Stories

Nicotine e-cigarettes are more effective in helping people quit smoking than conventional nicotine-replacement therapy (NRT), according to the latest Cochrane review co-led by a University of Massachusetts Amherst public health and health policy researcher. The review of studies published on the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews found high certainty evidence that e-cigarettes, which allow users to "vape" nicotine instead of smoke it, lead to better chances of quitting smoking than patches, gums, lozenges or other traditional NRT.

Europe is building up a head of steam to wage the next war on Big Tobacco. And this time, it’s not over deadly cigarettes but a product that contains no tobacco at all — the seemingly innocuous nicotine pouch. Still somewhat of an anomaly outside of Sweden, nicotine pouches are little bags of nicotine, flavoring and plant-based fibers that are placed under the lip to release a hit. Their popularity is growing: Analysis indicates that the market for nicotine pouches doubled between 2020 and 2021 in Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Slovakia and the United Kingdom. 

We sit down with Prof. Marewa Glover to discuss the recent THR news from New Zealand.

The Irish Minister for Finance Michael McGrath has postponed the implementation of a vaping tax over concerns that it would discourage smokers who use e-cigarettes to quit smoking. Officials from the Department of Finance announced the step back in a pre-budget submission, noting that “a delicate balance needed to be struck”. Chris Macey, Director of Advocacy at the Irish Heart Foundation originally celebrated news of a potential tax on vapes back in 2023, saying: “Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances on the planet and there has been an explosion in youth use of e-cigarettes that has been further fuelled by the advent of disposable vapes. We can’t afford to wait a moment longer than necessary to impose this tax.

South Africa needs to strike a balance between the perspectives of both economists and health experts as to how tax rates should be determined for nicotine products, says Marius van Oordt, an expert in indirect taxation in developing countries. Over the past several years, the world has seen an evolution of tobacco and nicotine products, particularly evident in electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS or e-cigarettes). To accommodate such a change, experts have been presenting contrasting views.

Jan 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company's challenge to a voter-approved measure in California that banned flavored tobacco products in the most-populous U.S. state. The justices rejected an appeal by R.J. Reynolds, a unit of British American Tobacco (BATS.L), and other plaintiffs of a lower court's ruling holding that California's law did not conflict with a federal statute regulating tobacco products. Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom in 2020 signed into law a ban on all flavored tobacco products - including menthol cigarettes and cotton candy-flavored vaping products - in response to concerns about a rise in e-cigarette and tobacco use by teenagers.

A federal appeals court has issued a scathing rebuke to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over its handling of applications to authorize vaping products. A ruling in a key case, issued on January 3, accused the FDA of sending vape manufacturers on a “wild goose chase” under the agency’s Premarket Tobacco Product Applications (PMTA) process—misleading applicants and failing to honor its own guidelines.

There has never been a better time to quit vaping, as today marks the commencement of the first stage of the Albanese Government’s vaping reforms: the ban on importation of disposable single use vapes. These changes will protect Australians, particularly young people, from the harms of vaping and nicotine dependence, while ensuring those with a legitimate need to access therapeutic vapes can continue to do so, where clinically appropriate. The latest data, from the Australian Secondary Schools Alcohol and Drug survey shows that about one in eight 12- to 15-year-olds and one in five 16- to 17-year-olds had vaped in the past month.

AUSTRALIA'S NICOTINE HEADACHE | With Carolyn Beaumont

Over five million Indians have died of smoking-related causes since their government banned the sale of vapes and heated tobacco products in late 2019. Instead of being swayed into offering low-risk, effective alternatives to millions of people who smoke, the government has intensified its war on them. Cheered on by the World Health Organization and allied groups, India’s government has now obstructed research on tobacco harm reduction (THR) products and gagged the media from discussing adoption of THR strategies.