Cancer Research UK, in collaboration with Public Health England (PHE) and the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, has recently launched an e-cigarette campaign with the aim to increase awareness of the relative safety of these electronic devices compared to smoking combustible cigarettes.

Since Manchester has a high smoking prevalence level, the campaign is targeting local smokers aged 25 to 55 who are looking to quit the deadly habit. The marketing initiatives include outdoor advertising, ads on buses, billboards, as well as phone booth and washroom posters, which can be seen across Greater Manchester until February 18th.

According to research published by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), “in 2017 only 13% of adults correctly identified that e-cigarettes are much less harmful, compared to 21% in 2013.” Since there is rampant, and increasing, misconception among the general public that e-cigs are just as, if not more, damaging than traditional cigarettes, the campaign strives to acquaint people with the research to date. According to Cancer Research UK, the evidence shows that vaping is much safer than smoking as “there is no smoke, tar or carbon monoxide, and studies looking at key toxicants have generally found much lower levels than in cigarettes.”

Another key goal of the campaign is to inform people that e-cigarettes do not contain cancer-causing tobacco, although they may contain nicotine. However, despite the substance being addictive, the delivery mechanism – heating as opposed to burning – makes e-cigarettes “far closer to other nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products than tobacco in terms of harm.”

Lastly, they want to highlight that many smokers in the UK are turning to e-cigarettes to help them stop smoking. In fact, for the first time, a survey conducted by ASH found that there were more ex-smokers, 1.5 million, who use the electronic devices than current smokers. Furthermore, “the main reason people offered for their use of e-cigarettes was to stop smoking.”

What are your thoughts on this government-sponsored e-cigarette campaign in the UK? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.

According to a new report published by the British Psychological Society, e-cigarettes are a recommended tool to quit smoking. The report, entitled “Changing Behaviour: Electronic Cigarettes,” was published this past October and was written by Dr. Lynne Dawkins and Dr. Hayden McRobbie. The report is an attempt to guide behavior with respect to smoking cessation and related educational activity.

According to co-author Dawkins, Associate Professor at London South Bank University, “for smokers trying to quit, e-cigarettes are more attractive than traditional smoking cessation methods, such as nicotine replacement therapy, and at least as effective. There is also mounting evidence that they are much safer than tobacco smoking.”

In addition to broadly endorsing vaping as a method of quitting smoking, the report makes specific recommendations. For instance, it recommends improving education with respect to the relative harms of smoking cigarettes and vaping e-cigarettes. The report also recommends introducing the use of e-cigarettes into the government’s Stop Smoking Services. Furthermore, it suggests undertaking fiscal measures to raise the cost of cigarettes and lower the cost of e-cigarettes, as well as pursuing policies which will promote vaping over smoking, including instituting “smoke-free” legislation while avoiding “vape-free” legislation.

Additionally, the report recommends adopting regulations which will lead to the evolution and improvement of e-cigarettes through successful product development efforts. Lastly, the report states that the government should invest in research that studies the effects of vaping on smoking cessation. According to the report, such research would also elucidate which factors contribute to a successful transition from smoking to vaping.

All in all, the report reinforces what a lot of studies lately have been saying: e-cigarettes are an effective tool for those attempting to quit smoking.

Have you ever used vaping to help quit cigarettes? Let us know in the comments below!

According to recent statistics released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, for the first time in decades, since the implementation of anti-smoking campaigns and taxes on cigarettes, the number of Australians who smoke has increased. Currently, there are 2.4 million Australians who smoke cigarettes, an increase of 21,000 since 2013, prompting the question of whether or not the nation’s anti-smoking policies are still effective.

Dr. Alex Wodak, retired Doctor and currently the Director of the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation told the Australian press that “Australia is doing everything right in terms of tobacco control,” which includes plain packaging and high taxes on traditional cigarettes. However, he notes that a key difference between the Australian approach and that of countries such as the U.K. and the U.S., where smoking rates have dropped, is that Australia still maintains a hostile attitude towards electronic cigarettes.

While e-cigarettes and vaping devices are legal in Australia, the sale and possession of the nicotine used in them is illegal. Unlike a combustible cigarette which burns tobacco to release the addictive substance, the e-cig heats a liquid to release nicotine; the process doesn’t produce any tar or smoke, which is known to contain “over 7,000 chemicals, of which over 70 cause cancer.” Many ex-smokers in the U.S. and the U.K. have turned to these devices to help them successfully quit cigarettes, and as recently as late July, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a comprehensive roadmap to reduce nicotine addiction, including plans to encourage innovation of products like e-cigs, which deliver nicotine in a safer way.

Doctors across Australia are now pleading for e-cigarette reform, stating that smokers deserve access to a safer alternative to combustible cigarettes. Dr. Alex Wodak cited a major study conducted by the Royal College of Physicians in England which found vaping to be 95 percent safer than regular cigarettes. He added that Australia should provide easy access to flavored nicotine products, which he says would entice smokers to quit.

Do you think that Australia should change its approach to nicotine laced e-juice? Tell us what you think by commenting below.

A new U.S. study conducted by the National Institutes of Health examining the correlation between the increase in the use of electronic cigarettes and the change in the overall smoking cessation rate of the population found that e-cig users were more likely to quit smoking when compared to those who didn’t use the smoking cessation device.

Instead of burning tobacco to release nicotine, e-cigarettes vaporize e-juice, a liquid solution containing a mixture of vegetable glycerin, propylene glycol, flavorings, and nicotine, although zero-nicotine options are also available and widely popular among vapers. Citing the many benefits of e-cigarettes such as the absence of smoke, tar, or lingering odor, the vaping industry has long been promoting them as an alternative to smoking combustible cigarettes.

Smoking rates in the U.S. have been declining for decades, aided in part by taxes on tobacco products and anti-smoking campaigns. Until recently, although other nicotine delivery options such as the nicotine patch or gum enjoyed support from the medical community, e-cigs were still reviled and deemed harmful by health authorities. However, the study, which is the largest review of available data on e-cig usage, adds credence to the claim that e-cigarettes can play a significant role in helping smokers quit.

Researchers analyzed and compared survey data from over 160,000 people over almost 15 years. The findings revealed that 65 percent of vapers had tried to stop smoking while only 40 percent of smokers who didn’t use e-cigs had. E-cig users were also more likely to successfully quit cigarettes for at least three months when compared to non-users, 8 percent versus 5 percent. The overall quit rate for 2014 and 2015 was 5.6 percent, an increase of 1.1 percentage point, which, although seems small, represents about 350,000 additional smokers who quit.

According to the study, the “substantial increase in e-cigarette use among US adult smokers was associated with a statistically significant increase in the smoking cessation rate at the population level. These findings need to be weighed carefully in regulatory policy making regarding e-cigarettes and in planning tobacco control interventions.”

Are you an ex-smoker who was able to successfully quit smoking because of e-cigarettes? Share your story with us by commenting below!

From its humble beginnings as a prototype in 1963 to the first commercially successful device created by pharmacist and inventor, Hon Lik, in 2004, the electronic cigarette has since engendered major disruptions in the tobacco industry, with small start-ups as well as large corporations vying for a slice of this highly lucrative emerging market.

While in its infancy, the nascent e-cigarette industry enjoyed a rather laissez-faire approach, which enabled it to enjoy significant growth. However, governments are now attempting to regulate the industry, and we are witnessing vastly different approaches in the UK and the US.

Why Regulate the E-Cigarette Industry?

The need for regulation stems from the idea that although free-market forces provide a competitive marketplace where customers can exert influence on businesses, consumers still require government protection since a business’ primary concern is its profitability, as opposed to the safety of its clients.

The UK Approach

In the UK, the focus has been on the well-being of current or ex-smokers and on combating preventable diseases such as lung cancer and heart disease caused by smoking.

Following research conducted by Public Health England (PHE), the National Health Service (NHS) has taken the stance that e-cigarettes are a less harmful alternative to combustible tobacco and has endorsed their use as an effective smoking cessation method. With the customer’s best interest at heart, it has even gone so far as to encourage health officials to collaborate with vapers and vapor businesses to aid smokers to make the switch.

The US Approach

In the US, the war on nicotine has tobacco control lobbyists conflating the dangers of smoking tobacco and the use of e-cigarettes, giving rise to the vilification of vaping, despite the fact that evidence shows that e-cigs are 95 percent less damaging than conventional cigarettes. In addition, US legislators tend to view vaping as a gateway to smoking even though studies like the one quoted earlier found that the majority of the adults using e-cigs in the UK are current or ex-smokers.

With blatant fear and misinformation driving policy, it comes as no surprise that the Tobacco Control Act, passed in 2009 and supported by Philip Morris International (PMI), requires US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for vaping products, regardless of the fact that vapor juice contains no tobacco. This has added significant costs and longer approval delays for the e-cigarette industry while big tobacco companies such as PMI, offering an alternative device that uses heated tobacco leaf, benefits from a smoother and faster approval process. This raises the question of whether customer well-being is truly what’s driving e-cigarette regulation in the US.

What are your thoughts about the regulation of the e-cigarette industry? Tell us by commenting below, or tweet us @ILoveECigs.

 

 

A House panel is trying yet again to exempt e-cigs from the new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules.

The Trump Administration has delayed enforcement of the rules, which many hope will work in favor of e-cig companies.

Under the new FDA rules, small companies that produce e-cigs would likely go out of business as a way to avoid expensive regulatory reviews.

But the legislation approved Wednesday by the Republican-controlled Appropriations Committee would prevent the FDA from requiring retroactive safety reviews of e-cigs already on the market. Instead, it would be only e-cig products introduced in the future that would face the safety reviews.

However, there are several public health groups who say that the regulations may allow many newer tobacco products to also escape scrutiny. This is a cause for concern, particularly when young people are using traditional cigarettes.

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California, especially the Bay Area, has historically been at the forefront of promoting harm-reduction strategies among residents who use drugs. However, when it comes to smokers, instead of making it easier for them to switch to safer alternatives to smoking cigarettes, California is doing just the opposite with a newly imposed ban on flavored e-cigarettes. The ban is detrimental to public health interests, and it is imperative that cities in California reconsider the ban on flavored e-cigarettes.

As recently as June 20th, San Francisco city supervisors unanimously approved an ordinance to amend the health code prohibiting tobacco retailers from selling flavored tobacco products, and despite the fact that e-cigarettes contain no tobacco, flavored nicotine e-cigs are included in the ban. Unlike combustible cigarettes, which produce tar and smoke, e-cigarettes release a vapor containing the nicotine in the liquid, which makes it a much safer nicotine-delivery alternative to regular cigarettes. Unfortunately, that hasn’t prevented legislators from classifying them as tobacco products and banning the sale of flavored vaping liquids containing nicotine.

Banning flavored e-cigarettes also implies removing an incentive for smokers to switch to e-cigarettes, which have been found to be 95% less harmful than traditional cigarettes. Not only does the California e-cigarette ban on flavored products reduce the motivation to switch, but according to Gregory Conley, the President of America’s Vaping Association, it also blatantly disregards the evidence that flavors help smokers quit by disconnecting them from the taste of tobacco.

Another reason for the ban is the misconception that flavored vaping liquids could entice teens to smoke. This fear is unfounded as there is no evidence to suggest that there is any correlation between the two. According to Carrie Wade, the Harm Reduction Policy Director of nonprofit R Street Institute, “rates of teen smoking are at an all-time low and have steadily declined from 15.8 percent in 2011 to 9.3 percent in 2015.”It is also important to note that it is illegal to sell e-cigarettes and other vaping products to minors and that vape shops, which are often independently owned, have a lot to lose if they don’t comply.

Taking into consideration that e-cigarettes are a much safer nicotine-delivery alternative to smoking and that flavored vaping liquids provide an additional incentive to smokers to switch, the Golden State needs to reconsider the California e-cigarette ban on flavored liquids, especially when there is no evidence of a gateway effect on teens and other non-smokers. Instead, it should differentiate e-cigarettes from other tobacco products and promote them as a harm-reduction method to encourage smokers to make the switch and quit smoking cigarettes.

What do you think about the California e-cigarette ban? Join the conversation by commenting below or tweet us @ILoveEcigs.

Big tobacco companies are diversifying out of traditional cigarettes and into new alternatives in what critics are calling a ‘smokescreen’ to divert attention from the negative effects of tobacco.

Among the companies making the change is UK tobacco giant Imperial Brands, the company behind Winston, West and Gauloises, who are currently testing caffeine energy products.

Imperial’s Chief Development Officer, Matthew Phillips said: “We’ve been increasingly looking in other areas,” including focus on products that appeal to millennials.”

One of the industry’s largest players, British American Tobacco, have also invested $1 billion over the past five years in what it terms “next generation products”. They say e-cigarettes, including its brand Vype, are “potentially less risky alternatives” to tobacco.

“The key challenge for the tobacco industry is the terrible image of their products,” said Professor Steve Greenland, a marketing expert at Charles Darwin University who specializes in the tobacco industry.

“[Tobacco companies] may be distancing themselves from the traditional tobacco market, but the reality is not far off 99 per cent of their revenue comes from cigarettes and while we’re seeing this decline in smoking in Australia the company’s growth business is in emerging markets like Indonesia and East Timor.

“These new products are providing a bit of a smokescreen to what is going on with mainstream business.”

But critics say the most effective way to quit is to stub out the smokes, rather than moving to alternatives.

“By positioning themselves as ‘part of the solution’, rather than the essence of the problem, the tobacco industry is seeking to claw back from its pariah status and to re-engage in the policy process,” said Ross MacKenzie, a lecturer in Health Studies at Macquarie University.

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A warning has been issued to keep minors away from e-cigarettes after a nine-year-old girl from Fredericton, New Brunswick Canada drank e-liquid she found in her school’s playground.

The e-liquid, which was labeled as ‘Unicorn Milk, was tasted by the girl and a few of her friends and was contained inside packaging decorated with a brightly colored unicorn.

The mother of the girl, Lea L’Hoir, said that her daughter started complaining about nausea, chest cramps, and dizziness shortly after tasting the e-liquid.

Shortly after, she took her daughter to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with nicotine poisoning and released later that night.

Although there was a small poison symbol on the side of the container, L’Hoir stressed that the packaging should have been clearer.

Anthony Knight, CEO of the New Brunswick Medical Society, said it’s troubling that e-vaping products might be designed and marketed to appeal to young people.

“That speaks to a need for tougher regulation and tougher oversight around how these products are marketed and that oversight rests with the government,” he said.

At Iloveecigs.com, we are proud to sell Logic products such as Logic Pro Advanced Vapor System and our Logic Disposable Electronic Cigarettes which are packaged for marketing to adults and contain a vitally important three-step unlocking system, to prevent child access to e-cig liquids. Order yours today!

Do you believe there is a need for greater packaging regulation within the vaping industryShare your thoughts with us below.

Should Australia follow other countries and legalize the sale of nicotine for e-cigarettes? One tobacconist thinks so.

Franchise owner of an e-cigarette stockist, Naeem Ismail is hoping an inquiry into the devices will align Australia with the rest of the world when it comes to legalizing the sale of nicotine products.

“People are looking for an alternative to smoking for health benefits and to save money,” he said.

“Not only are e-cigarettes a cheaper alternative, they are slightly healthier and help people eventually wean off smoking.”

The said inquiry was raised by the Australian Parliament’s Health, Aged Care and Sport Committee and will look into the use of e-cigarettes in Australia.

Currently e-cigarettes containing nicotine are not uniformly available for commercial sale in Australia, but the inquiry hopes to change this as it investigates the health impacts of e-cigarettes and personal vaporizers, as well as their marketing and use as an aid for people attempting to quit smoking.

Mr Ismail argues that one of the main reasons he is in favor of the inquiry is due to the number of customers who had successfully quit smoking by using e-cigarettes.

“It’s that habit of having a cigarette in hand that is hard to break but your brain is also telling you that you need nicotine. People are training their brains to do the action without getting the nicotine hit,” he said.

“As much as it is requested, e-juice with nicotine is unfortunately banned in Australia.

“If the government is serious about getting people to quit smoking there needs to be an alternative method.

“Overseas, people can cut down their nicotine from 12mg to 6mg to 4mg and wean themselves off. We don’t have that option here.”

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