The Canadian federal government is trying to clarify its still-vaping vaping laws, and they may be doing a better job than Europe and the United States.
Meanwhile, another medical journal in the US has published a controversial article on the safety of e-cigarettes , this time concluding that e-cigarettes can cause bronchitis in minors.
Europe has also prepared for a new offensive, holding a public discussion on taxing e-cigarettes like tobacco.
On a more positive note, vape shops in the UK were willing to help a homeless man whose e-cigarette had been stolen, a gesture that shows the compassion of members of the industry.
Canada has moved to prepare laws to regulate e-cigarettes.
E-cigarettes have had a very murky existence in Canada. Even the government is unsure whether they are legal to sell, thanks to Health Canada’s unclear reporting. The reality is that new nicotine e-cigarettes are not approved by Health Canada as a smoking cessation method, so they are not legal – but enforcement of the law has been weak, so they are still widely available. And now Ottawa is determined to make the rules clearer.
The federal government intends to regulate e-cigarettes as a separate category of product, which seems more realistic than the European and US options of simply treating them as tobacco products. The main goal is to prevent minors from accessing these products, although there is no evidence yet that this has had a significant impact in Canada – and unfortunately this could lead to the government introducing more restrictive regulations.
The proposal to ban the sale or advertising of e-cigarettes to people under 18 has met with little opposition, and mandatory warnings on packaging are also included in the draft. What has vapers upset is the proposal to ban flavors that appeal to young people. It’s not yet clear whether that means these flavors will be banned, so Canadian vapers will be watching the development of this legislation carefully.
US research suggests that e-cigarettes cause bronchitis
A new study published in the American Journal of Respiratory Health has made headlines all over the world, claiming that e-cigarettes pose serious health risks. Evidence shows that adolescents who use e-cigarettes are twice as likely to develop bronchitis as those who do not use them, according to the media.
However, after further investigation, it turned out that the results of that study were exaggerated by the media and the study was unclear. The actual title of the study was “E-cigarettes may have adverse effects on lung health in adolescents”, which sounds dangerous in itself, but the fact is that the researchers did not conduct any medical tests. Their results were based on asking adolescents whether they suffered from persistent coughs, which is not an accurate diagnostic method.
Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos posted a response and criticized the research side for not being clear.
Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos of the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center in Athens published a correction, criticizing the authors of the press conference for pointing out harm where there was none. He also pointed out that the study did not control for the number of smokers, which, once clarified, would make the link between e-cigarettes and coughing disappear. It seems that once again, poor research and bad media have combined to create misleading headlines.
Europe considers taxing e-cigarettes
Vapers in Europe are already feeling the effects of the TPD ban, with unlicensed products being banned from sale – but it seems the European Council isn’t satisfied with the effects just yet. A public tobacco conference was held last weekend, and it included some disturbing talk about proposals to tax e-cigarettes. The proposal is to levy a 20 or 50% tax on the value of the products.
Vape shops join hands to help a homeless man
Louise Ross from the Leicestershire Smoking Cessation Centre was one of the first health professionals to introduce vaping to her patients, and she has been working hard to make e-cigarettes more accessible to smokers. On Tuesday, she tweeted asking if anyone could donate a kit to a homeless man who had his stolen, and the response was overwhelming. Two local vape shops immediately agreed to provide a free replacement kit, and the man received one later that day.
This article was published on Vapingpost by Fergus Mason and translated by The Vape Club.
