Monthly Archives: May 2024

Michael Buckner / The Advance Titan According to the NIH, 24% of college students are e-cigarette users, and the prevalence of cardiovascular disease symptoms is doubled in comparison to non-users

Created and advertised originally to help those addicted to cigarettes, vapes came out on the scene in 2003 as a healthy alternative to smoking and have gotten increasingly popular since then. This is seen especially in recent years as vape companies are appealing to young adults more and more.

Of course, while vaping may help you quit smoking cigarettes, youre really just trading one addiction for another; not to mention a more intense and harder-to-kick one. In comparison to cigarettes, vapes are tastier, more accessible, better smelling, rechargeable, and can be hit virtually anywhere because of the smoke-less vapor. Vape companies go out of their way to make disposable vapes as colorful and cool-looking as they can. Additionally, Ive even seen some vapes with screens on them that have cute little icons that dance or spin whenever you take a hit so you can get even more of that psychological reward from hitting it.

Dont be fooled. All of this is specifically designed to be addictive, even more so than cigarettes.

According to the National Institute of Health, of 3,754 college students in their 2018 study, 55.2% had used vapes before, 23.2% of which were daily users. With the stress, anxiety and depression that can come with being a college student, its no wonder almost a third of college students vape in search of a coping mechanism. The buzz they get from nicotine provides somewhat of an escape from reality. Moreover, with its popularity in recent years, vaping has become much more socially acceptedwith users and vape stores at almost every corner, non-vapers may be encouraged to try it. You cant even go to a party or bar without seeing somebody hit a vape.

Besides the obvious and scary physical health risks of vaping such as damage to your lungs, immune system, and your (still developing) brain, your vape isnt helping you de-stress as much as you think it is. In fact, its likely doing the opposite. According to the Truth Initiative, an anti-smoking organization, vaping can actually worsen symptoms of anxiety, depression and even ADHD. So, yes, while hitting your vape may relieve stress in the moment, what youre really doing is trading short-term stress relief for long-term anxiety.

As college students, we are especially targeted and fed the lie that vaping can be a viable coping mechanism with our busy schedules, seemingly boundless responsibilities, and the stress and anxiety that comes with being a student.

I know Im starting to sound like your mom or those annoying quitting ads you always skip, but its much more than statistics thats motivating me. I can throw as many numbers and statistics as I want, but I have more than that. I have firsthand experience.

I started vaping my freshman year of college in search of an escape from the anxiety that comes with being a college student. I ignored all of those anti-vaping ads, too, even hitting my vape to them in what I thought was humor and retaliation. Now, I wish more than anything that I wouldve listened. I wish I would have thought twice before buying my first vape at Marleys, and I wish I had known the magnitude this decision would have on me. The normality of vaping is what made me not even think twice. I thought that if everyone else was doing it, surely Id be okay. The idea that vaping is much better than smoking cigarettes convinced me that I was making a responsible decision.

I was so naive for thinking that the thing that helps me deal with my stress couldnt possibly be causing me anxiety. In truth, it was just happening so slowly I couldnt tell. It crept up on me. After a year of consistent and daily vaping, I experienced one of my first panic attacks. Shortly after, I was put on anxiety meds to help manage my worsening social anxiety and ADHD. At the time, I just chalked it up to a tumultuous freshman year.

After almost three years, it got to the point where the only time I didnt feel anxiety was when I was hitting it. I couldnt breathe as deeply, couldnt sing as well, couldnt run or dance or even walk up three flights of stairs without feeling winded or having chest pains. It wasnt just physically killing me, it was also taking away all the life I had.

I never thought I would be strong enough to quit, but one day it got so bad that the anxiety I was feeling on a daily basis from my vape was worse than the anxiety of letting go of this comfort and dealing with the withdrawals. Finally, I put it all in a plastic bag and threw it into the dumpster. It wasnt easy, but I can confidently say that dealing with withdrawals was a small price to pay for getting my life back.

While I am proud of myself for finally quitting, I wish it had never gotten to that point in the first place. I sincerely dont wish the anxiety, enslavement, fatigue and heaviness on even my worst enemies. Thats why I want to write about this.

Although the anti-smoking ads that Truth Initiative and others put out do have a lot of great information and resources, they didnt necessarily motivate me to quit personally. The resources on their website and the text notifications I receive from them have been vital in dealing with withdrawal and temptation post-quitting, but I think a raw testimony can be a helpful tool.

Learn from my mistakes. If youre thinking about starting, dont; if youre thinking about quitting, do it. If youre thinking, that wont happen to me, stop it. Yes it will, and it only gets harder the longer you wait.

Even just starting small by leaving your vape at home when you go to classes or work can help you wean off the drug and prepare you for withdrawal. Things like drinking soda from a straw, chewing gum, or sucking on lollipops can help mimic the oral fixation of vaping, and keeping an object like a lip oil or a highlighter in your pocket can also help mimic the presence of a vape.

Quitting vaping is a mental battle as well, so I recommend keeping a list of reasons why you want to quit to look back on when you feel that urge and temptation. Truth Initiative also has a sleuth of helpful resources on their website such as other peoples testimonies, the benefits of quitting, a free text sign-up that sends advice and motivation straight to your phone and more.

Once youve quit and have found the best way to deal with your withdrawals, all thats left is to find another coping mechanism to replace vaping. This can be anything running, breathwork, listening to music, praying, meditating, exercising, self-care or even just screaming into your pillow. All of these things release dopamine into your brain, the same hormone that is released when you hit your vape. Whats better? These things are naturally occurring, so youre not manipulating your natural dopamine levels, not to mention they dont cost a dime.

Granted, it will get worse before it gets better. The first few days feel similar to the flu, with symptoms like the shakes, fatigue, nausea and anxiety, nothing you havent done before. Besides, those first few days are such a small price to pay for a lifetime of freedom from this harmful drug.

Take it from me, somebody who thought it was impossible to quit. It isnt. I know it can be daunting, but just take it one day at a time. The first few days were the toughest, but after just three days I started to feel better. I felt more energized, less anxious, more focused, and overall happier. So, put down your vape, and pick yourself up. College is hard enough without dealing with addiction.

Sources:

https://truthinitiative.org/research-resources/targeted-communities/3-ways-vaping-affects-mental-health#:~:text=Though%20nicotine%20has%20not%20been,ways%20vaping%20affects%20mental%20health.

https://www.thetruth.com/article/vaping-has-real-risks?cid=vap_google_nonbrand_googlegrant_evergreen_none_none_none_1824_none&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2a6wBhCVARIsABPeH1u8Fk_4kEUNzxAsKhcUiQpM5eKeOrDotFC6yFqPWdnxD2SmllC3t9gaAssMEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

https://newsroom.heart.org/news/depression-anxiety-symptoms-linked-to-vaping-nicotine-and-thc-in-teens-and-young-adults

https://www.thetruth.com/hot-topic/vaping-mental-health#:~:text=Get%20help%20now.-,Vaping%20nicotine%20can%20worsen%20anxiety%20symptoms%20and%20amplify%20feelings%20of,for%20relieving%20stress%20and%20anxiety.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9996725/

Continued here:

Drop your vape and pick up yourself - Advance Titan

Costa Rican authorities announced on Tuesday that they will prohibit products containing synthetic nicotine in the country, targeting that substance used in smoking containers for vaporizers and e-cigarettes. This resolution will prohibit the sale, use, commercialization, advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of vaping liquids containing synthetic nicotine and cannabinoids, indicated the Ministry of Health in a statement.

It will also affect products that have incorporated cannabinoid-type liquids because they represent a health risk, it added. The provision will be in effect while the government prepares a reform of the law that regulates this area and that type of device.

According to data from the portfolio, since 2021 a total of 3,170 people were treated in Costa Rican public health centers with diagnoses related to vaping. Of the total, 40% were registered in 2024.

In November 2023, the first case in Costa Rica of a 16-year-old person with a lung injury associated with the use of e-cigarettes after vaping for three months was confirmed.

The National Anti-Tobacco Network (Renata) reacted positively to the decision in a statement and highlighted that they applaud the government for the new regulation.

Costa Rica could be on the verge of experiencing a next epidemic of vaping patients, they argued. From the commerce side, they consider it an injustice, said Michael Araya, owner of the La Pegona chain of smokers stores.

Im totally frustrated, he said. A lot of people are going to be out of work, continuing in a smoke shop without selling smoking products doesnt make sense, a very hard blow to all the investment, Araya added.

On the street, vaporizer consumers like Vivian Garca consider it less harmful than conventional tobacco, which is not prohibited. Non-smokers like Kasey Oporto are happy not to have to inhale the smoke that vapers release on public roads.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned in a December 2023 report that urgent control measures for e-cigarettes are needed as they do not help to quit smoking and there is alarming evidence that they harm health. E-cigarettes with nicotine are harmful to health and highly addictive, the WHO said in its report.

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Costa Rica Bans Synthetic Nicotine in Vaping Products : - The Tico Times

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ANOTHER VIEWPOINT: Vaping punishment counterproductive | Opinion | thefacts.com - Brazosport Facts

Key Takeaways

1 in 20 U.S. teens were vaping during 2021, the latest year for which data is available

That's a decline from the 7.2% of teens who vaped in 2019, but still far too high, researchers say

Vaping has long been linked to increased rates of smoking, as well as a number of lifelong health risks

TUESDAY, May 14, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Vaping rates among U.S. kids in grades 9 through 12 fell to 5% in 2021, the latest year for which data is available.

That's down from a peak of 7.2% of teens who vaped in 2019, a new report finds.

However, the 5% vaping rate observed in 2021 is still more than double the 2% rate observed among teens in 2015, the study authors noted.

It's also only slightly less than the 6% of adults who vaped in 2022.

All of this doesn't bode well for teens' long-term health, said study senior author Panagiota Kitsantas.

Almost 100% of e-cigarettes sold in the U.S. contain nicotine, and the use of these products by adolescents may lead to future abuse of and addiction to additional substances, said Kitsantas, chair of population health and social medicineat Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.

The new study is based on a look at data from an ongoing database of youth behaviors compiled by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The data on vaping involved over 57,000 people and began in 2015.

The data also showed a pronounced switch in which teens are more prone to vape. In 2015, boys were more prone to the habit than girls were (2.8% vs 1.1%, respectively). However, by 2021 girls were more likely to vape than boys (5.6% vs 4.5%, respectively), the study found.

Between 2015 and 2021, 12th graders consistently had the highest rate of e-cigarette use, compared to lower grades, the study found.

Vaping "increases risks of nicotine addiction, drug-seeking behavior [and] mood disorders," all of which raise a person's odds for illness and death over time, warned study lead author Dr. Charles Hennekens, professor of medicine at Florida Atlantic.

And even though some may view vaping as an alternative to tobacco smoking, research has shown that people who vape "are more likely to switch to cigarette smoking, which, despite remarkable declines in the U.S., remains the leading avoidable cause of premature death in the U.S. and worldwide," Hennekens said in a university news release.

According to Kitsantas, the continued high uptake of vaping by youth suggest the need for targeted interventions such as mass media campaigns and peer interventions to combat the influences of social norms." She also believes that doctors should routinely screen young patients about whether or not they vape.

SOURCE: Florida Atlantic University, news release, May 13, 2024

Vaping has dropped off a bit among U.S. teens, but rates remain high.

Original post:

Vaping Rates Fall Among Teens, But Still Too High - Griffin Daily News

Mixed evidence aside, vaping remains a popular tool for adults looking to quit smoking but usage patterns among youth tell a different story. Based on the most recent Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey (CTNS), of Canadian teens who vaped in the last month, 69% have never smoked. In fact, several studies have found that young people who vape are much more likely to start smoking in the future, compared to youth who don't vape. As vaping continues to infiltrate the mainstream, Lung Health Foundation efforts underscore the urgent need for awareness and intervention to break the cycle, especially in the most dangerous developmental years of teens who vape.

Empowering Youth to Break Free from Nicotine Addiction with Quash

As World No Tobacco Day approaches on May 31, the Ministry of Education has provided $70,000 to the Lung Health Foundation to support an innovative school outreach initiative promoting the Foundation's multipronged youth cessation program, Quash. This positive initiative aims to be the real-world solution to smoking and vaping by offering judgement-free support to high school students looking to quit, as well as education sessions for educators and parents. It targets over 100 schools across Ontario before the summer break.

Six Ontario school boards representing thousands of students are participating in the Quash school outreach pilot program: Toronto Catholic District School Board, Near North District School Board, Simcoe County District School Board, Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board, Renfrew County District School Board and St. Clair Catholic District School Board.

Developed with funding from Health Canada, Quash combines a cutting-edge mobile app with comprehensive adult facilitator training. TheQuash app, advanced with input from youth, draws on behavioural change theories like successful wellness apps Noom and Headspace. It empowers users to identify and overcome triggers, rewards progress towards quitting, and ultimately helps them regain control over addictive vaping habits, prioritizing their health and well-being.

A Holistic Approach to Nicotine Cessation

The Quash program takes a holistic approach to nicotine cessation, recognizing the complex factors that contribute to addiction. Through virtual adult facilitator training, school staff and parents can gain valuable insights and strategies to support students on their journey to a vape- and smoke-free life.

The program's website serves as a hub for information, resources and support, ensuring that students, educators and families have access to the tools they need to succeed.

By addressing the issue of youth smoking and vaping head-on, the Ministry of Education and the Lung Health Foundation are taking a proactive step towards empowering the next generation to make informed choices and lead healthier lives.

"Simply talking about the problem will not make it go away, and advocating for change is no longer enough to curtail the growing health crisis among young Canadians who vape," says Lung Health Foundation CEO Jessica Buckley. "The Lung Health Foundation, in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, recognizes there needs to be action that engages, educates and ultimately "quashes" the behavioural tendencies of teens who vape. We believe Quash accomplishes just that."

"Think Noom for people who vape," adds Buckley on the behavioural science behind Quashcontent. "It's an integrated youth-driven and youth-developed program with real-world impact, distinguishing itself within its category by prioritizing youth input and engagement. Quash emerges as the most ambitious digital intervention tool today to assist youth in quitting vaping."

The breathtaking truth about youth vaping:

Youth vaping is NOT harm reduction. Of youth 15-19 who have vaped in the previous 30 days, 69% have never smoked. In fact, young people who have used e-cigarettes are up to 3.6 times more likely to transition to smoking cigarettes compared to young people who have not.

Youth vaping is worsening health equity, especially among two notable demographics.LGBTQA+ youth are 1.5 times more likely to vape than heterosexual youth.Indigenous youth are 1.5 times more likely to vape than non-Indigenous youth.

Youth vaping is NOT a coping mechanism.31% of 15-19-year-olds who vape report that it's a form of stress reduction, making it the most common reason youth report vaping.Youth with poor mental health are almost two times more likely to vape.Some research has found that youth who vape are more likely to report anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts.

"Smash your goals (not your lungs)"

"We'll never stop highlighting the negative health effects of vaping, but this campaign takes the message even further by including facts that speak to youth values -- like the way that vaping can negatively affect appearance or athletic performance," explains Erin Dufour, Implementation Manager for Quash at LHF. "These messages sometimes resonate even better than talking about the very real danger."

With presence in hallways, bathrooms, gyms, cafeterias, locker rooms and other student gathering areas, there will be theme-specific graphic promotions and materials that students will immediately notice. "By fostering open dialogue and providing actionable resources, LHF is committed to creating a healthier, vape-free future for Ontario's youth," adds Dufour.

"We know that vaping is addictive and can cause serious, harmful health issues, both physical and mental. With high rates of vaping and cannabis amongst youth, it is clear we must take bold action to safeguard children from this risk," says Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education. "Ontario is introducing zero tolerance on vaping by expanding education and investing in new supports that help promote healthy decision-making and curbing this addictive behaviour. By partnering with Lung Health Foundation and other community organizations and public health agencies, our government is restoring focus, safety and personal responsibility back into Ontario schools."

The campaign is set to spark not just real conversation and debate on vaping triggers and habits in schools and at home, but to arm students, parents, guardians and educators with the ultimate tool to break free from the grip of vaping addiction, says Buckley. "This is especially important for high schoolers leading into exams and summer vacation when the opportunities and freedom to vape unnoticed are more frequent."

It Takes a Village to Stop Teen Vaping in Ontario High Schools

To organizations like the Lung Health Foundation, fresh initiatives that deter vaping are a welcome early step in tackling thispervasive issue on high school campuses across Ontario.

To move this work forward, the government is investing $17.5 million in new wrap-around supports for student mental health and parent engagement. This will include:

"Our job is to educate our students, but also to keep them safe," says Emily Samuel, Principal at Near North District School Board, one of the six school boards participating in the pilot program. "The Quash program gives us critical tools to work with students, parents and our teachers in a highly proactive and meaningful way. It is through a well-constructed educational initiative like this that we can help to curtail the teen vaping crisis."

"Every year we learn something new and scary about vaping," says Buckley, describing the breathtaking truth on the urgent need to address youth and vaping. "Vaping research is still in its infancy. We're one of the few North American lung health charities allocating funds to devoted vaping research over the next five years."

About Lung Health Foundation

The Lung Health Foundation is dedicated to improving lung health for all Canadians. Through a range of community initiatives, grass-roots educational programs, research, and advocacy, the organization elevates awareness and fosters a compassionate environment for those affected by lung conditions, including their caregivers. Building on the legacy of the Ontario Lung Association (OLA), which for over a century served as the recognized leader, voice, and primary resource in lung health, LHF has expanded its efforts nationally. To learn more visit lunghealth.ca or for further assistanceemail [emailprotected].Visit us on Instagram @lunghealthfoundation, Facebook at lunghealthfoundation/, and on X at @LungHealthFdn.

RELATED LINKS:Learn more about this issue and access stats - Youth Vaping Policy Forum

#quashapp#lunghealthfoundation

SOURCE Lung Health Foundation

For further information: FOR MEDIA INTERVIEWS AND BROADCAST SEGMENTS: Contact Rob Bailey, Email: [emailprotected], Phone: 201-819-1134; Margo Rapport, Email: [emailprotected], Phone: 416-895-5672

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Lung Health Foundation and Ontario Ministry of Education Partner to Launch First Judgement-Free Initiative to "Quash ... - Canada NewsWire

By Derek Yach

The Ecig Summit comes at a time of change in how tobacco harm reduction (THR) products are regarded by those who oppose or support their use as a means of ending smoking. In recent months new reports, editorials and comments in leading medical journals have highlighted the benefits of vapes for smoking cessation.1,2,3,4 Further, calls for medically licensed vapes have increased from academics who rarely agree on THR policies.5

Robin Mermelstein, director of the Institute for Health Research and Policy at the University of Illinois, opened the meeting by noting that diverse perspectives are needed for innovations required to end combustible use. With no scientists from the private sector allowed to present research (except for former Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) Director Mitch Zeller, who is currently an advisor to Qnovia), this goal was tough to achieve. And it comes shortly after an editorial in Nicotine and Tobacco Research, the lead journal of the Society For Research On Nicotine & Tobacco, calling for complete exclusion of industry scientists.6 One wonders how widely supported this view is.

I summarize key inputs from the Summit that address six questions:

Rafael Meza of the BC Cancer Research Institute showed that smoking and vaping prevalence in youth has declined. Frequent use (20 days of more over 30 days) is about 6 percent for smoking and vaping in both boys and girls. Among adults in middle age, cigarette consumption has declined in tandem with vaping increasing. Smoking rates, however, have not declined among people over 65 and remain highest among those with the lowest incomes and education. Mezas projections of future trends are flawed by excluding probable impacts of heated tobacco products and nicotine pounces joining vapes as providing alternatives to combustibles over the next few years.

Only 4 percent of all smokers live in the U.S. Resources and debate about global policies are shaped heavily by U.S. federal, academic, nonprofit, philanthropic and private sector perspectives. Global realities need to be brought into summits. To mention two. First, smoking rates exceed 40 percent in men across most Middle East and Eastern European countries, and in China and Indonesia. Smoking rates exceed 20 percent in women across eastern Europe and small island states. These were rates in the U.S. 40-50 years ago. THR provides a route to leapfrog over the road taken by the USA.

Second, toxic smokeless tobacco products are commonly used especially across South Asia and cause about 350 000 oral cancer deaths. Nicotine pouches could well be the route to eliminating this dreadful cancer. A global perspective would place this as an achievable goal.

CTP Director Brian King stressed that youth issues remain his priority. In response to Mermelstein, he could not explain why this remains a priority given extremely low vape use in youth and the absence of convincing evidence that vapes are a gateway to combustibles. In contrast, both the U.K. and New Zealand give priority to ending combustible use in adults.

King repeated his advice to adults who smoke: first use Food and Drug Administration-approved cessation medications and only then FDA authorized reduced risk products. Dual use is not supported. This advice is not in line with current evidence presented at the conference or multiple reports.1,2,3,4,5 Vapes are the most effective means to quit. Dual use lowers overall risks.

Scott Sherman of New York University stressed that the ultimate goals of tobacco control are to prevent the burden of tobacco related disease. About 70 percent of people smoke when diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, peripheral vascular disease, schizophrenia, alcohol use disorders, several cancers, to name some major outcomes. The majority are still smoking years after their diagnosis. Sherman believes such patients would benefit from trying vapes. There are few studies in this area. He outlined a small pilot study of patients with chronic diseases comparing vape to nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) use that motivates for larger studies. Patients with early stage chronic diseases who are between 40 and 55 years of age who quit are likely to yield major health benefits.

There are few such studies. Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, of the University of Massachusetts and the Cochrane Collaboration, presented a Cochrane review using indirect methods to compare a range of interventions. Vapes, NRTs and cytosine showed the strongest evidence of cessation effectiveness compared to other medications and interventions. She stressed the need for more high quality studies. Public, philanthropic and industry funders should invest in such research among populations and countries where smoking and toxic smokeless tobacco rates are extremely high.

Zeller mentioned new real world evidence using biomarkers that suggest benefits of dual use (of vapes and combustibles) in terms of proxy health outcomes. Mike Cummings briefly mentioned the need to use biomarkers of exposure and outcome to accelerate knowledge about THR impact on health outcomes. As an epidemiologist I have long felt that we need to complement self-reporting and mortality based studies with use of 21st century biomarkers that allow for more accurate assessment of exposure and earlier determination of outcomes. Tobacco industry scientists currently lead in developing and using biomarkers. Their extensive list of peer reviewed publications should be cited and used by academics.

Zeller believes improved medically approved tobacco harm reduction products are part of increasing access for adults to reduced risk products. Nancy Rigotti of Mass General Hospital stated that a medical pathway is needed, despite no medically approved products being available. Her views are based on knowledge that physician practices have widespread impact on their patients and on policies. She is concerned that the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the American Cancer Society, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American Heart Association are still unclear about the benefits of vapes as being the most cost-effective means of achieving cessation. Their statements are either ambiguous or explicitly oppose vape use for cessation. She restated her NEJM call for clinicians to strongly advise patients who smoke to try vapes.2

King did not address this, and deflected issues related to cessation to FDAs Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). The lead FDA tobacco chief should have an integrated approach to ending smoking that involved CTP and CDER. That is the spirit of the messages in recent influential journals by leading academics and former FDA heads.3,5 Further, the FDA 2015 CDER guidance on alcohol shows how it accepts abstinence and harm reduction endpoints used for drug approvals. It seems time CTP and CDER could learn how well this is working to end the harm of tobacco use.7

Both Neal Benowitz and Clive Bates of Counterfactual Consulting said we need to address the benefits of nicotine as a range of new products become available. This has implications for future medical licensing and recreational use. We need innovative ways to tease nicotine effects from combustible smoke effects to make progress on the regulatory front and to inform messaging to health professionals and smokers. A recent paper by Jasmine Khouja and her colleagues that used biobank data and multivariable Mendelian Randomization elegantly showed that most harms of smoking are unrelated to nicotine.8 Hopefully work looking at the benefits of nicotine for Parkinsons Disease will follow. I recommend readers watch this space.

Like the U.S., adult smoking rates in the U.K. and New Zealand have declined as vaping has increased. Deborah Arnott of ASH UK indicated that dual use has followed the path seen years ago when NRTs were introduced and regarded this as a transitional route to eventual cessation. This is an important insight for U.S. policy makers to acknowledge.

The U.K. proposed legislation includes a ban on disposables, a new tax on e-liquid (which may reduce illicit trade from China and will maintain a differential tax relative to cigarettes), and measures to reduce the appeal of vaping to children in ways that allow adults to have continued access. Arnott supports vape promotion approaches that have more clinical, and fact based features and other policies that regulate proportionate to risk.

Ben Youdan of ASH New Zealand showed that for years New Zealand and Australia had similar rates of decline in adult smoking. Over five years, however, adult rates have diverged with New Zealand rates falling faster. He believes this is based on differences in vape policies and messaging. New Zealand media and policies support vaping to quit especially among the Indigenous population. Martin Dockrell of the U.K. Department of Health and Social Care, described U.K. government funded programs to provide vapes to homeless people, people with mental illness and other groups with high smoking rates. The hope is that these initiatives will lower social class inequalities in chronic diseases that are strongly driven by differences in smoking rates.

Ben Youdan stated that Australia treats people who vape as criminals or as sick people incapable of self-determination. The result of this is that 90 percent of vapes on the Australian market are illicit while cigarettes access is universal. The opposite is true in New Zealand.

King mentioned that the FDA is committed to health equity. The FDA should learn from the U.K. and New Zealands vape policies.

The extent of misinformation was a topic that pervaded sessions. Alex Clark of the Consumer Advocates for Smoke Free Alternatives Association, gave examples of how the FDAs youth education campaigns have contributed to negatives views about vapes and nicotine. This could accelerate with the deployment of Chatbots that are explicitly programmed to spread misinformation about vapes and nicotine. The latest WHO one being a notable worrying example.9 Researchers need to rapidly engage computer scientists in building AI driven ways to address misinformation continuously and at scale before the digital space is dominated by those who oppose harm reduction. This could draw upon the promising results of correcting misbeliefs about nicotine causing cancer and about vapes reported by Andrea Villanti of Rutgers.

For several years E-Cig Summits and related standalone vape meetings have led thought leadership about the value of tobacco harm reduction. With the growth of a spectrum of reduced risk products now available, is it time to consider transitioning such meetings into opportunities to address emerging ways to end smoking and the use of toxic smokeless tobacco products through a wider range of products? That would encourage comparative studies and for a deeper examination of how consumers use products throughout the day. It would also allow for policy discussions that focus more on harnessing a wider community of users and innovative companies to compete to accelerate an end to smoking.

David Levy of Georgetown University and Bates both made these point very strongly by placing the needs and interests of consumers first and seeing competition between companies and products as beneficial to meeting consumer needs to improve their health.

For that to succeed, future conferences will need to adopt Mermelsteins opening words in practice and end boycotts and bans of industry scientists so that all actively developing innovative ways to make progress can debate the best ways forward together.

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The Takeaways Tobacco Reporter - Tobacco Reporter

This week, the Government is expected to agree on a new plan to raise the legal age for the sale of cigarettes from 18 to 21 years.

After falling for years, the number of people who smoke in Ireland has plateaued. Just under one-in-five Irish adults are still smoking.

On todays podcast, In the News producer Aideen Finnegan explains what we know about the proposal.

Then we hear from Averil Power of the Irish Cancer Society, who welcomes the move. But she says the Government must urgently tackle the growing use of vapes among young people. Her warning comes as Irish researchers have found the acutely toxic chemicals in flavoured vapes could lead to a whole new wave of chronic diseases among users.

Presented by Sorcha Pollak.

Produced by Aideen Finnegan and Declan Conlon.

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Ireland is getting stricter on cigarettes. But is vaping a more urgent problem? - The Irish Times

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Vaping Rates Fall Among Teens, But Still Too High - Shelbynews

Opinion: A recent study published in Natures Scientific Reports recently presented a novel approach to predicting which chemicals might be emitted from a vape.

During heating, chemicals can break down into smaller molecules. A process known as pyrolysis. This study combined deep learning computational methods with chemical structure information from experimental databases.

They looked at 180 flavouring chemicals and predicted which breakdown molecules could be created, finding six or seven chemicals emerging from each single flavouring chemical.

By matching these predicted chemicals with a large chemistry database containing information on potential harms of different chemicals, they found that 127 of the chemicals predicted were classed as acutely toxic, 153 as health hazards and 225 as irritants. This is a useful study, as it is challenging to capture and measure all the chemicals being emitted from an e-cigarette.

Vaping was not so long ago heralded as a revolutionary invention to curb smoking rates among diehard smokers, before it was repurposed to appeal to young people, consequently creating a new generation of nicotine dependants. Last year the e-cigarette manufacturer Juul Labs Inc in the US agreed to pay US$462 million to six states and the District of Columbia to resolve investigations into its marketing of addictive vaping products to children, with bright attractive ads, giveaways, easily concealed products and flavours aimed at the palates of young people.

Vaping works by using a heating coil to heat up an e-liquid to transform it into an aerosol to be inhaled.

The key ingredients are propylene glycol and vegetable glycerol, which act as a carrier for nicotine and flavourings and produce a nice cloud of vapour reminiscent of smoking. Flavourings and nicotine are added in smaller amounts but at variable concentrations.

More than 400 brands and 8000 flavours of vaping products were reported in 2016/17. Flavours can be roughly divided into tobacco, menthol, alcohol/drink, fruit and candy flavours, but with myriad flavours within each category: cinnamon, red hot cinnamon, blueberry, raspberry, watermelon, banana, kiwifruit, passionfruit Some vaping websites invite consumers to come up with flavour requests. As e-cigarette producers know (as do chip, ice cream, wine, and craft beer makers etc) our craving for novel taste is insatiable.

There is a large range of complex chemical profiles used within different e-liquids.

Many manufacturers specify that their ingredients are recognised as safe for oral consumption, but little is known about their health effects when inhaled. Vape aerosols have been found to contain known toxicants, including carcinogens and heavy metals, and a recent study found cadmium, lead, and uranium in urine samples from regular vapers. Our own research at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute has found silicon, iron, zinc, and chromium in vaping products.

Potentially toxic compounds include volatile organic compounds such as benzene, degradation products such as carbonyl compounds (for example formaldehyde), and heavy metal particles. The levels of toxic substances found in e-cigarette vapour are far lower than those found in cigarette smoke, with one study showing levels of toxicants were 9-450 times lower in vapour than cigarette smoke.

However, though thought to be safer than conventional cigarettes, they still expose users to potentially harmful chemicals.

New Zealand has one of the highest youth vaping rates in the world with 18 percent of 14-15-year-olds reported to be regular vapers, compared with, for example, the 7.6 percent of UK 11-17-year-olds who vape, and the 5 percent of New South Wales 14-17-year-olds who reported vapingbetween 10 and 30 days in the previous month in a 2021 survey.

Though e-cigarettes have been welcomed into New Zealand as a smoking cessation aid, there has been an unexpected uptake of vaping by never-smokers. Among daily vapers aged 18-24, 37 percent are never-smokers and in those aged 15-17, the proportion of never-smokers is even higher at 76 percent. Mori are also over-represented in vaping prevalence rates, with one survey showing that a quarter of 14-15-year-old Mori females are vaping daily.

What can we do about this? Obviously, regulation of the products would help, but so far this has proven to be fraught and complicated, and those with financial interests at stake tend to find ways to get around the rules. But a study in the US examined how the appeal of e-cigarettes among adolescents and young people would be affected by the flavours available, if theyd be likely to stop vaping if they couldnt buy so many flavours.

The national survey of 1400 adolescents and young adults found that 38.8 percent of those surveyed said theyd likely stop using their e-cigarette if tobacco and menthol-flavoured e-liquids were the only options, whereas 70.8 percent would stop vaping under a tobacco-only product standard.

Though we know vaping carries fewer chemicals and less harmful ones than smoking, we dont yet know how this translates to health impacts.

Our research is testing several hypotheses to determine whether vaping leads to the same/similar health impacts of smoking, including studying inflammation (the bodys normal defence mechanism), lung lymphatics (which coordinates the immune system response of the lungs) and cardiovascular impacts. This new study published in Nature and our current research is aiming to predict the long-term health effects of vaping before they become widespread in the rapidly growing vaping population.

There is a well-documented latency period for tobacco-related disease that spans a minimum of 25 years, and by then smoking created one of the greatest public health crises of the 20th century. It will be at least two decades until definitive findings from long-term studies on e-cigarette use are available, but such research is urgent to ensure we prevent an epidemic of vaping-related disease in our future generations.

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Vaping and how to stop another chemical generation - Newsroom

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Vaping Rates Fall Among Teens, But Still Too High - Rockdale Newton Citizen