Vaping News Headlines:
Massachusetts Vape Ban? – JUUL Fights More Vape Bans – Vaping On the Rise In New Zealand – Scientists Clash Over False Vape Data and Soccer Moms ‘Drunk’ On Anti-Vape Campaign Success
Massachusetts Considers Total Vape Ban
The state of Massachusetts could be the first to bring in a statewide ban on all things vape.
Politicians met last week to discuss the clampdown and were met by hundreds of kids claiming e-cigarettes were addicting their generation.
Bills S 1279 and H 1902 would see the banning of ‘flavoured tobacco’ products from convenience stores and online shops. The only place where flavoured tobacco would be available would be in what they’re calling ‘adult smoke shops’ – not sure if they mean vape shops or tobacconists.
Rep. Danielle Gregoire who introduced one of the bills said:
We know that for every adult that picks up an e-cigarette device, six youth are getting their hands on it and we heard from the students today how pervasive it is in our schools so we know that our ban is not working and we need to go further to protect our youth from these products that literally have no public value.
The Committee on Public Health heard from a number of ‘children’ one of who said he’d managed to quit his 2-year JUUL addiction last summer adding that it had cost him ‘thousands of dollars’.
Convenience store owners demonstrated outside the hearing some wearing ‘I Protect Minors’ t-shirts.
The voice of reason came from Jonathan Shaer, executive director of the New England Convenience Store and Energy Marketers Association, said:
Senate bill 1279 and House bill 1902, two bills which would ban the sale of all flavoured tobacco and nicotine products, may grab headlines but they will not prevent minors from accessing or using these products.
Instead, they will most certainly drive even more youth to the internet and grow the robust untaxed, unregulated, illicit markets that are already responsible for 30% of the cigarettes currently sold in the commonwealth.
Wise words.
There’s also a kind of ‘back-stop’ bill going through as well which plans to add e-cigarettes and all vape gear to the current tobacco tax.
Yet more proof, if any was needed, the hysteria around vaping in the USA, is showing no signs of slowing down.
JUUL Fights More Vape Bans In Bay Area
Following the complete ban of all things vape in San Francisco, nearby towns and cities are also rushing out banning legislation.
Politicians in the city’s neighbours, Livemore, used the San Fran vape ban model to implement a ban on all things vape and now, the East Bay city of Richmond, will be considering similar legislation next week.
JUUL has already gathered enough signatures to force a ballot on the San Francisco legislation which could stop the outright ban when voted on in November. The company is now supporting similar ballots in Livemore and Richmond.
Local newspapers reckon the company has so invested $1.5million in the ballots so far and JUUL’s spokesman Ted Kwong said:
The city of Livermore has rushed a similar ban into law with minimal public input or consideration.
We are exploring all options, including a potential referendum to give the voters a say on this critical matter of public health, because there are ways to fight youth access of vapor products while recognizing that adult smokers should have access to alternatives.
The Bay Area bans rely on waiting for the FDA to regulate vape devices and juice – as in they’d be reversed once the FDA approves them through the PMTA process.
Sadly the moving forward of the PMTA – Premarket Tobacco Applications, will mean very many e-liquids – tanks – coils and even drip tips may never have FDA approval.
The dominos are falling and falling fast, to say the least.
For more information on PMTAs read my article: Vaping In America Faces Total Devastation As Anti-Vape Legislation Is Moved Forward – it makes for extremely worrying reading.
Vaping Among Smokers On the Rise In New Zealand
Let’s slip a bit of good news in lol.
OK a new study of smokers in New Zealand shows that over 50% of them have tried or are now using an e-cigarette in a bid to quit smoking.
There’s still a way to go with only 2% of the population now classed as regular vapers, whilst 1 in 6 has at least tried an e-cig.
The very good news is the study found there was NO daily use among those who have never smoked.
Co-author, Professor Richard Edwards, from the University of Otago in Wellington, said:
The findings from this nationally representative survey of adult New Zealanders give us a snapshot for how the use of e-cigarettes is developing.
The information from the survey will help monitor the uptake of e-cigarettes and provide evidence about their impact on smoking. It could also help in the development of interventions aiming to enhance the contribution of e-cigarettes to reducing smoking and its adverse health effects in Aotearoa.
The study is part of the two yearly Health and Lifestyles Survey conducted by the Health Promotion Agency and interviews thousands of New Zealanders
Prof Edwards said:
The finding that people who have never smoked are not using these products is reassuring, as is the relatively high use among recent quitters, as this suggests that many smokers are successfully using e-cigarettes to quit.
Are you watching Australia?
Vaping Leads To Heart Attack Study Slammed
Two leading scientists are in the middle of a heart-felt heated debate over what one has called out as using “false data”.
The study was carried out by disgraced vehement anti-vape scientist Stanton Glantz – I say disgraced after legal proceedings for alleged sexual harassment saw the woman involved ‘paid off’ to the tune of $150,000.
He reckons vaping DOES lead to heart attacks – something the world of science has refuted a number of times – see my article: Will Your E-Cigarette Give You a Heart Attack? for just one of many scientific rebuttals of this ludicrous claim!
However, Professor Brad Rodu from the University of Louisville, was able to get his hands on the data and found a glaring [to say the least] error.
It appears that of the 30+ patients that had heart attacks – most of them occurred 10 years BEFORE they began vaping!
File that under sh!t you couldn’t make up lol.
This new Glantz study suggested vapers were twice as likely to get a heart attack – not so says Professor Rodu who called the findings “false and invalid.”
Ouch!
He called on the Journal of the American Heart Association – that published the study – to retract it adding:
Their analysis was an indefensible breach of any reasonable standard for research on association or causation.
We urge you to take appropriate action on this article, including retraction.
It just shows you just how dirty the war on vaping in America in particular is.
Incidentally, it was Glantz who famously told vapers they’d be better off stopping and going back to smoking!
Yes really!
Check that little gem out in the Arse of the Week piece I did in the vape news back in January!
and finally…Flavoured Vaping and Alcohol No Laughing Matter
I’ve often thought many of the soccer mom driven anti-vape groups popping up in America like wildfire were often talking like they’d had too many cocktails – and I guess in the case of one I was right.
These almost hysterical fire and brimstone religious style groups need money to keep them going I guess and one way of bringing in the bucks is fundraisers.
As many of us in vaping argue, alcohol is by far more of a worry than e-cigs, especially as the drinks industry has come under fire all over the world for it’s some might say ‘kid-friendly’ flavours.
That doesn’t seem to bother the rabid soccer-mom anti-vape brigade who whilst pushing the message that vaping bad like to encourage their supporters to in a nutshell ‘get pissed’.
Again the hypocrisy shown by these people. They claim flavors Target kids. But Ignore the amount of flavored alcohol that is on the market. Has a fundraiser requires that you buy two alcoholic drinks. pic.twitter.com/mnFShBLjq8
— Allen Davis (@Allen_Davis_622) July 19, 2019
This tweet from vape advocate Allen Davis shows how a recent ‘comedy’ night fundraiser organized by the Parents Against Vaping and E-Cigarettes [PAVE] actually demanded they had at least two drinks each!
Pretty sure most of the ladies weren’t on scotch or beer – maybe a few cocktails or flavoured vodkas? Or is that me being sexist again lol.
It seems when it comes vaping, these ladies are punch drunk with the success of helping to shut down vaping in America as we know it.
Cheers ladies, job well done – sadly the ‘joke’s on you’ as all you’ve done is help Big Tobacco and doomed generations to death from lit tobacco diseases.
I need a drink…
More Vape News on Wednesday!
