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 debate on taxing e-cigarettes like tobacco.
On a more positive note, vape shops in the UK have been willing to help a homeless man whose e-cigarette was 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 history in Canada. Even the government is uncertain about whether they are legal to sell, thanks to Health Canada’s inconsistent reporting. The reality is that new nicotine- containing e-cigarettes aren’t approved by Health Canada as a smoking cessation method, so they’re not legal—but enforcement of the law has been poor, so they’re 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 practical than simply treating them as tobacco products, as is the case in Europe and the US. The main goal is to prevent minors from accessing these products, although there is no evidence yet that this has had a major 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 clear yet whether that means these flavors will be banned, so Canadian vapers will be watching the law closely as it develops.
US research suggests that e-cigarettes cause bronchitis
A new study published in the American Journal of Respiratory Health has made headlines, claiming that e-cigarettes pose serious health risks. According to the media, evidence shows that adolescents who use e-cigarettes are twice as likely to develop bronchitis as those who do not.
However, after further investigation, it turned out that the results of the 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 the lung health of minors”, which sounds dangerous in itself, but the fact is that the researchers did not conduct any medical tests. Their results were based on asking minors 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, and once this was clarified, the link between e-cigarettes and coughing would 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 impact. A public tobacco conference was held last weekend, and it featured a number of disturbing proposals for e-cigarette taxation. The proposal calls for 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 kit 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.
