Vape News In Brief: January 12th, 2018 Edition

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*VNIB* is a semi-regular column in which we take a look around the globe, searching for news, science, and the occasional pop culture reference related to vaping and the life of vapers. Today, let's talk about…

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The great 'popcorn lung' scare of 2015 - it's baaaack! Once we spot it somewhere, chances are this is getting ready to make the rounds again – if you're not familiar, the concern revolves around a disease called bronchiolitis obliterans, a non-reversible lung condition suffered through exposure to diacetyl, an additive in artificial creamy or buttery flavorings, particularly the fake butter flavor in microwave popcorn. While the condition is exceedingly rare outside of factory workers where the chemical is processed, it has been found in several dessert flavors of e-liquid, though in quantities much lower than it's also found in combustible tobacco products. Diacetyl and diketones are indeed a cause for concern, and if you're worried about exposure consider limiting your exposure to creamy dessert flavors or only buying from liquid suppliers who use diketone-free flavor extracts.

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Cigarette prices in the United Arab Emirates have doubled since the beginning of the year, causing many residents to pursue a quit attempt in a country where a full 1 in 10 deaths are tobacco-related. But they won't be getting any help from the vaping community, sadly – vapor products remain strictly banned in the country. The article linked above makes for a nice roundup of the most current global scientific arguments in favor of vaping, and is worth a click.

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Altria, the US-based Philip Morris parent, is now investing in brick-and-mortar vape shops, taking a minority interest in Avail Vapor, one of the largest vape chains with more than 100 outlets in 42 states. The takeaway: by owning a distribution network, Altria can favor its products like the Mark Ten cigalike or the upcoming IQOS heat-not-burn method of vaping that keeps users on traditional cigarettes. We'll see how this goes…

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According to this new study, vaping seems to be taking the place of smoking among younger generations – some young adults only smoke for a short time before converting (hopefully permanently) to vapor devices, citing the appeal of new-generation cigalikes as being superior to traditional advanced mods.

Always on the cutting edge of promoting tobacco cessation, the UK is now experimenting with giving out free e-cigarette vouchers to would-be tobacco quitters. If only such a progressive viewpoint could gain traction stateside…

This will seem particularly bizarre given our recent reporting on new restrictive vape laws in Italy, but this Indian paper is touting the benefits of vaping as advocated via an Italian university study to encourage the Hindu world to give vaping a chance.

More international takes: the Philippine College of Chest Physicians is being urged to adopt findings from the British Medical Association, which recently did an about-face in policy and now supports vaping as a proven harm reduction method that's effective in getting smokers off of cigarettes.

Benefitting from Brexit: as the UK moves to distance itself from the European Union, vape retailers are hopeful that the separation may result in a rollback of some rather bizarre EU vaping laws, such as one limiting tank size to 2.0 ml that does little other than require more frequent and inconvenient refills while on the go.

That's our take for today, but stick around – vape news is breaking every day, and we're here to keep right on fixing it!