Nicotine Science and Policy

With sweeping vaping age-restrictions now in force in Ireland, and flavours and disposables in the spotlight, we ask Garrett McGovern if these new and potential restrictions will negatively impact Ireland's ongoing goal to reduce smoking rates.

In Canada we are fretting about reaching zero by 2035. Meanwhile the Norwegians and Icelanders are mushing hard, chasing down Sweden, which, to go along with its effectively zero smoking rate, has the lowest rate of lung cancer and tobacco-related disease in the developed world. The European average death rate attributable to tobacco is 373 per 100,000 population. In Sweden it’s 40 per cent of that: just 152.

Almost three-fifths of people in Britain say that when people are 18 and legally an adult, they should be allowed to purchase cigarettes and other tobacco products, a new poll conducted on behalf of the smokers’ lobby group Forest has found. Conducted by Yonder Consulting, the survey found that 58 percent of respondents think that if a person can vote, drive a car, buy alcohol or possess a credit card at 18, they should also be allowed to purchase tobacco.

New Zealand’s new coalition government plans to abandon the country’s world-first policy of an incremental smoking ban, in order to fund tax cuts. Just as the original policy divided expert opinion, so has news of its repeal. [...] Proponents said that this and other measures in the package, like reducing the number of tobacco retailers by 90 percent and cutting the legal amount of nicotine in cigarettes, would help the country reach its goal of being “smokefree” (prevalence below 5 percent) by 2025. No similar restrictions were imposed on vape sales.

A new breed of e-cigarette has addicted teenagers and confounded regulators worldwide by offering flavors like Blue Cotton Candy and Pink Lemonade in a cheap, disposable package. The tycoon dominating this latest wave is Zhang Shengwei, 50, a veteran of China’s vape industry in the southern manufacturing hub of Shenzhen. Most people have never heard of him. Zhang quietly rose over 15 years from a boutique exporter to become one of the world’s largest vape manufacturers. His main company, Heaven Gifts, now competes with industry giants Juul Labs Inc and British American Tobacco Plc (BATS.L) in the United States, the United Kingdom and across Europe.

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly is today welcoming the completion of the Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill in both Houses of the Oireachtas. The Bill will now be sent to Uachtarán na hÉireann for signing. Minister Donnelly has asked officials in his department to immediately prepare the necessary Statutory Instrument so that the ban on the sale of nicotine inhaling products, including e-cigarettes or ‘vapes’ to under-18s will come into law before Christmas.

WHAT IS THE LIKELY OUTCOME from Mark Butler’s draconian restrictions on vaping? Having dusted off my crystal ball, here’s my take: Butler's ban is likely to fail, setting the stage for an eventual shift towards a more progressive vaping policy in 2025.

The key elements of Butler’s crackdown are

• Continued enforcement of the failed prescription model
• Restrictive product standards: only tobacco or mint flavours, a likely maximum nicotine limit of 20mg/mL and pharmaceutical-style packaging
• A complete ban on disposable vaping products
• Prohibition of personal importation of vaping liquids and devices
• Mandatory pre-approval for all legal products by manufacturers or importers.

Earlier this year, Dr. Robert Califf, commissioner of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), emerged as a vocal advocate against misinformation in the public health domain. A commitment to combating the real problem of health rumors and falsehoods is commendable. But Califf’s recent statements regarding tobacco harm reduction reveal a concerning level of misinformation of his own—and the distinct whiff of hypocrisy.