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- Category: June 2020
E-cigarettes are a popular alternative to smoking, but we still know very little about the effects of them on our health. [...] A recent study investigating the effect of e-cigarettes on our oral microbiome found that e-cigarettes have a negative impact on the diversity of the bacteria present. They also cause an immune response from cells, which can lead to long-term damage to the surrounding cells. For this particular study, 123 participants were recruited and split into five groups: smokers, non-smokers, e-cigarette users, former smokers currently using e-cigarettes, and those that use both. [...]
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- Category: June 2020
In Latin America there is an established, stable vaping market that coexists with laws banning commercial sales of vaping products. This is the case in all Latin American countries except Costa Rica and Colombia. The informal “no-regulation” environment which has served vapers and the vaping industry in Latin America—and in many Lower and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) around the world—is very different from the environment in high income countries like the United States, Canada, and most European countries.
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- Category: June 2020
Coalition MPs including George Christensen have revolted against Greg Hunt’s unilateral decision to ban the personal importation of liquid nicotine for vaping from 1 July.
The decision, made by the health minister on Friday after parliament rose for a six-week adjournment, delighted doctors groups but has outraged Liberal and National backbenchers who favour legalisation of vaping.
On Wednesday, Christensen said the ban could mean fines of up to $200,000 for those who break the law and import liquid nicotine without a prescription.
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- Category: June 2020
THE PLAN announced today by the Health Department to block the importation of nicotine for vaping is effectively a death sentence for hundreds of thousands of Australian vapers and smokers.
Many vapers will go back to smoking and smokers will be denied access to a legitimate quitting aid. Vapers who import nicotine illegally from 1 July will be fined $220,000! The proposal continues the governments wanton disregard for the growing scientific evidence and effectively denies Australia’s smokers access to vaping, the world’s most popular and effective quitting aid.
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- Category: June 2020
For the millions of smokers in South Africa, it is looking less likely that cigarettes could be in line for a swift return. Several court cases raised against the tobacco ban are struggling to break the legal deadlock, and according to one prominent activist, a final decision on the matter may only be heard in August.
The British American Tobacco (Batsa) case has already been pushed back after it was scheduled to start on Monday. Bev Maclean, who has been fighting the prohibition of cigarettes alongside several civil society organisations, says she received an email from the company’s lawyers explaining the delay.
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- Category: June 2020
Respira Technologies Inc. plans to submit an inhaler device to the Food and Drug Administration by late 2021 for authorization as nicotine replacement therapy. The nebulizer, which converts nicotine to an aerosol, aims to disrupt an estimated $618 billion market dominated by decades-old gums and patches from pharma companies as well as tobacco companies’ more recent, controversial cigarette alternatives.
“The reality is we have folks who are addicted to nicotine who never tried combustible products before,” Chief Executive Officer Mario Danek said [...] “They’re used to sleeker products, and we have that design.”
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- Category: June 2020
The Dutch government is banning e-cigarettes with interesting flavors in an effort to make them less attractive to young people, State Secretary Paul Blokhuis of Public Health said in a letter to parliament on Tuesday. Tobacco flavors are exempted from the ban, so that smokers can continue to use e-cigarettes to quit, he said.
This measure is in response to the latest insights from the Trimbos Institute about e-cigarettes. The institute concluded that e-cigarettes are more harmful than expected and that Dutch public health would benefit from discouraging its use. [...]
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- Category: June 2020
Public health and tobacco control scientists and experts are highlighting the 1.1 billion smokers and millions of smoking quitters' need to access appropriately regulated nicotine products.
These include through vapes (e-cigarettes), Swedish snus, nicotine pouches and heated tobacco products, in an approach called tobacco-harm reduction.
This year, the seventh annual Global Forum on Nicotine (GFN) focused on the role of safer nicotine products in reducing smoking-related harm. [...]
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- Category: June 2020
Smoking rates in the Middle East kingdom of Jordan have become the highest in the world amid what public health advocates say is widespread interference in policy-making by multinational tobacco companies.
More than eight out of 10 Jordanian men smoke or regularly use nicotine products including e-cigarettes, according to a government study carried out in 2019 in collaboration with the World Health Organization. Jordanian men who smoke daily consume an average of 23 cigarettes a day, the survey found.
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- Category: June 2020
Dr. Kyro Selket and journalist and presenter Michael McGrady discuss the findings of a recent poster presentation she made at a nicotine science research conference in the U.S. this past spring in New Orleans, Lousiana, USA. Enjoy this episode and the others on the podcast moving forward.
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- Category: June 2020
A package of tobacco regulation bills is headed to the Michigan House, and some health organizations are concerned that it doesn't go far enough to protect kids.
Senate Bills 781 and 786 passed the Senate on Wednesday, and include new regulations on the sale of e-cigarettes. Andrew Schepers, government relations director with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network in Michigan, says they're especially troubled by SB 781, which sets a tax rate for vaping products at 18%.
He contends all e-cigarettes should be defined as a tobacco product and taxed at the same 32% rate.
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- Category: June 2020
Reasonable people can disagree on the merits of a particular piece of government legislation. However, in the case of Alberta’s proposed new vaping regulations, the idea that this sensible balance should be portrayed as some sort of massive failure deserves some pushback.
Bill 19 aims to amend the Tobacco and Smoking Reduction Act to include new restrictions and regulations for vaping products, specifically around where and how they can be sold and used.
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- Category: June 2020
A group of Alberta physicians is urging the provincial government to include additional measures in its pending legislation that would make vaping products less addictive and less attractive to children and youth.
The bill tabled earlier this month would prohibit minors from possessing, buying or using vaping products in Alberta, or risk a $100 fine. Federal law already prohibits stores from selling vaping products to youths.
In a letter sent to Premier Jason Kenney and Health Minister Tyler Shandro on Monday, the doctors argue that Bill 19 should go a lot further.
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- Category: June 2020
Tobacco industry discounting is linked to higher cigarette consumption the following year, finds an analysis of the impact of pricing differentials in 23 European countries and published online in the journal Tobacco Control.
The availability of cut price cigarettes is likely undermining the impact of tax levies and therefore progress on bringing down smoking prevalence and the ill health with which it is associated, say the researchers, who go on to suggest that a rethink on tobacco taxes may now be warranted.
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- Category: June 2020
Health authorities have long held concerns about liquid nicotine and it's lack of regulation.
It's easily imported and can be mixed with just about anything.
The Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt is pushing the Department of Health to work with border force on a new approach to e-cigarettes
From July 1 importing vape liquid with nicotine in it will be banned.
The move will be regulated by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.
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- Category: June 2020
Researchers are looking at the potential of nicotine as a protective agent against respiratory inflammation caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2—the strain responsible for Covid-19.“There are studies showing that smokers are under-represented among Covid-19 patients, especially hospital patients,” Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos, a Greek cardiologist, said during the virtual Global Forum on Nicotine. “We think that nicotine is the most plausible candidate for these smoking-related effects.”
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- Category: June 2020
An estimated 4.6 million Canadians have tried vaping at least once.1 Media attention has focussed on the health risks of recreational vaping among teenagers and recent cases of lung injury caused by using illicit cannabis oil preparations in vaporizers.2 Some vapers are smokers who are using vaping as a more effective way to quit smoking.3 There has been little research on the interaction between vaping and anesthesia.4 Anesthesiologists need more information to guide the preoperative evaluation of patients who vape, manage a vaper on the day of surgery, and provide appropriate postoperative care for vapers.
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- Category: June 2020
A new study shows that nicotine has more negative effects on the body than previously thought. The chemical found in tobacco appeared helping cancer cells spread from the lungs to the brain. The new study, published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, analyzed the health of 281 lung cancer patients. It found that cigarette smokers had higher incidence of brain cancer than other patients with the same lung condition. "Based on our findings, we don't think that nicotine replacement products are the safest way for people with lung cancer to stop smoking," Kounosuke Watabe, lead study author [...]
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- Category: June 2020
Vapers have been largely reassured by recent EU safety regulations, but some have been pushed to the black market for stronger hits - according to new research from the University of East Anglia.
Researchers studied reactions to vaping legislation. [...] The study reveals how, from a consumer perspective, future regulation should not further restrict liquid or tank volumes and nicotine concentration, but should focus on ensuring e-liquid product safety.
Lead researcher Dr Emma Ward, from UEA's Norwich Medical School, said: "Switching to vaping is now the most popular way for people to stop smoking in the UK.
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- Category: June 2020
Citing the “link between respiratory issues and COVID-19,” an influential alderman wants Chicago to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products used to lure young people into a lifetime of addiction.
Ald. Matt O’Shea (19th), one of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s closest City Council allies, said he plans to introduce the ban at Wednesday’s City Council meeting with support from “the mayor’s leadership team.”
“The recent statistics that I saw were alarming — especially when you see the intersection of pulmonary lung issues and COVID-19. It’s time we had this discussion. This is about saving young lives,” [...]