Research Articles

Thai Minister's Support For Vaping 'goes Global' (October 15, 2021)
"The brave call by a Thai Government Minister for Thailand to overturn its harsh ban on the sale of vape products has received applause and accolades from around the world," says Nancy Loucas, Executive Coordinator of the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA). Click for detail

Leading health organisations mislead the public on vaping (October 15, 2021)
A group of Australia's most respected public health organisations (including Quit, Heart Foundation, Lung Foundation Australia and Public Health Association Australia) recently published a Position Statement on vaping. This document is alarmist and misleading and selectively quotes the evidence. It exaggerates the risks of vaping and uses studies known to be flawed to argue its case. Click for detail

Health Canada Is Poised to Take a Disastrous Wrong Turn on Vaping (October 15, 2021)
The Canadian government recently consulted on its proposals for regulating-read: banning-flavors used in vaping products. Its supposed justifications include a perceived increase in youth vaping exposing young people to harm, and the notion that vaping is a "gateway" into cigarette smoking. Click for detail

Consumer Voices Will Not Be Silenced (October 15, 2021)
VANCOUVER, BC, Oct. 12, 2021 /CNW/ - The Consumers' Association of Canada (CAC) is renewing efforts to ensure consumer voices are heard as Health Canada prepares new regulations for flavoured vaping products, through submissions, radio ads and a new testimonial video. Click for detail

Embrace new evidence-based tobacco control to save lives (October 15, 2021)
Tobacco smoking claims the lives of more than 8,000 Kenyans every year, according to the Tobacco Control Study released by the Ministry of Health this year. Yet, Kenya is lagging behind in embracing the latest scientifically evidenced methods on how to help smokers quit. Click for detail

Smoke and Mirrors: Orwellian Echoes of 1984 (October 10, 2021)
Liquid is smoke. Products that do not contain tobacco are tobacco products. If these statements have a familiar ring, it is because you may remember reading George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four... or at least heard about it. In Orwell's dystopian future, 1984, the totalitarian government of Oceania promotes "Doublespeak" as a means of thought control. Click for detail

CDC Releases 2020 Adult Smoking & Vaping Data (October 10, 2021)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released data from the 2020 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). The prevalence of current smoking was 12.4%; that's 30.7 million. Twenty-two percent of Americans were former smokers, the same as the year before. Click for detail

Respecting the Agency of Smokers: the Liberalism of Harms Reduction and the Illiberalism of Prohibitionism (October 10, 2021)
Two years ago, I published my book The Rediscovery of Tobacco, in which I made a case for taking a liberal approach to tobacco regulation with an emphasis on encouraging harm reduction. The timing coincided with a low point for the cause in the United States. A deadly outbreak of lung injuries caused by dangerous additives in mostly illicit cannabis cartridges had been falsely blamed on nicotine vaping. State and local governments responded by banning vapor products, the Food and Drug Administration ordered many flavored products off the market, and police went store-to-store enforcing emergency rules. In one state, people possessing newly illegal e-cigarettes could have been penalized with up to six months in prison. Click for detail

Appel aux medecins a soutenir l'opportunite du vapotage pour la lutte contre le cancer (October 10, 2021)
Appel aux pouvoirs publics et aux autorites sanitaires: le vapotage est une opportunite qu'il faut integrer dans les plans de lutte contre le cancer, pour mieux combattre le tabagisme, premier facteur de risque. Click for detail

A More Integrated Approach to Harm Reduction (October 07, 2021)
1) Tobacco harm reduction (THR) is struggling to gain credibility and acceptance among the public health establishment. 2) Those who are skeptical of the harm reduction potential of alternative tobacco products, such as e-cigarettes, worry about youth initiation, the role of big tobacco in research and production and the newness of the products themselves. Click for detail

Consumer-Centric Tobacco Harm Reduction Needed (October 07, 2021)
Tobacco harm reduction is one of the more effective tobacco control measures, especially when compared to methods such as bans and tax hikes, and is increasingly popular. It is also a measure that the tobacco industry contributes positively to in the form of innovative, reduced-risk next generation products providing safer alternatives to combustible cigarettes. Click for detail

More Vape Manufacturers Challenge PMTA Denials (October 07, 2021)
At least two more vaping manufacturers have taken the FDA to court over marketing denials of their flavored vaping products since Turning Point Brands became the first to challenge the agency almost two weeks ago. Turning Point Brands has also since asked a federal court to stay enforcement of the FDA's Marketing Denial Order (MDO) until the appeal is decided. Click for detail

Stoptober Is Back (October 07, 2021)
It's October, which means it's time for the Public Health England (PHE) and NHS Stoptober campaign where smokers are encouraged to quit or switch to vaping. Stoptober is an annual event that PHE claims has helped 2.3 million smokers to quit over the ten years it has been running. Click for detail