Stories

Despite resounding criticism of COP10 from consumers, THR advocates and healthcare professionals, the WHO has applauded its own efforts to promote prohibitionist policies. In this episode Will Godfrey (Filter Magazine) recaps the proceedings of COP10 in Panama, featuring member state rebellions and fight back from consumers and advocates - you don't want to miss this!

Australia's stringent anti-vaping stance has resulted in a thriving illicit market for vaping products, echoing the failures of drug bans in the past. Over 90% of Australia's 1.7 million adult vapers have turned to the illicit market due to harsh restrictions that require a nicotine prescription to vape legally. The illicit market in Australia is estimated to import 120 million unregulated vapes from China annually, with products sold openly without consumer protections. The profitability of illegal vapes has led to an intensifying turf war among organized trafficking networks, resulting in acts of violence and exploitation of marginalized recruits.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) established the Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) to regulate the tobacco and nicotine market and reduce health risks. One of their priorities is understanding the impact of flavored tobacco and nicotine products like e-cigarettes and snus. The CTP must consider both sides of the debate - opponents believe flavored products encourage vaping among adults and minors, acting as a gateway to traditional cigarettes, while proponents argue they help people switch from combustible cigarettes to safer alternatives.

A Missouri-based maker of menthol-flavored e-cigarette liquids on Wednesday urged a federal appeals court to revive its application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to continue selling its products, saying the agency had not given it fair notice of what approval would require. The appeal by SWT Global Supply Inc is one of a slew of similar cases by e-cigarette companies in the wake of the FDA's rule deeming e-cigarette products to be subject to the same law as cigarettes, and the agency's subsequent denial of millions of applications by manufacturers to sell their products.

Following pressure from the Knesset Finance Committee, a representative of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stated that he is no longer opposed to equalizing taxation on electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) with regular cigarettes. Public health organizations have criticized the Finance Ministry for giving in to tobacco companies and have called for taxation on smoking products to save lives. They sent a letter to the chairman of the Finance Committee, urging the cancellation of tax exemptions on smoking products imported into Israel and cigarettes sold in duty-free shops.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has called on governments to take immediate action to control e-cigarettes and protect young people and non-smokers. WHO warns that e-cigarettes are not effective for quitting tobacco use and pose significant health risks. The use of e-cigarettes among children and adolescents is surpassing adult usage in many countries. “Kids are being recruited and trapped at an early age to use e-cigarettes and may get hooked to nicotine," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. "I urge countries to implement strict measures to prevent uptake to protect their citizens, especially their children and young people.”

Gallivanting to Attleboro is the low-effort way for Rhode Islanders to evade the state’s cigarette tax. In Massachusetts, you’ll pay $3.51 in tax for a 20-pack of cigarettes. In Rhode Island, you’ll pay $4.25 for the same — the fourth highest cigarette tax in the nation, outpaced only by Connecticut ($4.35), Washington, D.C. ($4.50) and New York ($5.35). The state’s rank would climb to second place under Gov. Dan McKee’s proposed budget for fiscal 2025. McKee is calling to raise the tax by another 25 cents, starting Sept. 1, 2024, a move that would squeeze out an extra $2.4 million in state revenue.

The use of electronic cigarettes (or "e-cigarettes") is spreading throughout the world. Population-level data from a number of countries indicate that e-cigarettes are used more by children and young adults than by the overall population. Although extensive research has been conducted in Western nations to better understand many aspects of e-cigarette usage among children and young adults, Middle Eastern nations have little data on this topic. The use of tobacco is detrimental to the health, finances, and national spirit of Saudi Arabia. More than 7,000 of its citizens die each year from diseases caused by tobacco use.

DURING A WEEK-LONG VISIT TO AUSTRALIA, Action for Smokefree 2025 (ASH) has been engaging with Australian policymakers to develop a best-practice vaping regulatory framework. Smoking and vaping policies were very similar in Australia and New Zealand until 2020 when the four major political parties in New Zealand accepted vaping as an important tool to accelerate the decline in smoking rates. Since 2020, New Zealand has had a regulated vaping market that allowed a wide range of vapes to be sold as adult consumer products.

Take a stroll down London’s Oxford Street and, amongst the American Candy Shops and high-end retailers, you’re bound to find a man attempting to flog a pack of disposable vapes. Sold pretty much anywhere – from local off-licences to barber shops, nightclubs and tanning salons, the list goes on – Britain’s streets have become inundated with these brightly coloured, highly addictive sticks of plastic. It's a big problem, affecting both our health and the environment. According to data from the environmental campaign group Material Focus, approximately five million disposable vapes are discarded each week in the UK.