Vape News In Brief: February 27th, 2019 Edition

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Welcome to Breazy Briefs, where we take a look around the globe, searching for news, science, and the occasional tasty pop culture tidbit related to vaping and the life of vapers. Today, let's talk about…

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…Hong Kong, which, after months of debate is moving forward with a policy that would ban the import, sale, and promotion (but not the use) of both vapor devices and heat-not-burn products, which heat PG-soaked cigarettes without lighting them on fire. Traditional combustible cigarettes will remain fully legal, proponents of the ban say this is because banning smoking would simply be too difficult. Opposition forces argue that treating vaping more harshly than smoking simply forces nicotine users who'd otherwise have quit to revert to using tobacco products.

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For more on that, check out this op-ed, which logically argues that targeting e-cigs while leaving tobacco products alone only serves to promote continued smoking, and that banning the sale of vapor products but not their use is a gift-wrapped invitation for would-be black marketeers. Indeed.

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A Des Moines, Iowa skate and vape shop was hit hard during a recent robbery, losing $44,000 in cash and product according to the store owner. Burglars were able to spend more than an hour clearing out the shop, as neither the silent or audible alarms the store was outfitted with were triggered. The thieves were caught on camera, however, and owner Zerron Horton says he's hopeful someone in the community can identify the culprits.

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According to at least one Federal Communications Commission member, it's time to update anti-cigarette advertising laws to ban vapor products from being advertised on television. While there isn't currently a widespread use of the costly medium by the small businesses that comprise the backbone of the vapor industry, Big Tobacco-backed cigalike companies have begun making some late-night cable ad buys, and regulators fear that exposing teens to vapor ads increases the risk that they'll try vaping.

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New research suggests that vaping may cause some of the same changes to gene cells in the mouth as smoking. Researchers are quick to note that changes in gene expression aren't cancer, nor are they even a sign of pre-cancer, but they do indicate a condition that may lead to the development of cancer at some point in the future. Doctors are calling for more research into the subject, but previous studies have reached similar conclusions – we're hoping an expanded report will dive into what compounds in e-liquid are causing the changes, and how a better way to vape might be formulated in the future.

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If you want a quick way to push out some clickbait copypasta, ask an obvious question like 'Is vaping safe?' Hint: inhaling anything that isn't air is never as safe as inhaling nothing but air, and we should instead be asking whether vaping is safer than smoking. But this article takes a refreshing approach, laying out three of the strongest arguments for and against vaping, side by side. We think the pros: vaping helps people quit smoking and reduces disease, it's believe to be safer than smoking, and it reduces health care costs while creating jobs, outweigh the concerns that teen access to vaping hasn't been properly restricted, that it's not as risk-free as not smoking, and that vapor devices have sometimes caused fires. Still, it's worth a click to read the expanded views for yourself.

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While Hong Kong is unfortunately moving toward a complete vaping ban, there's good news for residents of the United Arab Emirates, which will reverse its longstanding vape ban sometime in April. The government, seeking a way to control a burgeoning black market and at the same time convince smokers to quit, will be rolling out new regulations surrounding the legal use of vapor devices over the course of the next month.

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Why they can't have nice things: Scottish prison inmates have allegedly found a way to convert free e-cigs, given out when the prison system banned smoking, into lighters for using drugs and illicit cell phone chargers. While lamenting the inevitability of incarcerated people finding novel ways to accomplish everyday tasks, prison observers note that the inmates aren't supposed to have access to drugs or mobile phones in the first place.

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This week in dumb criminals: Combining a vape shop with an illegal gambling operation? That's a new one by us, and apparently it's a tactic that isn't working out too well for a pair of vape retailers in Chesapeake, Virginia who, despite facing $1000 fines, are refusing to remove computers with simulated slot machines from their stores.

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Is the European Union taking the wrong approach by likening vaping to 'poison?' Yes, say a host of medical experts, led by Greek tobacco expert Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos. Click through for a look at how many of the arguments being levied against vaping by the United States as well as the EU are launched from shaky ground.

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Okay, this last one comes from an admittedly biased anti-tax source: the Heartland Institute. But they do make a point when it comes to massive vapor taxes being proposed in Utah, specifically that excessive taxes on vapor products do little to impact youth consumption (stronger enforcement of existing age laws is the major player here), and only serve to encourage tobacco consumption by driving would-be quitters away from alternative products.

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We'll call that a wrap for now, but there's always more coming down the pike. Stay tuned and we'll have more news you may or may not be able to use sooner than later…or something.

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