The Australian government is set to announce a crackdown on illegal vaping as early as next week. The health minister, Mark Butler, will be revealing changes to vaping regulation, including plain packaging and a ban on certain flavors. The government's focus is on imported non-pharmaceutical vapes as there has been a rising concern over their increasing uptake among teenagers.
In Nizhny Novgorod, a significant batch of unmarked tobacco products has been uncovered. According to an official statement from the Volga Customs Administration, a warehouse storing and selling a large quantity of unmarked foreign-produced tobacco products was discovered. The illegal goods' value is estimated at 50 million rubles.
In recent news, the South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled that the City of Myrtle Beach can prohibit the sale of smoke shops, tobacco stores, tobacco paraphernalia, cannabis products, and merchandise displaying sexually-oriented materials. This ruling has stirred up controversy among local business owners and residents, as it may lead to the prohibition of vape and CBD sales in certain stores.
The EVALI epidemic, or e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury, is still ongoing, and people are still suffering from it. Rashelle Bernal was one of almost 3000 people hospitalized during 2019 and early 2020 with severe lung damage from vaping, becoming part of what is now known as the EVALI epidemic. For her, the aftermath is a reality that she has to live with. More than three years later, she still finds herself in the emergency department, unable to breathe correctly.
In 2019 and 2020, hospitals notified the public of outbreaks of vaping-related lung injuries. News headlines reported e-cigarettes were killing teens from Texas to the Bronx. Investigators at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tracked most of the cases to vitamin E acetate, an additive in illicit cannabis vaping products intended to promote the metabolism of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). However, even though the CDC stopped tracking EVALI in February 2020, harm from vaping, including EVALI, has continued.
The rise of vaping as an alternative to traditional smoking has been a hot topic of debate. It's commonly believed that vapes are a healthier and safer alternative, but recent studies have uncovered some alarming findings.
According to the Guardian, some high street vapes claiming to be nicotine-free actually contain the same level of addictive substances as full-strength e-cigarettes. This news comes from a data analysis conducted by Inter Scientific, which provides analytical testing of products to check whether they are following regulations.
The analysis found that oversized and overstrength vapes are being sold unlawfully in shops. Laboratory analysis of 52 products bought in England showed that 73% were above the legal e-cigarette tank capacity of 2ml. More than 40% of those tested had been filled with 5ml of liquid or more.
Moreover, the study showed that eight devices purporting to contain no addictive substances did contain some, with many containing almost 20mg/ml of nicotine – the legal limit in the UK. One vape had levels more than 50% higher than the legal limit.
Recent studies have uncovered alarming information about the potential harm of menthol flavoring in electronic cigarettes. These findings suggest that adding menthol to e-cigarettes may cause more damage to your lungs than regular e-cigarettes. In this article, we will explore the research behind these claims and discuss the implications of menthol additives in e-cigarettes.
A Queensland parliamentary inquiry into reducing rates of e-cigarette use has revealed that more than 80% of disposable vapes sold in Gold Coast stores contain nicotine illegally. The inquiry was prompted by reports of primary school-aged children becoming addicted to vaping products. The director of public and environmental health at the Gold Coast Public Health Unit (GCPHU) stated that the availability of disposable vapes, many of which contain nicotine, has "exploded" since 2021. Nearly 11,000 disposable vapes have been seized by the GCPHU since 2019 in response to complaints from the community. Laboratory tests on 1,518 of those vapes showed 83% illegally contained nicotine. This has raised concerns about nicotine addiction among children, and the disposable vapes have been called a "scourge of the industry" and should be banned.
The amended Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act (菸害防制法) was approved earlier this year and went into effect on March 22nd, 2023. The new regulations have banned the sale, manufacture, and supply of vaping products, raised the legal tobacco age limit from 18 to 20, and increased the proportion of tobacco warnings from 35% to 50% of cigarette packs. However, this ban has caused significant harm to the vaping industry in Taiwan, with many vape shops already closing down or switching to selling other products.
The UK government has announced a new initiative called the “swap to stop” scheme, which aims to offer vaping starter kits to almost one in five of all smokers in England, encouraging them to quit smoking. The announcement comes amid increasing alarm about the rise in young people vaping. Under the new scheme, pregnant women will also be offered financial incentives to quit smoking, and mandatory advice on quitting smoking will be placed in cigarette packs.
The vaping industry is up in arms over a potential plan by the UK government to ban fruit-flavoured vapes, with industry insiders claiming that the focus should be on better regulation and enforcement of age restrictions rather than flavour bans. Neil McLaren, co-CEO at Vaping.com, has argued that it is government restrictions, not flavours or colours, that are the problem. He added that fruity flavours are enjoyed by many adults, helping them to stay on their nicotine replacement plan.
High school students in Vermont are making their voices heard on the issue of youth smoking and vaping. On Thursday, students from 11 schools across the state will participate in a march from Montpelier City Hall to the Statehouse. The event is being organized by Our Voices Xposed, a movement dedicated to speaking out against the dangers of youth vaping and tobacco use, and against the products designed to get them hooked.
According to Vermont health leaders, youth vaping is a top concern. School leaders report that students are continuing to sneak off to the bathroom to vape while at school. With the rise of flavored e-cigarettes and e-liquids, more and more young people are being drawn to these products, despite the known health risks.
The Vermont Senate has taken steps to address this issue. Last week, the Senate approved a bill that would ban the retail sale of flavored cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and e-liquids. The bill also calls for the Attorney General's Office to report on the extent to which Vermont can legally restrict advertising and regulate labels for these products.
The Our Voices Xposed march is an opportunity for young people to have their voices heard on this important issue. The youths will meet with the governor and lawmakers, advocating for stricter regulations on youth smoking and vaping.
U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has called for an investigation into Elf Bar, a Chinese manufacturer of disposable e-cigarettes that have become increasingly popular among teenagers in central New York and across the country. Schumer is concerned that the fruity flavors and easy accessibility of Elf Bars are contributing to a surge in nicotine addiction among younger and younger kids, and that the company is using social media to covertly sell their products, potentially evading FDA advertising rules. In this article, we will examine the issue in detail and explore the reasons behind Schumer’s call for action.
A bill is being considered in Albany that could ban the sale of flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes and some vaping products. While some experts argue that such a ban could help prevent kids from buying these products, others feel that it would only increase the illicit market for flavored tobacco. In this article, we will explore both the pros and cons of banning flavored tobacco products.
Singapore's Health Sciences Authority (HSA) recently conducted a warehouse raid where over 85,000 e-vaporisers and related components were seized. The raid, which lasted more than 72 hours, was the largest seizure of vape products made by HSA, and it disrupted an illegal supply chain. In this article, we'll discuss the details of the raid and its implications.
E-cigarettes have been a controversial topic since their introduction. While some see them as a safer alternative to traditional smoking, others argue that they have their own set of risks. In India, e-cigarettes were banned in 2019 to protect youngsters from the dangers of addiction. However, a recent survey conducted across six states and Delhi has found that e-cigarettes are easily available at tobacco shops and sold to anyone without any age verification.