy Mother"s Day!

University Study Discovers that Flavorings Make Stuff Taste Like Other Stuff

In what may just be the most idiotic piece of journalism we’ve stumbled upon in the history of Vape Squad, we bring you this story from the National Journal, wherein they purport to explain “how candy e-cigarette makers make their products smell like candy.”

“If you take and smell a grape Phillies blunt, you’re smelling the same chemical used in grape Kool-Aid.”

–James Pankow

They go on report the shocking discovery that what makes flavored tobacco products taste like they do is the flavorings the manufacturers put in them.

(You may note that we just said “tobacco products.” That’s because the study actually looked at flavored tobacco, not e-cigarettes. Apparently whoever wrote the headline for the National Journal couldn’t be bothered reading the article first.)

According to the piece, a study was recently performed by researchers at Portland State University in Oregon. James Pankow, leader of the study, apparently has discovered that makers of flavored tobacco products use the same artificial flavorings other people use.

We have no idea why it took a university study to figure this out. Did they think they were stuffing actual grapes into those Phillies Blunts?

How Candy E-Cigarette Makers Make Their Products Smell Like Candy – NationalJournal.com.

University Study Discovers that Flavorings Make Stuff Taste Like Other Stuff

Israel to Revoke Licenses of Pharmacies Selling E-Cigs

The Jerusalem Post reports that Israel’s Health Ministry has sent notification to the country’s pharmacies that they must immediately stop selling electronic cigarettes.

“There are no data or proof that they are effective in helping users to stop or reduce smoking, or even that they are safe. As a result, they must not be sold in pharmacies.”

–Dr. Eyal Schwartzberg, Israeli Health Ministry

The ministry, which has been making efforts to completely ban the sale of electronic cigarettes, has said that it will begin visiting pharmacies August 1, and will revoke the pharmacy licenses of any establishment found to be selling electronic cigarettes. The rules apply to small pharmacies as well as large chain stores.

The source of the information in the linked Jerusalem Post article may have been provided by the Israeli Health Ministry, but the sources are not clear. What is clear is that it is wildly inaccurate.  For example, the article claims that the nicotine in e-cigarettes is “more concentrated, it is much more poisonous than nicotine in cigarettes. Smoking e-cig chemicals also lasts longer than smoking a cigarette.” Most studies done to date have indicated that the intake of nicotine from e-cigarettes is actually much lower when e-cigarettes are used instead of tobacco cigarettes, and there have been no indications we are aware of which indicate toxicity is increased.

Pharmacies that sell e-cigs or tobacco will lose their licenses | JPost | Israel News

Israel to Revoke Licenses of Pharmacies Selling E-Cigs

Hearing on California Internet Sales Restrictions Postponed

A hearing on California’s AB 1500, which would place restrictions on the sale of e-cigarette products via the Internet, has been postponed until May 14.

 “While CASAA supports bans on sales to minors, we oppose any restrictions that impose unnecessary burdens on adult consumers. Requiring age verification before delivery (with third-party database verification), and then mandating a delivery service with age-verified signature required–and requiring it each and every time an order is delivered to a particular address–imposes an unnecessary burden on adult consumers, especially those who are not able to be present at the time of delivery.”

–CASAA

AB 1500 would amend California’s Stop Tobacco Access to Kids Enforcement (STAKE) act, and make it a crime to deliver an electronic cigarette without first obtaining the full name, birth date and residential address of the person to whom it will be delivered, and then validating the information “through the use of a commercially available database or aggregate of databases, consisting primarily of data from government sources.” Violations of the law would carry fines up to $1,000 per violation.

Previous version of the legislation would have banned the sale of electronic cigarettes unless the seller had obtained a tobacco license, but advocacy group CASAA credits the efforts of vapers for getting the bill amended to its current version. However, they say, the requirement to provide vendors with personal information every time they make a purchase would still place an undue burden on consumers, as well as increase the cost of the devices.

CASAA: Call to Action! California Ban on Internet Sales (AB 1500) and Ban on E-Cigarette Usage (SB 648).

Hearing on California Internet Sales Restrictions Postponed

Will New FDA Regs Leave Us with Crap?

Today’s issue of Motherboard features an article from Meghan Neal succinctly wraps up the fears of much of the vaping community: that the FDA’s new regulations may not completely kill the booming e-cigarette industry, but they will effectively hand it over to Big Tobacco.

“The difference between pre-loaded ‘cigalikes’ sold by Lorillard (the Blu e-cig) or Reynolds tobacco (the Vuse e-cig) and the customizable DIY mods beloved by the vape community is like the difference between instant coffee and responsibly sourced beans hand-ground and brewed with a high-end filter by a loving if pretentious barista.”

With their long-awaited new rules now published, it has become apparent that the new hurdles they want to place in front of new products may prove too much for the current market to bear. An example is their requirement for all e-cigarette products introduced after 2007 (which effectively includes everything on the market today). Some estimates place the cost of such approval at $3 to $4 million, obviously much too high for the modest mom and pop shops that basically are the whole industry if you leave out big tobacco and a small handful of other players.

The real problem here, as Neal explains, is not so much who will be selling the small number of companies who can afford to get their e-cigarette products approved, but that, in her words, “those products suck.”

Could FDA regulations leave us with only lowest-common-denominator products and kill the innovation that has brought us some really great vaping gear over the last few years? It seems very possible.

The E-Cig Industry Will Choke on New FDA Regulations—Except Big Tobacco | Motherboard.

Will New FDA Regs Leave Us with Crap?

E-Cigs: Too Brownian for Prime Time?

In an article from Live from Golga-Frincham, Mary Ann Jarvis believes she’s discovered why people are taking up vaping faster than other anti-smoking products: it’s the vapor.

To be more precise, it’s the Brownian motion of the vapor. For those who slept through physics, Brownian motion in the seemingly random motion of particles caused when they bounce off other molecules or atoms they’re suspended with, and describes (to a degree, at least) why vapor clouds swirl and tumble the way they do.

“We see ourselves thinking. This is a highly powerful and addictive effect and an effect, crucially, that means vaping will forever partner smoking and forever be the knock on the door reminding you of the existence of cigarettes.”

But it’s not just the hypnotic qualities of the swirling vapor that make vaping so attractive, says Jarvis, but something much deeper. “The gently uncoiling swirls of vapour offer up a mirror to the electrical activity that swishes through our brains, remodelling the workings of the inner world in the outer world and transforming thoughts into something material, apparent and circumambient to the flesh: we see ourselves thinking.”

According to Jarvis, this Brownian motion inextricably links vaping with smoking, and inevitably causes people who see it to think of cigarettes.

Her answer: devices like the Gerskzer Plume, which creates a mist which, rather than being exhaled in a cloud, escapes in “a long, straight, responsible line.”

Note: We’re about 97% sure the article’s satirical, so don’t freak out. Just to be sure, we went ahead and Googled Gerskzer, which turned up absolutely nothing.

E-cigarettes: vapour is the magic ingredient, but it’s dangerously brownian | ☁.

E-Cigs: Too Brownian for Prime Time?

Press Coverage of New York Vape-In

Monday’s Vape-In to protest New Yorks recently-enacted ban on public vaping has been getting a healthy amount of press.

Newsweek’s coverage of the event takes a mostly positive look at vapers and the reduced health risk of electronic cigarettes compared to their tobacco-based counterparts. It portrays vapers as people enthusiastic about saving their own lives by getting off cigarettes, despite, in the words of Reason Magazine’s Julian Morris, “unsound science or no science being used to justify an extreme restriction on people’s freedom that will harm others.”

There’s also coverage from The Verge, from which we’ve seen several positive vaping-related articles in the past. Typical of other articles from the publication, The Verge’s “Thank You for Vaping: New Yorkers protest the new e-cig ban at the Museum of Sex” is filled with images from the event, including lots of big clouds and close-ups up vaping devices and the people who love them.

Finally, an article from Vice.com sees the event as the beginning of a “fuck-the-man, David and Goliath-style battle” of vapers and vaping companies against government and Big Tobacco.

Image from the Verge

Press Coverage of New York Vape-In

Vape-In to Protest New York City’s E-Cigarette Smoking Ban

The following came to us from Patrick McMahon of Reason.org:

Event: A Vape-In to Protest New York City’s E-Cigarette Smoking Ban

The vape-in will be preceded by a discussion on the role electronic cigarettes can play in reducing harm from smoking and the unintended consequences of NYC’s e-cigarette ban

Opponents of New York City’s ban on e-cigarettes will gather to discuss its ramifications on public health and personal liberty. Then they’ll thumb their noses at the prohibitionists by vaping as the ban takes effect at midnight. A DJ will play music as guests show their disregard for the nanny state by vaping and dancing the night away.

The vape-in, hosted by Reason magazine, Museum of Sex, and Henley Vaporium, will begin at 9:00 pm on Monday, April 28 at Play in New York City.

Who:

Moderator — John Tierney, Co-author of Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength

Bill Godshall, Director of SmokeFree Pennsylvania

Talia Eisenberg, Co-founder of Henley Vaporium

Dr. Gilbert Ross, Executive and Medical Director of American Council on Science and Health

Kmele Foster, Co-host of Fox Business Network’s The Independents

Matt Welch, Editor-in-Chief of Reason magazine

What:

Prominent critics of e-cigarette regulations will deliver presentations, take questions and be available for one-on-one interviews. Vaping and dancing will follow.

When:

Monday, April 28, 2014 at 9:00 pm

Where:

Play

1 East 27th Street

New York City, NY 10016
Map

RSVP:

http://thank-you-for-vaping.eventbrite.com

Contact:

Patrick McMahon

Communications Specialist, Reason Foundation

patrick.mcmahon@reason.org

Vape-In to Protest New York City’s E-Cigarette Smoking Ban

Study Raises E-Cig Cancer Concerns

A study funded by the National Institutes of Health has some people concerned over the potential for electronic cigarettes to cause cancer.

The study, performed by researchers from Boston University, the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and the University of California, Los Angeles, involved exposing human lung cells modified for increased risk of cancer to both cigarette smoke and e-cigarette vapor. According to researchers, both sets of cells showed similar changes associated with the development of cancer.

The media, of course, has been picking up the story and running with it, portraying the study as a link between e-cigarettes and cancer. Those who performed the research, however, don’t seem quite as convinced.

Study leader Dr. Steven Dubinett of UCLA, for example, urged in an interview not to be too hasty to rush to a carcinogenic conclusion. The study’s findings, he said, are preliminary, and do not show a link between the use of e-cigarettes and cancer. He added that researchers do not know which components of e-cigarette vapor may have led to the changes his researchers observed.

Abstract B16: The effect of e-cigarette exposure on airway epithelial cell gene expression and transformation

Study Raises E-Cig Cancer Concerns

Democrats Issue Report Claiming E-Cigs Targeted at Youth

Democratic members of Congress have issued a report which they say shows that electronic cigarette companies have been targeting young people.

The report, entitled “Gateway to Addiction? A Survey of Popular Electronic Cigarette Manufacturers and Targeted Marketing to Youth” was based on an inquiry led by Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), including a survey of nine major e-cigarette brands, to which eight responded.

“[The] FDA should ban and companies should cease marketing e-cigarettes in ways that are attractive to children and teens under the age of 18, such as the use of characterizing flavors that appeal to children and teens, distributing free samples of e-cigarettes, and product promotion through social media, sponsorship of events, and other activities that are intended for a youth audience.”

The primary basis of the claim that e-cigarettes are marketed toward youth appears to be that six of the companies said they had sponsored events such as parties, sports events or music festivals, and that eight had given away free samples of their products.

The report further cites the use of flavors “such as strawberry, grape or chocolate” which “appear to be designed to appeal to youth,” advertising via social media and the use of celebrity spokespeople as evidence that e-cigarettes are marketed toward young people.

The ties between sponsored events and youth are a bit tenuous, with the report including events unlikely to be attended by youth, such as DJ appearances at night clubs, smokers’ gatherings, pub crawls, and a great many other adult-oriented events. Most of the events listed in the report, in fact, seem to be events of this type.

With the FDA still not having issued rules for the sale and use of electronic cigarettes, congressional Democrats seem to be increasing the pressure on the agency, urging the swift issuance of regulations, and a ban on “flavors that appeal to children and teens,” and the distribution of free samples.  The report also calls for bans on promotion through television and radio, social media and event sponsorship.

Gateway to Addiction?

Democrats Issue Report Claiming E-Cigs Targeted at Youth

NJ Senator Calls for State-Wide Ban on E-Liquid

On the heels of a CDC report that poisonings involving nicotine are up as a result of the rise in popularity of e-cigarettes, New Jersey State Senator Kemp Hannon introduced a bill late last week which would ban the sale of e-liquid in his state.

“I know this bill will make some people angry.”

-New Jersey Senator Kemp Hannon

Hannon says he had previously attempted to pass bill which would have banned e-cigarettes entirely, but admits that “even my colleagues did not agree with me on that.”

According to Hannon, calls to poison control centers for nicotine poisoning via the e-liquid used in electronic cigarettes increased 300%, “and many of these have been calls involving children under 6 years old.”

Hannon did not comment on whether he intends to ban everything toxic, including the thousands of household products which are responsible for far more poisonings than e-liquid, such as cosmetics, cleaning solutions, pesticides and plants.

Ban on e-liquids for e-cigarettes proposed in State Senate – Newsday

 

NJ Senator Calls for State-Wide Ban on E-Liquid

Washington State Mulling 75% Tax on E-Cigs

Democrat Reuven Carlyle (D) has introduced a bill to the Washington state legislature which would levy a 75% on e-cigarettes and other tobacco substitutes.

The original version of the bill called for a 95% tax, but a revision which passed through the House Finance Committee with a 7-6 vote lowered the proposed rate to 75%.

Bill 2795 would exempt e-cigarettes prescribed by doctors, but only if, and after, the FDA rules electronic cigarettes to be a smoking cessation aid.

Carlyle says the purpose of the bill is to “equalize taxes and mitigate negative effects,” despite the fact that negative health effects from electronic cigarettes have yet to be proven, and there is no logical reason why electronic cigarettes should have taxes “equalized” with cigarettes made from tobacco.

“An important part of the objective is to equalize taxes and mitigate negative effects of the product.”

–Rep. Reuven Carlisle

Presumably, the taxes on cigarettes are justified in large part due to the burden placed on taxpayers by the adverse effects of smoking. E-cigarettes have no such ill effects. By way of comparison, statistics from anti-tobacco activists Campaign from Tobacco Free Kids claim that approximately 7,300 people die from smoking in Washington annually, at cost to the state of $2.81 billion.

In contrast, the total deaths attributed to the use of electronic cigarettes is zero — not just in the state of Washington, but worldwide.

Clearly, lacking any logical justification for equalizing taxes between electronic cigarettes and those made from tobacco, one can only come to a single conclusion: Carlyle’s bill is a shameless cash grab at the expense of the vapers of Washington.

Legislature considers 75% tax on e-cigarettes | Northwest News | The Bellingham Herald.

Washington State Mulling 75% Tax on E-Cigs

Video: Rachel Ray on E-Cigs -- Still Fighting the Same Battles

This clip from the Rachel Ray show isn’t exactly new (the episode first aired several years ago, in fact), but it’s been making the rounds again recently. It’s interesting in that it shows that the same arguments about e-cigarettes have been occurring almost since they first appeared in stores.

One thing we find particularly interesting is the debunking of the FDA’s study on e-cigarettes, still cited today as evidence that electronic cigarettes are harmful even though problems were seen with their shoddy study as soon as it was published. Still, the findings still appear on the FDA’s website as if they are accurate, or even applicable, to electronic cigarettes sold today.

Video: Rachel Ray on E-Cigs -- Still Fighting the Same Battles

Rally to Fight L.A. E-Cig Ban

A recently updated Call to Action on CASAA’s website is urging vapers to help fight the recently-passed ordinance that bans vaping in public areas of Los Angeles.

In addition to contacting Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to voice opposition to the new ordinance, vapers are also encouraged to attend a “Save Vape LA” rally to be held Saturday, March 8 in Pershing Square.

Keynote speakers at the rally will include Herbert Gilbert, inventor of the first electronic cigarette in 1963, as well as Empire Brands electronic cigarette CEO John Cameron, and Smoke Free Alternatives Trade Association President Phillip Daman.

A media wall will also be constructed to allow attendees to provide testimony of how vaping has changed their lives.

More details are available from CASAA at the link below.

IMPORTANT Updated Call to Action for Los Angeles! Attend Rally Saturday, March 8th and Contact Mayor to Voice Your Opposition | CASAA.

Rally to Fight L.A. E-Cig Ban

E-Cigarette Myths Debunked

From the pages of Steve K’s Vaping World, a long-running electronic cigarette blog which we highly and frequently recommend around here, comes a great article blowing a lot of the misconceptions about e-cigarettes out of the water.

“I’ve been around the block a time or two before when it comes to e-cigarettes. There is a certain set of talking points that prohibitionists go to when smearing the industry… I figure I’d take a little time out here to touch on the more popular ones and try to explain why they are myths.”

–Steve K

In addition to the oft-repeated myth that e-cigarettes contain anti-freeze, other topics are covered as well, from the idea that nicotine is a carcinogen to conspiracy theories concerning big tobacco’s interest in e-cigarettes, as well as the “gateway theory.”

It’s a good resource for countering a lot of the ridiculous arguments we so often hear about electronic cigarettes, as well as a handy link to send to friends and family who’ve fallen for some of the anti-vaping propaganda spouted by e-cigarette opponents.

There"s Antifreeze in "em: 7 e-Cigarette Myths Debunked | Steve K"s Vaping World.

E-Cigarette Myths Debunked

WI Republicans: Vaping Is not Smoking

In contrast to news like yesterday’s passage of an ordinance banning vaping in public spaces in Los Angeles comes news of a very different situation in Wisconsin.

Republicans have sponsored a bill that explicitly states that vaping indoors is legal, and not prohibited by statewide existing anti-smoking laws.

The bill, submitted by Senator Glenn Grothman, aims to clarify that the state’s anti-tobacco laws do not apply to electronic cigarettes.

“It’s sad that we have to introduce legislation to clarify that the smoking ban was not supposed to (apply to) e-cigarettes.”

-Sen. Glenn Grothman

The bill, of course, is facing some opposition from the likes of University of Wisconsin professor Dr. Michael Fiore, who says “If this bill passes, Wisconsin’s children with their young brains so sensitive to nicotine may be put at risk. Why would we do that?”

There is no evidence to date of any health risks associated with second-hand exposure to electronic cigarette vapor.

Proposal to exempt electronic cigarettes from Wisconsin indoor smoking ban draws opposition | Star Tribune.

WI Republicans: Vaping Is not Smoking

Los Angeles Passes Ban

As expected, a ban on electronic cigarettes wherever smoking is prohibited was passed Tuesday by the Los Angeles City Council. The ban will take effect in April.

“I will not support anything — anything — that might attract one new smoker.”

–Herb Wesson, City Council President

The vote was unanimous, and the new ordinance will be signed by Mayor Eric Garcetti, according to a spokesman from the mayor’s office.

An amendment which allows the use of electronic cigarettes in “vaping lounges” was poassed along with the ordinance, though a measure which would have allowed vaping in bars was defeated 8-6.

Los Angeles bans e-cigarettes in smoke-free areas | Represent! | 89.3 KPCC.

Los Angeles Passes Ban

NJOY Gains $70+ Million in Funding

NJOY, probably the largest maker of electronic cigarettes not owned by a tobacco company, announced it has acquired more than $70 million after its latest round of fund-raising efforts.

“As the only electronic cigarette brand whose corporate mission is to obsolete cigarettes, NJOY is dedicated to delivering the most satisfying products to our customers, advancing the science and expanding the brand globally without the inherent conflicts constraining competitors owned by tobacco companies.”

The largest investors in NJOY were Brookside Capital and Morgan Stanley Investment Management.

NJOY has said that the cash will be used to fund marketing, expansion, and research and development, including clinical trials.

This round of funding mirrors a similar drive from last year — NJOY received another $75 million in June of 2013 from a group of investors, including $10 million from Napster founder and former Facebook president Peter Thiel’s firm, Founders Fund.

E-Cig Maker NJOY Raises More Than $70 Million | CSPnet.

NJOY Gains $70+ Million in Funding

Senators Demand Restrictions on E-Cig Ads "for the Children"

Jacob Sullum, senior editor at Reason magazine and a frequent contributor to Forbes online edition — and possibly the guy most cited here at Vape Squad — has another article on the Op/Ed section, this time calling out five senators who are calling for what he calls “unconstitutional” restrictions on e-cigarette advertising.

“Despite claims from some e-cigarette makers that they do not market their products to children, e-cigarette manufacturers have adopted marketing practices similar to those long used by the tobacco industry to market regular cigarettes to youth—including flavoring their products in candy or fruit flavors that appeal to children.”

–Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.)

The five senators — Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Edward Markey (D-Mass.), introduced legislation Wednesday “to protect children from e-cigarettes.” The legislation, titled “The Protecting Children from Electonic Cigarette Advertising Act,” authorizes the FCC to “determine what constitutes marketing e-cigarettes to children,” and to work with state attorneys general to ban any such marketing.

However, as Sullum points out, many senators and others fighting against electronic cigarettes have traditionally played very fast and loose with what amounts to advertising to children. Manufacturers producing sweet flavors, for example, or those using celebrity endorsements, have been accused of “targeting children.”

As Sullum explains in his article, however, it seems unlikely this new legislation would pass constitutional review, citing a case involving Lorillard in 2001 where courts determined that much more modest restrictions on outdoor advertising of cigarettes was “vastly overbroad,” as it interfered with the company’s ability to communicate with its adult customers.

We can’t help nodding our heads in agreement with Sullum when he says that those flavors which e-cig opponents so often claim are “clearly targeting young people” are doing no such thing. Many of the flavors vaped here at Vape Squad HQ are of the sweet variety, and there isn’t a kid anywhere in sight.

Five Senators Demand Unconstitutional Restrictions On E-Cigarette Ads—For The Children – Forbes.

Senators Demand Restrictions on E-Cig Ads "for the Children"

Video: L.A. Moves Closer to a Ban

The Los Angeles city council moved a step closer Monday to banning the use of e-cigarettes in public areas where smoking is prohibited.

“We were surprised at how misinformed the committee was,” he told us. “They were using statements like lighting up, smoking – improper terms.”

–Brandon O’Connell, VapeDay

The matter has now moved out of committee, with a decision made to push forward toward amending smoking legislation to include electronic cigarettes, despite any evidence of health risks. Instead, the council is planning to ban the use of the devices because they look like smoking, according to City Attorney Mike Feuer, who says the ban should remain in place even if it can proven that vaping has no negative health effects whatsoever. “Even if it were determined later on that the emissions from e-cigarettes aren’t dangerous to a bystander in an outside environment, the existence of devices like this… in public places does threaten to renormalize the behavior of smoking.”

Unlike other cities, though, vaping will still be allowed in some shared spaces. LA Weekly reports that an amendment was agreed upon Monday evening which would allow the use of electronic cigarettes in vaping lounges.

L.A. City Council Takes Up Controversial E-Cigarette Ban | KTLA 5.

Video: L.A. Moves Closer to a Ban

Audio: Backlash Against UK TV for Airing Vype Ads

The British Medical Association is predictably upset about the recent airing of ads for British American Tobacco’s Vype electronic cigarette, afraid that e-cigarettes will “get a whole new generation of young people hooked on nicotine.”

Vivian Nathanson of the British Medical Association sees parallels between the new e-cigarette advertisements and tobacco ads of the past, which glamorized tobacco smoking as a way to gain sales.

“What this is doing is making the use of nicotine look attractive, socially successful, and all of those things that we used to see associated with cigarette smoking.”

British censorship agencies plan to meet in the coming weeks to discuss possible changes to advertising rules, with the possible result of a ban on televised advertisements for electronic cigarettes.

Audio: Backlash Against UK TV for Airing Vype Ads

E-Cig Doubles as a Mobile Phone

We’ve seen electronic cigarettes with some pretty fancy internal gadgetry, from variable wattage circuits to LED displays, USB-based computer interfaces, and even one with a fingerprint reader built in.

Netherlands-based Supersmoker, however, may have packed the most functionality we’ve seen yet into their new product, the Supersmoker Bluetooth.

Equipped with a speaker, microphone, and Bluetooth, the Supersmoker Bluetooth is capable of wirelessly connecting to any Bluetooth-enabled device, so you can not only vape with it, you can also play your MP3 and even take calls on it by holding it next to your head like a telephone.

The device is selling for €79.95 (about $110 US) and can be shipped internationally from Supersmoker’s UK website.

Supersmoker Bluetooth e-cigarette doubles up as MOBILE PHONE | Mail Online

E-Cig Doubles as a Mobile Phone

Vype Advertises on UK TV

European tobacco giant British American Tobacco began airing spots for its Vype e-cigarette Monday evening.

While the New York Times treats the story as if BAT is the first company to air on UK televisions, this is certainly not the case. Advertisements for other brands, such as VIP and E-Lites, have previously been televised.

“There’s a lack of clarity among advertisers but also with consumers and we are aware of concerns that ads for e-cigarettes might be seen as cross-promoting tobacco and cigarettes through the back door.”

–Advertising Standard Authority

Past advertisements, however, were quickly pulled from the air after complaints from viewers. Due to anti-smoking regulations in the UK, depictions of cigarettes or cigarette-like objects is prohibited on television, as are references to smoking. Coupled with rules which require clearly identifying the product being advertised, UK’s e-cigarette companies have had to walk a fine line, describing their products without using any references to tobacco or cigarettes. BAT, for example, has had to change their tagline in the ads from “pure satisfaction for smokers” to “pure satisfaction for vapers.”

The Times describes the law which prohibits tobacco advertising but allows ads for electronic cigarettes as a “loophole,” which overlooks that the anti-smoking laws are in place to block the advertisement of a product proven to be hazardous, while no such hazards have been proven for electronic cigarettes. The comment is indicative of the sort of battle electronic cigarette manufacturers will have to face as legislative bodies look to revise the laws around advertising to account for electronic cigarettes: laws that have been in place for so long that it seems many have forgotten why they were enacted in the first place, and it seems a common knee-jerk reaction to try to lump electronic cigarettes into the same category, despite all evidence indicating they are not only much less hazardous than cigarettes, but quite likely are a real alternative for those looking to stop smoking.

Cigarette Ads Come Back to British TV – NYTimes.com.

Vype Advertises on UK TV

Infographic Shows How EU Ban Could Send Vapers Back to Smoking

From James Dunworth’s Ashtray Blog comes this infographic, showing what would happen if proposed bans on electronic cigarettes in the EU were to be enacted.  The statistics are based on a survey of 1,600 vapers taken last month.

Full results of the survey are available at the link below, or by clicking the image.

Infographic: How An EU Ecig Ban Could Send One Million People Back To Smoking.

Infographic Shows How EU Ban Could Send Vapers Back to Smoking

Victory and FIN to Merge

Yesterday, e-cigarette makers FIN and Victory announced that the two companies would merge, forming one of the largest e-cigarette manufacturers not owned by Big Tobacco.

“We are delighted to have someone of Elliot’s character and caliber join the team and are confident that the FIN brand will be an iconic American brand that we can leverage into much broader distribution.”

–Bill Fields, Victory board member

The merged company will sell e-cigarettes under the FIN brand, and is expected to drive consolidated sales over $100 million per year. The merger is expected to complete within the next few weeks.

The two companies expect the merger to save manufacturing costs and give the FIN brand a much broader reach, in the face of stiff competition from large tobacco companies, most notably Lorillard’s Blu brand.

The merger follows Victory’s acquisition of UK-based Vapestick, which was finalized less than a month ago.

E-Cig Startups Band Together as Big Tobacco Looms

Victory and FIN to Merge

KY Governor Calls for 20% E-Cig Tax

A tax reform plan crafted by Kentucky’s governor, Steve Beshear, includes a 20% tax on electronic cigarettes.

The bill, currently under discussion in Kentucky’s house appropriations and revenue committee, would also raise cigarette taxes by 40 cents per pack.

“Legislators should remove these provisions from the plan before considering the rest of the package during this year’s legislative session. While Governor Beshear’s Kentucky Competes proposal is a good start for a discussion on the need for tax reform in the state, it represents a $210 million annual net tax hike on Kentucky taxpayers, which is the last thing Kentucky residents need after seeing over 20 new and higher federal taxes imposed from Washington in just the past few years.”

–Grover Norquist, ATR

A statement issued by Americans for Tax Reform expresses disapproval of the new e-cigarette tax, calling them “punitive for low-income individuals,” and saying the new taxes “make little sense.”

A letter from ATR president Grover Norquist to the Kentucky legislature opposes the cigarette tax, but calls the new e-cigarette tax “particularly troubling.”

“For decades, lawmakers have tried to mitigate smoking and the harm it causes through punitive taxation and heavy regulation,” Norquist says in the letter. “However, with e-cigarettes, the free market has provided a solution to a problem that social engineers have not been able to address through stiff government regulations. The imposition of new taxes on these products perpetuates an issue lawmakers have spent so much time trying to eliminate, as e-cigarettes cut down on smoking and people’s dependence on tobacco cigarettes.”

The letter goes on to call the new taxes “shameless tax grabs that make little sense from a revenue or publioc health perspective.”

KY Governor Wants Tax on Electronic Cigarettes – Tristatehomepage-Eyewitness News.

KY Governor Calls for 20% E-Cig Tax

Survey Shows Majority OK with Vaping Nearby

Harris Interactive has published the results of a survey, which it performed for e-cigarette maker Mistic, asking how people feel about people using electronic cigarettes nearby, and the results are quite interesting.

Adults under age 35 (70 percent) were more likely than adults 65 and older (46 percent) to say they didn’t mind people using e-cigarettes near them.


Midwesterners who gave an opinion were more tolerant than people living in the West about people using an e-cigarette on an airplane.


People making $50,000-$75,000 a year were less likely to care about someone vaping than someone with a smaller salary.

The poll, which surveyed 505 men and 506 women, asked various questions related to how people felt about people using electronic cigarettes in close proximity to themselves. Perhaps the most startling of the results, given recent trends toward banning the use of electronic cigarettes in public places, is that 63% of respondents said they were OK with someone using an electronic cigarette nearby.

However, results varied when the questions became more specific. 58% of those responding, for example, said they would be fine with vaping at sporting events, but approval sunk as far as 26% when the question of vaping on an airplane was raised. Other questions involved using e-cigarettes on public transportation, which was approved of by 35% of respondents, and movie theaters, at 29%.

Men overall were much more accepting of electronic cigarettes, with 77% saying they wouldn’t mind someone vaping near them, compared to 55% of women. Notably, however, in both cases the majority of respondents were accepting of the idea of someone vaping nearby.

Annoyed when e-cigarette users ‘light up’ near you? It depends on where you are, new survey says | cleveland.com.

Survey Shows Majority OK with Vaping Nearby

Poisoning Cases Doubled Sine 2011

A story in the Providence Journal by way of the Cronkite News Service warns that cases of poisoning by e-liquid for electronic cigarettes has increased more than two-fold since 2011, with many of the cases involving children.

The numbers are hardly surprising, given the boom e-cigarettes have seen in that timespan (as Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center Dr. F. Mazda Shirada says, “It’s just a matter of the mathematical growth that [e-cigarettes are] having”), but it serves as a reminder that nicotine, particularly in large doses, can be dangerous stuff, particularly if ingested.

“In a small kid, if they get into the concentrated refills, they can have similar effects of when [nicotine] is used as a pesticide.”

– Dr. F. Mazda Shirada, Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center

While it’s easy to discount stories like this as scare tactics (and there definitely are elements of that in the linked story, along with more than a little of the kind of anti-vaping propaganda we expect any time we see someone from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids quoted), it’s also important to remember that nicotine is, indeed, toxic, and should be treated as such.

We highly recommend always keeping e-liquid bottles and refill cartridges where kids and pets won’t get to them, and if your juice vendor of choice doesn’t offer childproof caps, consider dropping them a hint.

E-cigarette refills pose poisoning hazard for small children | Providence Journal

Poisoning Cases Doubled Sine 2011

India"s Health Ministry Furious with Air India for Selling E-Cigs

DNAIndia reports that an in-flight magazine on Air India flights which offers electronic cigarettes for sale has Indian authorities freaking out.

“The said display is in contravention of Section 5 of Cigarettes and other Tobacco products (prohibition of advertisement and regulation of trade and commerce, production, supply and distribution) Act, 2003, and further tends to put the government in an embarrassing situation.”

The magazine, “Air Bazaar,” features electronic cigarettes among the goods for sale, and includes an image of a woman using the device.

“It has been observed that Air India through discount booklets Air Bazaar, distributed on board Air India flight, is selling a tobacco-free “electronic cigarette” with a picture of a model smoking,” says a letter written from the health ministry to Air India. “It is also contrary to our policy of using public conveyance for health promotion messages.”

Air India is owned by the Indian government, and the advertisement seems to be causing some cross-department conflict, with the health ministry saying the presence of such ads violates the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, enacted in 2003, which prohibits the promotion of smoking.

Health ministry fumes as Air India lights e-cigarettes | DNAIndia.com

India"s Health Ministry Furious with Air India for Selling E-Cigs

CVS Dumps Smokes -- E-Cigs on the Horizon?

CVS has announced it will stop selling tobacco products this October, leading many to wonder if it could be a precursor to a shift to electronic cigarettes.

“We wouldn’t speculate on how the FDA will decide about this product. We will evaluate once their decision is made.”

-CVS Spokesman Michael DiAngelis

For now, the jury is out. While CVS has clearly stated they will halt the sale of tobacco in their stores, they’re taking a cautious stance when it comes to e-cigarettes, which are not currently carried in CVS stores.

CVS currently takes in as much as $2 billion annually in cigarette sales, according to estimates.

President Obama, himself a former smoker, called the move by CVS a “powerful example.”

CVS Move to Ditch Tobacco Shifts Focus to E-Cigs | TIME.com.

CVS Dumps Smokes -- E-Cigs on the Horizon?

Got Germs?

Yes, it’s one of those “dangers of electronic cigarette” stories, but this one’s at least got a fairly unique twist, warning of the bacteria that can live on the devices.

“It’s a good reminder that you have to clean them out because it is high numbers, even regular non-pathogenic bacteria in large numbers… you don’t know what they can do.”

–Dr. Mohammed Fakhry

Oklahoma’s Fox 23 took swabs from the electronic cigarettes of volunteers, then sent them to a lab for testing at Tulsa University. According to the lab’s Dr. Mohammed Fakhry, “two of the three were really full of a good number of bacteria species and also some fungi.”

Fakhry says it’s expected to find microbes on just about everything, but that the number found on two of the three samples was “worrisome.”

Jeremy Dickerson of Vapor Eyes of South Tulsa says he recommends cleaning out your e-cigarette every time you change cartridges, adding that “It’s very important to know all of the proper maintenance techniques and cleaning techniques.”

Some of the tools Dickerson recommends having on hand include water, toothpicks, paper towels, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs.

“You really want to get in there and clean that with a Q-tip from time to time make sure there isn’t a bunch of residue down in there,” Dickerson says.

Good advice for more than just e-cigarettes.

Hidden bacteria living in electronic cigarettes | FOX23 News

Got Germs?

Altria to Buy Green Smoke

Altria, parent company of Phillip Morris of Marboro fame, has agreed to buy e-cigarette manufacturer Green Smoke for $110 million.

“Bottom line, we agree and believe that Altria can leverage its sales force, retailer relationships, and marketing expertise to quickly bring broader distribution to Green Smoke. From a regulatory perspective, this acquisition may put further pressure on the FDA to regulate e-vapor products as they become increasingly more mainstream.”

–Bonnie Herzog, Wells Fargo

The acquisition, expected to complete in the second quarter of this year, signals a move by Altria to grab a larger piece of the e-cigarette market. Altria has moved somewhat slowly into e-cigarettes, lagging behind competitors RJ Reynolds and Lorillard in getting a product out to consumers.

Green Smoke’s total revenue last year was about $40 million, compared to $24.5 billion for Altria.

Altria to Buy E-Cigarette Maker Green Smoke – WSJ.com

Altria to Buy Green Smoke

Joyetech"s History of the Electronic Cigarette

A reader submitted a link to this graphic history of e-cigarettes from Joyetech. We’ve come a long way since 1963. Hell, we’ve come a long way since 2004.

 

Joyetech"s History of the Electronic Cigarette

PennLive.com Wants You

PennLive.com of Central Pennsylvania has placed a call out to vapers as they begin what they call a “lengthy project on e-cigarettes.”

“…We need your help. Do you use electronic cigarettes regularly? If so, we want to hear from you.”

Users of electronic cigarettes, even those who only use them occasionally, have been asked to email submissions@pennlive.com to help out with the project.

Do you use e-cigarettes? If so, we could use your help | PennLive.com.

PennLive.com Wants You

Pimp My Vape

 

“[Some vapers have] created hobbies out of rebuilding and customizing “mods,” metal tubes, similar to e-cigarettes, designed for “vaping” flavors and nicotine. By hacking these devices, they’re able to produce stronger flavors and — more importantly — create more impressive vapor clouds.”

There’s a great article on Mashable about the hacker ethic so pervasive in the vaping community, with users going hands-on to modify their vaping experience. It covers a wide range of topics, from vapers who create their own custom-flavored juices, to tweakers of rebuildable atomizers.

There are several inaccuracies scattered around the article that’ll be obvious to the more hard-core vapers among our readers, but it’s definitely interesting as an outsiders’ look into vaping’s “science-rooted” subculture: those of us who enjoy fiddling, rebuilding, customizing and fine-tuning our vapes.

Pimp My Vape: The Rise of E-Cigarette Hackers.

Pimp My Vape

Big Cities Lead in E-Cig Superstition

In another pro-ecig article from Forbes, Dr. Gilbert Ross of the American Council on Science and Health looks at how the superstitious fear of electronic cigarettes is being promoted by America’s big cities.

“Making e-cigs inaccessible for desperate smokers by inane restrictions will send this message: “Keep on smoking.” To those who say, “We just don’t know what might happen,” I respond, we sure do know what happens with the real ones: almost half a million dead American smokers every year.”

Ross is amazed that these places, where daily life is so completely based on technology and embracing the new, seem to be where all the baseless opposition to e-cigarettes is coming from. With Los Angeles, Chicago and New York all leading the charge to ban e-cigarettes, treating them exactly the same as tobacco, it is only in places like Wisconsin that we see governments making an effort to treat electronic cigarettes as what they are: a new product that has next to nothing in common with traditional cigarettes.

Ross takes oin all the arguments these cities have made: from claims that bans protect children, to the idea that electronic cigarettes are toxic, and counters them with facts and common sense, making the point that discouraging smokers from switching to electronic cigarettes could come at the cost of a great many deaths caused by smoking tobacco.

Big U.S. Cities Foment Baseless, Superstitious Fear Of Electronic Cigarettes | Forbes

Big Cities Lead in E-Cig Superstition

Have Bans Gone Too Far?

Monday’s Chicago Tribune contained an editorial from “recovering nicotine addict” Clarence Page, who believes that governments are going too far in banning e-cigarette usage.

Page cites bodies such as Chicago’s city council which, like Los Angeles and New York, voted to prohibit the use of electronic cigarettes in most indoor areas. These governments, says Page, most often cite the protection of children as their reason for passing laws against e-cigarettes. Exposing minors to e-cigarettes, they say, will get them hooked on nicotine, and could make them smokers.

“What next? Will government come after my nicotine gum and nonelectronic inhaler? If not, will there be a class-action suit by e-cigarette “vapers” claiming unlawful discrimination under the Constitution’s equal-protection clause?”

The problem with this logic, says Page, is that indoor bans in places like bars, where minors are not allowed, does nothing to further this cause, no matter how erroneous it might be. It’s a slippery slope, says Page, who worries that giving the government the ability to ban the use of a harmless device, even in places the children they say they’re trying to protect can’t enter, hand over far too much power over our lives. If nicotine vapor can be banned, how about nicotine gum and non-electronic nicotine inhalers?

Page, it should be noted, is not a vaper. Though he uses nicotine gum and a pharmaceutical inhaler as a former smoker, he has no loyalty to electronic cigarettes — he simply worries that we’re giving governments far too much control over our lives in allowing them to ban an activity that hasn’t been shown to harm anyone — not bystanders, and not even the vapers themselves.

Government going overboard in ban of e-cigarettes – Chicago Tribune.

Have Bans Gone Too Far?

Banned from Vaping at Home?

In a somewhat unusual article in DigitalTrends, Andrew Couts, a vaper, argues that refraining from vaping around others is “the right thing to do,” and explains why there’s a vaping ban in place in his house.

“Why? Because e-cigarette vapor might not be safe, [my wife] Jennifer says. Do I want to expose her and the critters to potentially dangerous vapor? Don’t I love my family?”

Couts has obviously seen the arguments of both sides, and while he admits that “not a single study on e-cigarettes has thus far shown that e-cigarettes pose a health risk to direct users or second-hand bystanders,” he defends his wife’s decision not to allow the use of electronic cigarettes in his home.

While Couts doesn’t go as far as saying that there should be laws enforcing this separation of vapers and non-vapers, he believes it’s just too early to subject loved ones to his vapor as a matter of etiquette and respect.

Is it courtesy or just unfounded paranoia? Let us know what you think.

E-Cigarettes Are Banned … In My House – And That’s The Right Thing | Digital Trends.

Banned from Vaping at Home?

California Could Ban Online Sales

A bill introduced Monday could ban the online sales of electronic cigarettes in California.

“There’s supposed to be age verification and notice. It’s not working. The next logical step is to simply ban sales through the Internet.”

–Roger Dickinson

AB1500, introduced by Assemblyman Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento) would prohibit direct sales of e-cigarettes over the Internet.

While Dickinson claims his bill is designed to protect minors from online retailers with inadequate age verification methods, he says forcing people to buy their electronic cigarettes from local brick-and-mortar retailers would net the state $24 million per year in revenue.

Online sales of cigarettes and other tobacco products would also be banned under the bill.

California Considers Banning Online Tobacco, E-Cigarette Sales | CBS Sacramento

California Could Ban Online Sales

UC Irvine Changes Decision, Bans Vaping

Reversing a decision to allow the use of electronic cigarettes on campus, the University of Irvine has now banned them.

The decision comes just weeks after the initial decision to allow vaping, one which deviated from that of the other nine UC campuses which do not allow the use of e-cigarettes on school property as of January 1.

UCI had previously said it had the authority to override the overarching UC policy on its own campus, but apparently has been overruled.

UC Irvine reversing course on e-cigarette use – San Jose Mercury News

UC Irvine Changes Decision, Bans Vaping

Chicago One Step Closer to Public Vaping Ban

Governor Rahm Emanuel’s plan to ban vaping in public spaces advanced closer to enactment Monday as Chicago’s city council pushed his plan forward.

An earlier plan had stalled, with city aldermen concerned that a provision that only e-cigarettes containing nicotine would be banned could prove difficult to enforce. The new plan makes no distinction between e-cigarettes with nicotine and those without it.

“You’re lumping it together in the same category even though you don’t really have any proof that it has any harm. You’re saying ‘We’re going to regulate first and ask questions later.’”

–Ald. Rey Colon

Despite the changes in the plan, some aldermen, such as Rey Colon of Chicago’s 35th District, are still not convinced. Colon believes regulating without regarding the lack of any known health risks is premature.

Alderman Brendan Reilly of the 42nd District agreed, suggesting that a limit on sales to minors be enacted, but a ban on public vaping be postponed pending scientific evidence of a real health risk. Banning public vaping would force e-cigarette users into smoking areas, and Reilly explains “I… have friends and family members who are using (e-cigarettes) to quit, to get away from combustible tobacco that kills people.”

Chicago to ban indoor e-cigarette smoking – chicagotribune.com

Chicago One Step Closer to Public Vaping Ban

E-Cig Use During Golden Globes Called "Irresponsible"

Dr. Manny Alvarez of Fox News is seething over Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ use of an electronic cigarette on-camera during the Golden Globes telecast Sunday night.

“Many young people are easily influenced when it comes to picking up habits like smoking. Actors must maintain some degree of social responsibility if they want to be famous and stop promoting products that could be dangerous to the public.”

Calling her use of an e-cig during a comedy bit “irresponsible,” Alvarez says that celebrities promoting e-cigarettes sets a bad example for viewers.

His reasoning for this is that electronic cigarettes contain nicotine, which is, of course, addictive.  Also, according to Alvarez, there is “zero evidence as to the long-term health effects of e-cigarettes” — which, of course, completely ignores the growing mountains of data gathered to date, which hardly amounts to “zero evidence.”

Perhaps Alvarez would prefer that celebrities act as if cigarettes do not exist, rather than to be seen using an alternative that is clearly, despite the doctor’s assertion to the contrary, much safer than smoking. Sure, more people would die from smoking-related cancer, but Alvarez seems to think that’s a better outcome than seeing someone use an e-cigarette.

Dr. Manny: Using e-cigarettes during the Golden Globes was irresponsible | Fox News

E-Cig Use During Golden Globes Called "Irresponsible"

FDA Head Tied to Big Pharma

While electronic cigarettes have plenty of opponents, from overzealous health groups to politicians to misguided ex-smokers, we think the Motley Foool’s Daily Finance hits the nail on the head with their assessment of one of the industry’s worst enemies: Big Pharma.

“All in all, the new e-cig industry is rife with speculation and foul play. With politicians, regulators, and pharmaceutical companies all attacking the industry, which is in its infancy, things could be about to get very messy.”

With the tobacco companies jumping on board with e-cigarettes, much of the opposition now, and certainly the opposition with the most money, comes from major pharmaceutical companies whose anti-smoking products are being threatened.

The largest producer of such products, GlaxoSmithKline, has the pockets and connections to make life a lot tougher for manufacturers of electronic cigarettes. Of particular interest and concern is the FDA’s new chairman, Mitch Zeller, who has admitted that he works closely with Glaxo, admitting to the Wall Street Journal in 2009 that he “provides consulting support to GlaxoSmithKline consumer health through Pinney Associates on an exclusive basis on issues related to tobacco dependence treatment.”

As the fight on both sides of the electronic cigarette debate heat up and regulations are enacted, we can’t help wondering how this relationship between the FDA’s head and Big Pharma will influence what happens to vapers.

Electronic Cigarettes Have a Rich and Powerful Enemy – DailyFinance

FDA Head Tied to Big Pharma