Stories

Chinese-made smart vapes could pose a security threat by potentially spying on Brits through their phones, warns Labour MP Graeme Downie. Concerns include data harvesting, tracking movements, and cyber attacks. US senators have also raised alarms about these devices, which feature Bluetooth and app connectivity. The Coalition on Secure Technology urges the UK to ban Chinese tech in vapes, citing risks of data exploitation by hostile actors. The group calls for government action to assess security risks of connected vaping devices and strengthen import checks. The NCSC advises caution with internet-connected devices and emphasizes the importance of strong cybersecurity measures.

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has taken to one of his own news channels to deliver a broadside against flavored vaping products. This diatribe is remarkable for its flagrant contradictions, staggering lack of self-awareness, and complete lack of understanding about harm reduction. Bloomberg warns that the Food and Drug Administration’s recent authorization of flavored vaping products will “prove deadly for kids.” He paints a lurid picture of an America supposedly on the verge of societal collapse, with predatory companies handing out mango-flavored addiction to children on every street corner. [...]

Despite decades of public health campaigns, smoking remains stubbornly persistent. Around 10% of American adults still smoke cigarettes, while millions more use e-cigarettes and other nicotine products. Nicotine is among the most addictive substances known, altering the brain’s reward pathways and making quitting notoriously difficult. Most people who smoke want to stop. Many try repeatedly before they succeed.

Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows a 40% increase in nicotine consumption between 2017 and 2025, mainly due to cheaper illegal tobacco products. Household spending on cigarettes has decreased to 2016 levels as legal cigarette prices tripled. Illegal tobacco now makes up 80% of consumption, impacting government revenue and public health. Debate surrounds whether to lower tobacco excise or increase law enforcement. Australian states are implementing harsh penalties for selling illicit tobacco. NSW is focusing on addressing this issue through legislation. Victoria has introduced strict penalties, including fines up to $370,000 or 15 years in jail for selling illegal tobacco.

Vaping, once seen as a safe cigarette alternative, is now linked to health risks like gene changes promoting diseases. Fruit-flavored vapes alter over 3,000 genes, affecting cancer and other conditions. Different devices and flavors play a role, with mods and mixed flavors causing more gene alterations. While e-cigarettes affect muscles and breathing negatively, issues like cancer are also highlighted. The American Heart Association warns of the dangers, stressing the addictive nature of nicotine and its impact on young users' developing brains. Regulators need to consider the health risks associated with vaping carefully.

TikTok attracts youth with rule-breaking vape videos over credible health info, posing a challenge for public health. Illicit vaping rises among UK youth, with TikTok normalizing and glamorizing it. Regulatory efforts struggle to curb underage access to harmful vape products containing undisclosed substances. Research contrasts TikTok's positive portrayal of illicit vaping with educational resources' serious approach. TikTok videos garner millions of likes, fostering an illicit vaping subculture, while health resources lack engagement due to format issues. Youth exposure to TikTok content may normalize risky behaviors, underscoring the need for impactful, youth-targeted messaging to combat rising illicit vaping trends effectively.

Drug and alcohol services are encouraged to make smoking reduction a routine part of harm reduction support. Smoking rates among people in treatment remain far higher than in the general population, creating a major but often overlooked health inequality. Safer nicotine products are presented as practical tools that can help people reduce or stop smoking without requiring immediate nicotine abstinence. Integrating tobacco harm reduction into drug services could offer a low-cost, high-impact way to improve health outcomes for people facing multiple disadvantages. The guide calls for more realistic, compassionate support that meets people where they are and gives them better options than continued smoking.

Planned EU tax increases on smoke-free nicotine products are criticised for undermining the fight against smoking. Heavy excise duties on vapes, heated tobacco products and nicotine pouches could make safer alternatives less affordable and less attractive to adults who smoke. Tax policy is described as needing to reflect the different levels of risk between combustible cigarettes and non-combustible products. Excessive taxation may also widen the gap between legal and illicit markets, encouraging smuggling and weakening both public health and government revenues. Sweden’s experience is used to argue that safer alternatives should remain accessible, acceptable and affordable if Europe wants to reduce smoking.

Tobacco use in Malawi is shown to be strongly shaped by poverty, education and regional inequality. Although around 95% of adults do not use tobacco, smoking remains much more common among the poorest communities than among the wealthiest. Combustible tobacco is the dominant form of use, while smokeless and dual use remain very low. Higher education appears to be linked with lower tobacco use, suggesting that social disadvantage plays an important role in who is most affected. The findings underline the need for policies that recognise poverty and inequality rather than treating tobacco use as the same problem across all groups.

EU health policy is criticised for becoming increasingly political, confused and disconnected from evidence on tobacco harm reduction. Recent statements on nicotine products are challenged for treating vaping, heated tobacco and nicotine pouches as though they carry the same risks as cigarettes. Concerns about youth use are presented as being stretched across overly broad age groups, including adults who may benefit from access to safer alternatives. The EU consultation process is also criticised for grouping lower-risk products with combustible tobacco and making it difficult to support risk-proportionate regulation. A more credible approach would recognise the role of smoke-free nicotine products in reducing smoking and allow consumers, including former smokers, to be properly heard.