Vape News in Brief: August 22nd, 2017 Edition

 

Time again to take a tour of the news over the last week for a look at how the rest of the world is looking at vaping: with no further ado…

A bit of bad news started the week off: researchers in West Virginia are saying vapor was observed constricting the blood vessels of mice. While the effects were negative as compared to test mice only exposed to normal indoor air, it doesn't appear a group exposed to cigarette smoke was used.

According to the British press, if UK officials follow the lead of the FDA nicotine in cigarettes could be 30 times less potent. This is interesting, because while we're heard FDA chief Scott Gottlieb say he wants to reduce the level of nicotine in cigarettes, specific numbers haven't been widely reported so far in the US.

Here's an interesting look at some of the economics of vaping, and how it threatens the traditional Big Tobacco model that's already in decline. This is part of a series that ran last week – all three pieces are worth a read.

This article originating in the Philippines is a bit of a tricky read, but it covers important territory: a survey of nearly 1000 American chest health doctors. What's disappointing, though, are the findings; there appears to be no consensus on how to view e-cigarette use among patients looking to quit smoking. Only half say they're comfortable talking to their patients about vaping, and a small minority even say they'd rather their patients continue smoking than quit using vaping.

Sometimes the arguments we hear against vapor products cross far beyond the line where rationality and common sense ends. Take this piece, which is addressing Marlboro's "heat not burn" technology rather than traditional non-tobacco vapor products. Somehow the author manages to compare what he calls "dangerous products" (without qualifying the actual risks or comparing them to combustible tobacco) to a hypothetical "sex robot" designed to encourage pedophilia. We can't make this stuff up.

Filed under "not quite accurate" – according to this article, smoking cigarettes occasionally is just as harmful to one's health as smoking a pack or more a day. While this comparison might be a bit far-fetched (as anyone who's ever smoked will be able to testify), it's a helpful reminder that you won't be able to realize the full health benefits of vaping if you don't commit to quitting smoking completely.

New York moved to ban vaping in schools and other public buildings earlier this year. Now, the state is experimenting with "vape and bullying detectors" that officials hope will help identify offenders. While the devices won't have cameras or microphones, they contain sensors that send text alerts to a connected mobile phone if a change in air composition or volume of conversation (that could potentially indicate fighting or bullying is taking place), prompting school authorities to investigate.

Vaping is still emerging as a new practice in India, a nation with one of the world's highest rates of tobacco use and where brick-and-mortar vape shops are virtually nonexistent, even in major cities. This young entrepreneur wants to change that.

Every few months, it seems, someone else in the straight media "discovers" the niche vape hobby of cloud chasing. The latest version of this story interestingly contains an approving quote from Hon Lik, credited with launching the vape revolution a decade ago, who compares cloud competitions to early auto races that weren't necessarily envisioned by car manufacturers.

Here's a timely reminder that while the FDA delay to deeming regulations is a step in the right direction, vapers aren't out of the woods yet when it comes to fighting for their right to remain tobacco-free.

Science stateside appears to be catching up to the state of the art in Europe – researchers at Columbia University and Rutgers University have found that vapers are more likely to attempt to quit smoking, more likely to be successful in quit attempts, and less likely to relapse than smokers who don't give vaping a try.

That's what we have for this week, see you again next time!