ETHRA’s monthly roundup of news: Guide to regulations anticipated for 2023 - Landmark survey of consumer advocacy associations - Expert pushes back against proposed pouch ban - Norwegian flavour ban proposal - Cancer risk paper retracted - Bad Science - Country updates. Read on for more.
Contents:
Guide to regulations anticipated for 2023
ECigIntelligence have put together a comprehensive guide to upcoming EU Directives and legislation which will influence the future of vaping and tobacco harm reduction.
Read more here:
https://ecigintelligence.com/where-do-we-go-now-ecigintelligences-guide-to-regulation-expected-in-2023/
How the EU can save lives in the fight against smoking
Interim Executive Director of the European Liberal Forum (ELF), which is affiliated with the Renew group in the European Parliament, has urged the EU to embrace tobacco harm reduction strategies in its fight against cancer.
Read more here:
https://www.eureporter.co/health/2023/01/18/not-every-product-is-created-equal-how-the-eu-can-save-lives-in-the-fight-against-smoking/
Citizens’ Initiative
NGO’s from across the EU have come together to seek support and signatures for a Citizens’ Initiative which was launched on 16 January. The Initiative proposes to ban the sale of tobacco & nicotine products to those born after 2010 but requires 1,000,000 signatures (by January 2024) before it can be brought before the European Commission; it currently has 2088.
Read more here:
https://www.vejpkollen.se/2023/01/svenska-organisationer-vill-forbjuda-nikotin-i-hela-eu/
See the Initiative here:
https://europa.eu/citizens-initiative/initiatives/details/2022/000005_en
Global survey of THR consumer associations
A new, first of its kind survey, has investigated the scale, role and activities of consumer advocacy associations. The findings reveal that most associations are run on a voluntary basis by former smokers who use safer nicotine products. Despite having little to no funding, all associations reported significant activity and success.
Read more here:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/puh2.58
Belgium
Stefaan Hendrickx, a senior staff member at the Flemish Institute for Healthy Living, is highly critical of the Belgian Health Minister's plans to ban nicotine pouches. He says that the move would deprive adult smokers of the opportunity to use a much less harmful alternative to smoking.
France
A survey conducted by the National Cancer Institute shows the alarming scale of vaping misinformation. It reports that almost 80% of respondents mistakenly believe that vaping causes cancer.
Read more here:
https://fr.vapingpost.com/80-des-francais-pensent-que-la-vape-donne-le-cancer/
Germany
The German Medical Association (BÄK) is urging the government to extend the EU’s ban on flavoured heated tobacco products to include flavoured e-liquid. In response, ETHRA partner BVRA has issued a press release explaining the importance of flavours. BVRA says that a flavour ban would deny smokers an option that has proven to be almost twice as effective as NRTs.
Read more here:
https://bvra.info/aktuell/bundesaerztekammer-auf-irrweg/
Netherlands
A public consultation on a proposed bill to ban nicotine pouches closed on 16 January. ETHRA participated in the consultation to stress the importance of having the full range of safer nicotine products available to smokers who wish to quit.
Read our submission here:
https://ethra.co/submissions/123-netherlands-nicotine-products-without-tobacco
Access all submissions here:
https://www.internetconsultatie.nl/nicotineproducten/reacties
Norway
The Norwegian Government has notified the European Commission, through the TRIS notification system, of its intention to introduce plain packaging and a ban on characterising flavours in vapour products and refill containers, regardless of nicotine content. However, there is good news for snus. The proposal states that there will be "A requirement for snus packages to include at least 20 portions and 15 kilograms, or 30 kilograms of loose snus( we believe this is a mistake or a translation error)." The consultation closes on 1 May. We urge all consumers to add a submission in opposition to the proposal as the introduction of another flavour ban could influence the upcoming review of the TPD.
Add your submission here:
https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/tris/en/search/?trisaction=search.detail&year=2023&num=9003
Scotland
A review into the environmental and public health impacts of disposable vapes is set to take place. An outright ban on the products is one area that is being investigated.
Read more here:
https://www.planetofthevapes.co.uk/news/vaping-news/2023-01-24_could-scotland-ban-disposables.html
UK
The New Nicotine Alliance is on the lookout for new trustees to sit on its board. If you have a passion for tobacco harm reduction and feel you could contribute to the vital work the NNA carry out, do consider getting in touch.
Read more here:
https://www.planetofthevapes.co.uk/news/vaping-news/2023-01-16_could-you-be-a-trustee.html
Smoke without fire: A new vision for vaping policy in the UK
Think tank, Demos, has published a white paper on vaping policy in the UK. The paper makes a range of proposals which, they say, will help encourage more smokers to switch to vaping while discouraging use by non-smokers.
Read more here:
https://demos.co.uk/project/smoke-without-fire-a-new-vision-for-vaping-policy-in-the-uk/
Clive Bates - My application for Editor-in-Chief of Tobacco Control
Clive presents his vision for the journal which, he says, will cover all aspects of nicotine in society based on open science, curiosity and organised scepticism.
Read more here:
https://clivebates.com/my-application-for-editor-in-chief-of-tobacco-control/#comment-333323
The Substitution effect
A new study examining national sales data finds that higher sales of vapour products is strongly associated with decreased sales of combustible tobacco. This suggests that vapour products are being used as a substitute for combustible tobacco.
Read more here:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10603-022-09533-4
Cancer risk paper retracted
A paper which claimed vaping poses a higher risk of cancer than smoking has been retracted.
Read more here:
https://www.planetofthevapes.co.uk/news/health-studies/2023-01-26_cancer-risk-paper-retracted.html
Bad Science
Studies related to tobacco harm reduction are often plagued with errors. So what are the issues and why is it so prevalent in this field? Clive Bates discusses some of the most common and repeated flaws.
Read more here:
https://tobaccoreporter.com/2023/01/02/bad-science/
Something to watch:
Researcher Stories: E-cigarettes
Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, first author of Cochrane’s living review of electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation, talks about her work and the impacts it can have for public health.
