The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter – September 2019 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>On Aug. 17, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began investigating an outbreak of severe lung illnesses associated with vaping. In the weeks that followed, more than 200 cases were reported across 25 states. While the CDC, public health groups, and most of the media initially highlighted the association with vaping none of these cases have so far been attributed to any single ingredient in legal e-cigarettes or any particular model or brand of e-cigarette. However, a large number of these cases appear to be linked to the use of illegal and counterfeit products containing unknown chemicals and THC.
The Washington Post reports that “state and federal health authorities are focusing on the role of contaminants or counterfeit substances as a likely cause of vaping-related lung illnesses.” They “are narrowing the possible culprits to adulterants in vaping products purported to have THC…as well as adulterants in nicotine vaping products.”
Former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb took to Twitter to share his views: “These tragedies point to illegal vapes and THC,” he tweeted. Gottlieb later expanded his assessment in an op-ed for the Washington Post. In a joint statement issued Aug. 30, the FDA and the CDC said, “Anyone who does use e-cigarette products should not buy these products off the street (e.g., e-cigarette products with THC or other cannabinoids) and should not modify e-cigarette products or add any substances to these products that are not intended by the manufacturer.”
Reason Magazine’s Jacob Sullum, Michelle Minton of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and the Heartland Institute’s Lindsey Stroud all provided excellent analysis of recent events.
Elsewhere, the FDA is renewing its push to place graphic warnings on cigarette packages. The new warnings would occupy the top 50 percent of the front and back panels of packages and at least 20 percent of the area at the top area, according to the FDA. The final issue of the rule is due March 2020 and would appear on packages 15 months afterward. Reason Foundation policy analyst Jacob Rich highlighted the failures of these warnings to reduce smoking rates in other countries.
Reason Foundation’s Guy Bentley and Jacob Sullum both covered the latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) data showing yet another decline in the teen smoking rate.
State Updates
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) signed an executive order on Sept. 4 banning the sale of all non-tobacco flavored vapor products and other alternative nicotine delivery systems (ANDS). Michigan is the first state to ban the sale of non-tobacco e-cigarette flavors. Reason’s Jacob Sullum questioned the governor’s authority to unilaterally impose such a sweeping ban and highlighted some of the problems such a prohibition would pose for tobacco harm reduction.
California Assembly Bill 1639 passed on Sept. 5 and will proceed to the State Senate next week. Proposed by Assemblyman Adam Gray (D-Modesto), the bill would impose a raft of draconian and arbitrary marketing restrictions on vaping products. “We are all concerned about AB 1639 as it leaves many small business shops at risk of facing harsh fines and penalties that could potentially cost them their business,” said Jake Butcher, State Affairs Manager for the Vapor Technology Association (VTA), on Aug. 28.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is pushing to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products. If passed, the ban would be enforced starting in February 2020.
Science and Harm Reduction
The R Street Institute released an excellent evidence update on tobacco harm reduction encompassing e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and the smokeless tobacco snus. Regarding the state of the evidence surrounding these products, authors Carrie Wade and Chelsea Boyd write, “It has been conclusively shown that the profile of dangerous constituents, including particulate matter, lack of carbon monoxide and HPHCs is much more favorable in the ANDS discussed than that of cigarettes.”
Writing on his blog The Counterfactual, tobacco harm reduction advocate Clive Bates provided a systematic takedown of the numerous and unscientific anti-vaping claims made by Professor Stanton Glantz of the University of California, San Francisco.
Additional Resources
Consumer Surplus in the FDA’s Tobacco Regulations
A Question of Taste: The Public Health Case for E-Cigarette Flavors
The World Health Organization’s Opposition to Tobacco Harm Reduction: A Threat to Public Health?
The Vapor Revolution: How Bottom-Up Innovation Is Saving Lives
Reason’s Research and Analysis of Nicotine and Vapor Issues
The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter – September 2019 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter – July 2019 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>The House Oversight Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy held two-day hearings investigating Juul’s role in the alleged “youth nicotine addiction epidemic.” On July 24, the committee heard from six witnesses, five of whom were vehemently hostile to Juul, claiming its marketing practices deliberately targeted minors and created a youth vaping epidemic. Democratic members slammed Juul for its social media campaigns and expressed skepticism of the concept of tobacco harm reduction.
Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley both claimed no further studies of e-cigarettes were necessary before taking action against Juul. Tlaib went so far as to claim Juul is “killing” people. Dr. Raymond Niaura of New York University cautioned against over-regulation, urging lawmakers to tackle the problem of youth vaping while ensuring adult access to safer nicotine alternatives. Reason’s Guy Bentley covered the proceedings for the Washington Examiner.
The second day of hearings featured Juul’s co-founder and Chief Product Officer James Monsees, Chief Administrative Officer Ashley Gould, and President of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Matthew Myers. The original structure of the hearings was changed to two panels instead of one so Monsees would testify and be questioned solo. Juul received a mostly sympathetic hearing from Republicans but was again criticized by Democrats for its past social media campaigns, partnerships with educators, and nicotine strength.
On July 12, US Judge Paul Grimm issued his final ruling in American Academy of Pediatrics, et al. v. FDA. Grimm agreed with the Food and Drug Administration’s recommendation to the court and ordered the agency to impose a 10-month deadline for submission of premarket tobacco applications, with a one-year deadline for approvals.
State Updates
Writing for Reason.com, Bentley drew attention to San Francisco chief economist Ted Egan’s assessment that the city’s business community is not expected to lose out as a result of the prohibition of e-cigarettes thanks to increasing cigarette sales. National Review’s Kat Timpf followed up with an article and video on the subject.
Legislators in Massachusetts are attempting to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products, with an exemption for smoking bars. The state’s Attorney General Maura Healey, a vocal critic of Juul, testified in support of the ban at a hearing of the public health committee. If successful, Massachusetts would be the first state to ban flavored tobacco products.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed into law a 10 cents per milliliter e-cigarette tax, with a $125 license requirement for each vapor distributor effective October 1.
In New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law amended legislation which changed the state’s original 10 cents per milliliter tax on e-liquid to a 10 percent point-of-sale tax.
Science and Harm Reduction
Reason’s Jacob Sullum covered the controversy over research by Professor Stanton Glantz’s purporting to show that e-cigarette use can double the risk heart attacks. Glantz’s research was thoroughly debunked by tobacco researcher Brad Rodu and economist Nantaporn Plurphanswat.
A study from the Massachusetts General Hospital’s (MGH) Tobacco Research and Treatment Center shows smokers who use e-cigarettes daily were 77 percent more likely to have quit cigarettes after two years than non-e-cigarette users. “This finding suggests that smokers who use e-cigarettes to quit smoking need to use them regularly — every day — for these products to be most helpful,” said the study’s lead author, Sara Kalkhoran, MD.
On July 26, Illinois-based Heartland Institute released “Tobacco Harm Reduction 101: A Guidebook for Policymakers,” authored by Lindsey Stroud. The booklet presents a readable breakdown of the most relevant harm reduction issues— from relative risk to the dangers of e-cigarette taxation.
Additional Resources
Consumer Surplus in the FDA’s Tobacco Regulations
A Question of Taste: The Public Health Case for E-Cigarette Flavors
The World Health Organization’s Opposition to Tobacco Harm Reduction: A Threat to Public Health?
The Vapor Revolution: How Bottom-Up Innovation Is Saving Lives
Reason’s Research and Analysis of Nicotine and Vapor Issues
The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter – July 2019 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter – June 2019 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) needs to overhaul its approach to cost-benefit analysis, according to a new paper from Reason Foundation economist Pierre Lemieux.
Under the pressure of anti-smoking activists using the veil of behavioral economics, the FDA has recently downplayed one of the most important factors in cost-benefit analysis—consumer surplus.
“Without incorporating the full consumer surplus, cost-benefit analysis risks becoming a mere rubber stamp for government proposals. Moreover, the justifications for obliterating or reducing consumer surplus are based on cognitive biases and assumptions of individuals’ lack of self-control, but implicitly assume that politicians and government bureaucrats are not subject to the same failings,” writes Lemieux. You can read the full report here.
Writing in The Wall Street Journal, former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb argued the agency could ease the approval pathway for open system e-cigarettes by allowing companies to file a common application together. Closed system products like Juul, Gottlieb argued, should face a harder process due as they are the favored products among the youth vaping population. Gottlieb suggested closed system products could be approved as over the counter drugs. In a move that surprised almost no one, a few days after the publication of his op-ed Gottlieb announced he is joining the board of pharma giant Pfizer, one of the world’s biggest producers of nicotine replacement therapies.
In response to the May 15 ruling by Judge Grimm of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, which found FDA exceeded its authority when it pushed back product application deadlines set out in the deeming rule, the agency came back with a compromise. FDA proposed a 10-month period for e-cigarette manufacturers to submit their product applications. The public health groups who brought the lawsuit, however, are demanding a deadline of 120 days. Both time-scales would prove fatal for the vast majority of e-cigarette producers who would not have been able to comply with the original delayed deadlines.
State Updates
Rarely do anti-vape policies make international news, but San Francisco’s decision to ban the manufacture and sale of e-cigarettes stirred interest across the world. Reason’s Guy Bentley and Jacob Sullum argued the ban is disastrous public health policy and overreaction to the issue of youth vaping. Signatures have already been gathered to put the ban to a vote.
Unfortunately, bad policy rarely stays quarantined. Following the passage of San Francisco’s vapor prohibition, the mayor of Seattle, lusting after headlines and a pat on the back from e-cigarette prohibitionists, said there needs to be a “conversation” about banning e-cigarettes.
In happier news, harm reduction advocates won a series of victories defeating flavor bans in Illinois, Connecticut, Maine, and New York.
However, tax fights remain in Connecticut, Ohio, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and Massachusetts.
In Washington, a petition is being circulated to require state tax increases to expire after one year unless approved by a majority vote of the people, and immediately terminate any tax increases imposed in 2019 without such approval. The deadline for the petition is June 28th. If the campaign succeeds in gathering enough signatures and achieves victory at the ballot box Washington’s draconian e-cigarette tax which was signed into law in May could be junked.
Science and Harm Reduction
According to a study published in Tobacco Control, the introduction of Philip Morris’s heat-not-burn product IQOS likely reduced cigarette sales in Japan. The study’s authors do not come to a conclusion about the net health impact, claiming it “cannot be assessed without resolving several key uncertainties related to the direct harms of IQOS and the precise patterns of both smoking and IQOS use.”
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) had zero impact on global cigarette consumption, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal. The FCTC was the first treaty of its kind and there have been numerous calls to replicate in other areas of public health.
Additional Resources
A Question of Taste: The Public Health Case for E-Cigarette Flavors
The World Health Organization’s Opposition to Tobacco Harm Reduction: A Threat to Public Health?
The Vapor Revolution: How Bottom-Up Innovation Is Saving Lives
Reason’s Research and Analysis of Nicotine and Vapor Issues
The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter – June 2019 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter – May 2019 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>After more than two years in review, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finally approved the sale of Phillip Morris International’s (PMI) tobacco heating system known as IQOS.
IQOS uses a heating blade to warm leaf tobacco producing a tobacco flavored aerosol, but due to the lack of combustion the levels of harmful and potentially harmful chemicals are dramatically reduced.
Available in 47 countries IQOS has enjoyed spectacular success in Japan and South Korea. Despite widespread opposition from anti-tobacco campaigners, the FDA deemed IQOS “appropriate for the protection of public health,” and is the first tobacco product ever to clear the pre-market tobacco application process.
“We believe PMTA approval confers an immense competitive advantage to iQOS (MO/PM) as the first FDA approved heat-not-burn product to launch in the U.S,” wrote Wells Fargo’s Bonnie Herzog. Reason’s Guy Bentley covered the approval for the Washington Examiner.
A federal judge sided with public health groups suing the FDA over its delay in reviewing e-cigarette product applications. The judge lambasted the FDA, claiming the delay was “so extreme as to amount to an abdication of its statutory responsibilities.” President of the American Vaping Association (AVA) Gregory Conley said the FDA “must appeal this ruling” to “protect adult access to less harmful alternatives to cigarettes.” The ruling poses a major threat to e-cigarette manufacturers who have so far been unable to navigate and comply with the PMTA process.
North Carolina Attorney General Joshua Stein is suing Juul Labs alleging the company is “deceptively downplaying the potency and danger of the nicotine.” Stein claims Juul used advertising campaigns to target minors. North Carolina is also demanding the prohibition of non-tobacco or menthol e-cigarette flavors and the extension of the advertising restrictions that apply to traditional cigarettes to e-cigarettes.
On May 29, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) sent a letter to FDA Commissioner Ned Sharpless excoriating him for failing to take a more draconian approach to e-cigarettes. Durbin demanded immediate action to ban e-cigarette flavors and enforcement of the Deeming Rule.
State Updates
California vapers are breathing a sigh of relief after a bill to ban all flavored tobacco products was withdrawn. Sen. Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo), who introduced Bill 38, abandoned the effort for this year following amendments that would’ve exempted tobacco products with a patent pre-dating January 1, 2000.
On the other side of the country, Massachusetts State Senator John Keenan (D-Quincy) is pushing a bill to ban the sale of all flavored tobacco products, including mint and menthol. In January, the bill was referred to the Senate’s Committee on Public Health but Keenan vowed to propose the ban as an amendment to the state budget.
Nevada Senator Julia Ratti (D-S013) is proposing a 30 percent wholesale tax on vapor products to discourage youth vaping and is proposing an amendment to add vaping to the state’s indoor clean air law.
Science and Harm Reduction
A study published in the American Journal of Health Behavior estimating the prevalence and awareness of Juul among adolescents found that around 45.5 percent of those aged 15-17 and 29.1 percent of aged 13-14 had ever seen or heard of Juul. 7.6 percent of those aged 15-17 had ever used Juul, while four percent had used Juul in the past 30 days, and 0.3 percent had used a Juul on 20-30 of the past 30 days. Among those aged 13-14 years, 1.5 percent had ever used Juul, 0.8 percent had used a Juul in the past 30 days, and 0.0 percent had used a Juul on 20-30 of the past 30 days.
According to a study published in Tobacco Control, one of the best ways to communicate the comparative risks of e-cigarettes relative to combustible cigarettes may be to show direct comparisons of the number of toxic chemicals in each product, citing a credible source, while emphasizing the risks of smoking.
A study published in Addiction estimating the effectiveness of smoking cessation aids found e‐cigarettes and varenicline were associated with higher abstinence rates following a quit attempt in England. Nicotine replacement therapy was also associated with higher abstinence but only in older smokers.
Additional Resources
A Question of Taste: The Public Health Case for E-Cigarette Flavors
The World Health Organization’s Opposition to Tobacco Harm Reduction: A Threat to Public Health?
The Vapor Revolution: How Bottom-Up Innovation Is Saving Lives
Reason’s Research and Analysis of Nicotine and Vapor Issues
The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter – May 2019 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter – April 2019 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>The vapor industry has been subjected to an onslaught of attacks on both the federal and state levels in 2019. Scott Gottlieb, the outgoing head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), recently warned that pod-based vapor products could be pulled from the market to combat the alleged “epidemic” of youth use.
“We think that these products can offer an alternative for currently addicted adult smokers to migrate off of combustible tobacco onto something that doesn’t have all the same risks associated with it. But it can’t come at the expense of addicting a whole generation of kids onto nicotine through these e-cigarette products,” Gottlieb told CBS this week.
Gottlieb, who announced last year that most retailers will be forbidden from selling flavored e-cigarettes unless they are adult-only stores or the products are put in separate age-restricted areas, is leaving office today. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar praised Gottlieb’s tenure at FDA and said his policies on tobacco and nicotine regulation would continue. Dr. Norman Sharpless, director of the National Cancer Institute, will serve as acting commissioner of the FDA. Sharpless has publicly praised Gottlieb’s actions against e-cigarettes.
But it’s no longer just the FDA that is looking to clamp down on the vapor industry. In Congress Reps. Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD) promised to introduce legislation that would effectively ban the vast majority of e-cigarette flavors outright. To keep their flavors on the market, e-cigarettes manufacturers would have to prove their flavors help adults quit smoking, do not increase youth use, and do not increase the risk of harm to the individual user. The vast majority of manufacturers do not have the resources to comply with these rules. The same bill is expected to be introduced in the Senate by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Lisa Murkowski (I-AK).
Additionally, in March, President Donald Trump’s budget proposed a $100 million federal e-cigarette tax. The tax was marketed as a “user fee” intended to fund FDA public health campaigns and regulatory work.
Back in February, Federal Communications Commissioner (FCC) Jessica Rosenworcel argued radio and television advertising for e-cigarettes should be banned on the basis of upholding the FCC’s mandate to regulate in the “public interest.” Reason’s Jacob Sullum and Guy Bentley challenged Rosenworcel’s argument on both constitutional and public health grounds.
State Updates
In California, the State Senate’s health committee voted to advance SB 38, which would ban all flavored tobacco products in the state.
As part of New York’s state budget, vapers will begin paying a 20 percent sales tax starting in December 2019.
In a column for the Connecticut Post Bentley highlighted the negative impacts banning flavored e-cigarette products could have on harm reduction and in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel he argued, “In the face of such massive public health gains, it would be irresponsible to put vapor products on the same playing field as cigarettes.”
In February, Bentley testified in Washington state warning legislators of the dangers of taxing e-cigarettes at 95 percent. He also testified before the Rhode Island House Finance Committee in March on the governor’s proposal to include a 40 percent e-cigarettes tax in the state budget.
In Utah, a bill that would’ve taxed e-cigarettes at 86 percent passed the House 54-20 on March 11 but failed to make it to a vote in the Senate before the session closed March 14.
Science and Harm Reduction
In January, the New England Journal of Medicine published a landmark study showing e-cigarettes were almost twice as effective as nicotine replacement therapy at helping smokers quit.
A worrying study published in the Journal of American Medical Association examining the changing perceptions of harm of e-cigarettes versus combustible cigarettes from 2012 to 2017 found the proportion of US adults who perceived e-cigarettes to be as or more harmful than cigarettes increased substantially.
A survey commissioned by Juul Labs found that nearly half of those surveyed quit smoking within three months while the rest reduced their cigarette consumption by an average of 52 percent. Jacob Sullum covered the study for Reason.com.
Additional Resources
A Question of Taste: The Public Health Case for E-Cigarette Flavors
The World Health Organization’s Opposition to Tobacco Harm Reduction: A Threat to Public Health?
The Vapor Revolution: How Bottom-Up Innovation Is Saving Lives
Reason’s Research and Analysis of Nicotine and Vapor Issues
The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter – April 2019 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter – December 2018 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams made an extraordinary intervention into the debate over e-cigarettes and tobacco harm reduction, issuing a rare advisory on December 18th, calling for indoor vaping bans and higher taxes to stem the rise of teen vaping.
Adams argued nicotine is “very and uniquely harmful” to the developing brain and youth who are using e-cigarettes are significantly more likely to take up smoking and could be primed for other addictions. While both claims made by the Surgeon General are questionable, to say the least, Adams also ignored the unintended consequences for adult smokers concerning narrowing the price differential between combustible cigarettes and e-cigarettes with higher taxes and limiting the appeal of vaping by including e-cigarettes in all locations where smoking is prohibited by law. “There’s a huge gap in the public’s knowledge about the risks of nicotine use in terms of how it is delivered,” said Consumer Choice Center Senior Fellow Jeff Stier. “I fear that this advisory will only widen that gap, rather than inform adult smokers about the significant difference in risk between cigarettes and noncombustible nicotine alternatives which can help them quit smoking.”
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a meeting of the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC) to discuss an amendment from Swedish Match to their modified risk tobacco product (MRTP) application for General Snus as well as the MRTP application submitted by U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company (USSTC) for Copenhagen Snuff Fine Cut tobacco. The meeting is scheduled for February 6-7, 2019, at the FDA White Oak campus.
Competitive Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Michelle Minton authored a report documenting the perverse incentives for public health groups to stir up fear and sow confusion about the dangers of e-cigarettes and their benefits to public health. The paper convincingly demonstrates that the division between the public perception of e-cigarettes and the underlying scientific reality is the result of a concerted campaign by public health activists who are hostile to tobacco harm reduction products for both financial and ideological reasons. You can read “Fear Profiteers: How E-cigarette Panic Benefits Public Health Activists” here.
State Updates
Six California lawmakers are pushing a bill to ban all flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarette flavors to combat youth use. Should the bill pass, a violation of would result in penalties of $400 to $600 for the first offense and go up to $6,000 for a fifth in five years.
The Goldwater Institute filed a lawsuit on behalf of vape shop owner Paul Bates in the Oregon District Court. Goldwater is challenging Oregon regulations requiring e-cigarette retailers to censor labels that accurately describe their e-liquid products, such as the use of the word “strawberry.” “While proponents of Oregon’s regulations say they’re trying to protect children, these rules not only hurt consumers, but they hurt the free speech rights of hardworking small business owners trying to make a living,” said Goldwater Institute Senior Attorney Matt Miller. You can read more about the case here.
Science and Harm Reduction
The U.K. government largely accepted the recommendations of the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee’s seventh report on e-cigarettes. The government has committed that after the U.K’s exit from the European Union, it will consider a review of the ban on snus smokeless tobacco, limits on nicotine strengths in e-cigarettes, and e-cigarette advertising restrictions.
The latest data from the Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey shows a rise in teen vaping similar to that shown in the National Youth Tobacco Survey, with the percentage of 12th-grade students vaping nicotine in the past 30-days rising from 11 percent to 21 percent. What the survey’s authors didn’t highlight was the decline in teen smoking to the lowest level on record, with 7.6 percent of 12th graders reporting they had smoked a cigarette in the past month.
Reason
In the Orange County Register, Reason Foundation’s Guy Bentley warned of the dangers and unintended consequences that could stem from California’s proposed bill to ban e-cigarette flavors.
Reason magazine Senior Editor Jacob Sullum drew attention to the MTF survey data showing teen smoking rates declining to historic lows over the same time period that teen vaping increased.
Sullum also criticized the Surgeon General’s advisory on e-cigarettes. Sullum warned that raising the price of e-cigarettes will deter adult smokers from switching and extending smoking bans to vaping eliminate one of the advantages e-cigarettes have over traditional smokes. Sullum notes: “This is the second advisory Adams has issued, USA Today notes. The first ‘urged people to carry the overdose antidote naloxone’ as a way of preventing opioid-related deaths. In that case, Adams was promoting harm reduction. Now he is actively undermining it.”
Additional Resources
A Question of Taste: The Public Health Case for E-Cigarette Flavors
The World Health Organization’s Opposition to Tobacco Harm Reduction: A Threat to Public Health?
The Vapor Revolution: How Bottom-Up Innovation Is Saving Lives
Reason’s Research and Analysis of Nicotine and Vapor Issues
The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter – December 2018 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter – November 2018 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>This month saw a flurry of activity on both the national and state level. On Nov. 15, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it would be taking action to combat the alleged epidemic of youth vaping. Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said stores would be banned from selling flavored e-cigarettes unless they are restricted to a separate room inaccessible to kids. An exception was made for mint and menthol flavors.
Age-restricted locations, like exclusive tobacco retailers and vape shops, will be unaffected. FDA will also try to curb online sales to youth through heightened age verification processes and will seek to remove e-cigarette products that are marketed to kids.
Before the announcement, Juul Labs and Altria said they would pull all their flavored e-cigarette products from convenience stores with the exception of tobacco, mint, and menthol flavors.
FDA’s action fell short of a fully-fledged flavor ban which would devastate the industry and severely limit the harm reduction potential of e-cigarettes. However, banning flavored e-cigarettes in stores which fail to confine these items to age-restricted areas is the equivalent of a total ban for most stores and gas stations, which do not have space to accommodate these products.
FDA also released partial data from the 2018 National Youth Tobacco Survey showing a 78 percent increase in past 30-day e-cigarette use among high schoolers and that 27.8 percent of teens who used an e-cigarette did so for 20 or more days. All in all, 21 percent of high school students used an e-cigarette in the past 30 days while almost six percent used an e-cigarette for 20 or more days. In a column for The Washington Post, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller argued concerns over youth vaping should be taken seriously but restricting adult access to vapor products would be detrimental to public health.
Elsewhere, in the world of combustible tobacco, FDA announced it will advance a notice of proposed rulemaking to ban the sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars.
State Updates
Ballot initiatives to raise tobacco taxes were rejected by the voters of Montana and South Dakota. Both of the initiatives would’ve raised taxes on vapor products.
New York’s Department of Health rescinded regulations to ban flavored e-cigarettes less than a day after they were proposed. A spokesman for Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the health department wanted to conduct another round of legal review before moving ahead with the proposal.In Illinois, a bill to raise the age of purchase for tobacco products to 21 fell short after failing to gain the necessary votes in the House to override the governor’s veto.
Science and Harm Reduction
A study examining the relationship between vaping and smoking among teens and young adults published in Tobacco Control found that between 2013 and 2017 youth smoking dramatically declined while, at the same time, youth vaping rose substantially. “We found a strong and consistent inverse relationship between vaping and smoking across the different datasets for both youth and young adults,” said the study’s senior author, David Levy, Ph.D.
Phillip Morris International released a detailed response to a study from the Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), which claimed: “IQOS is associated with significant pulmonary and immunomodulatory toxicities with no detectable differences between conventional cigarette smokers and those who were switched to IQOS in Philip Morris International’s studies.”
Reason
The week prior to FDA’s announcement restricting the sale of flavored e-cigarettes, Reason Foundation published a paper on the public health case for e-cigarette flavors authored by its director of consumer freedom, Guy Bentley.
Speaking at the National Conference of State Legislators fiscal tax force on Nov.17, Bentley argued that sin taxes should not be applied to e-cigarettes.
Reason magazine’s Jacob Sullum authored several articles highlighting the dangers of FDA’s crackdown on e-cigarette flavors and the questionable legal authority for such action. Sullum also interviewed FDA head Scott Gottlieb, where Gottlieb acknowledged the agency’s actions could limit the access of e-cigarette products to adult smokers trying to quit and that it was “probable” that some teenagers who vape might otherwise be smoking were it not for e-cigarettes.
John Stossel released a video showcasing the public health benefits of e-cigarettes and tackled many of the common misperceptions around vaping and nicotine. Stossel interviewed Competitive Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Michelle Minton, who argued FDA should be encouraging smokers to switch to vaping rather than scaremongering about hypothetical risks to minors.
Coming Up
The Smoke-Free Trade Alternatives Association is holding its annual “Save the Vape” conference and member meeting in Austin, Texas, on Dec. 2.
The Vapor Technology Association is holding its third annual state affairs conference in Austin on Dec. 4.
Additional Resources
A Question of Taste: The Public Health Case for E-Cigarette Flavors
The World Health Organization’s Opposition to Tobacco Harm Reduction: A Threat to Public Health?
The Vapor Revolution: How Bottom-Up Innovation Is Saving Lives
Reason’s Research and Analysis of Nicotine and Vapor Issues
The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter – November 2018 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter – June 1, 2018 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>The deadline for submitting comments on the Food and Drug Administration’s advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) for the regulation of tobacco product flavors and a new tobacco product standard for levels of nicotine in combustible cigarettes is just a few weeks away.
The FDA’s (ANPRM) for a reduced nicotine standard could apply to other combustible tobacco products such as roll-your-own tobacco, little and premium cigars, as well as combustible cigarettes. The deadline is June 14. The ANPRM regarding flavored tobacco products covers smokeless tobacco, combustible cigarettes, cigars and electronic nicotine delivery systems, and the deadline for comment submission is June 19.
Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) wrote to high school and middle school superintendents in Illinois requesting information on student vaping. This follows the continuing media controversy surrounding the alleged popularity of Juul among minors. At Vaping360, Jim McDonald documents recent demands by Democratic senators for tighter regulation of e-cigarettes and bans on so-called “kid-friendly” e-liquid flavors.
There was extensive coverage of “World No Tobacco Day” which was created by the World Health Organization in 1987 and falls on May 31. Writing in the Washington Examiner, Julie Gunlock, director of the Center for Progress and Innovation at the Independent Women’s Forum, argues anti-smoking philanthropist Michael Bloomberg should be celebrating rather than opposing innovative nicotine products like e-cigarettes, which are safer than smoking and help smokers quit.
State Updates
The Illinois House of Representatives voted to raise the age of purchase for cigarettes and vapor products from 18 to 21 by a 61-49 margin. The bill will go to the governor’s desk, where it will almost certainly be signed.
In a special session, Vermont legislators proposed a bill that would impose a 46 percent wholesale tax on vapor products, the proceeds of which would go to the state’s General Fund for the fiscal year 2019.
Science and Harm Reduction
A study published in Tobacco Control concludes that a ban on flavored e-cigarettes alone would increase the choice of combustible cigarettes in smokers. The authors argue a ban on menthol cigarettes would be more effective in limiting the choice of cigarettes but a ban on flavors in both combustible cigarettes and e-cigarettes would probably reduce smoking and vaping rates, “but smoking would be higher than in the status quo.”
Taxation
The District of Columbia Council voted 10-2 to raise the cigarette tax from $2.50 per pack to $4.50 per pack, higher than any state-wide cigarette tax in the nation. The tax would also apply to e-cigarettes, which according to Gregory Conley of the American Vaping Association could raise the city’s vapor tax to more than 90 percent of the wholesale price.
Regulation
San Francisco residents will vote next week on Proposition E, which would ban all flavored tobacco products including menthol cigarettes and e-cigarette flavors.
Chicago Alderman Ed Burke introduced legislation to ban flavored nicotine cartridges for e-cigarettes. “Prohibiting the sale of flavored vaping products won’t save any lives, but it may stop people currently addicted to cigarettes from switching to less-harmful alternatives or even kicking the nicotine habit,” said Heartland Institute research fellow Jesse Hathaway.
At Creators.com, senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center Veronique de Rugy argues the FDA should stick to its plan to postpone premarket tobacco product application deadlines until 2022 and create a less burdensome approval process for vapor products. “This kind of permissionless innovation approach gave us the internet and many other lifesaving and growth-producing inventions. This time, it might very well deliver the biggest lifesaving opportunity we have had in some time, as long as the FDA doesn’t get in the way,” writes de Rugy.
Quotable Quotes
“It’s a preposterous notion that a government that can’t efficiently deliver the mail or run trains on time — and is a direct cause of cancer drug shortages — can deliver a risk- and nicotine-free world.” — Veronique de Rugy
What’s Coming Up
The fifth Global Forum on Nicotine will be held in Warsaw, Poland, June 14-16. Registration is now open.
Additional Resources
Comment to FDA on Modified Risk Tobacco Product Application
The Proposed Tobacco Product Standard for NNN Level in Smokeless Tobacco Should Be Withdrawn
The World Health Organization’s Opposition to Tobacco Harm Reduction: A Threat to Public Health?
The Vapor Revolution: How Bottom-Up Innovation Is Saving Lives
Reason’s Research and Analysis of Nicotine and Vapor Issues
The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter – June 1, 2018 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter – May 18, 2018 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>Attempts to amend the FY 2019 Agricultural Appropriations bill to include language from H.R. 1136, otherwise known as the Cole-Bishop Amendment, which would’ve changed the predicate date for vapor products, failed on a vote of 29-20. Two Democrats supported the amendment and one Republican voted against it. However, other parts of Cole-Bishop were adopted, including a change in the predicate date for cigars and pipe tobacco from February 15, 2007, to April 2014.
“Without these changes put forward by my amendment, the FDA effectively is making it more difficult for vapor products to the come to the market than cigarettes, even though Public Health England, the British version of our Department of Health and Human Services, published a report stating that vapor is 95 percent less harmful than a cigarette,” said Rep. Tom Cole.
Sen. Chuck Schumer wrote to the Food and Drug Administration demanding an immediate ban on “kid-friendly” e-cigarette flavors. Schumer singled out the alleged the popularity of Juul among high-school students as a particular cause for concern. The press release accompanying Schumer’s letter also claimed, without a reference, that “millions of kids are now addicted” to e-cigarettes.
In the Washington Examiner, Reason’s Guy Bentley highlighted the juxtaposition of Sen. Schumer’s demand for a ban on e-cigarette flavors, which have been documented to help adult smokers quit, with his recent support for marijuana legalization. In The Wall Street Journal, the American Enterprise Institute’s Sally Satel argued Schumer is contributing to a moral panic that is threatening to obscure the lifesaving potential of e-cigarettes.
State Updates
The Massachusetts House of Representatives voted in support of a bill to raise the age of purchase for tobacco and vapor products to 21, ban the sale of tobacco and vaping products in stores with pharmacies, ban vaping wherever smoking is banned, and require child-resistant packaging for all e-liquid products. The bill will now progress to the Senate where it expected to pass.
The Vermont Legislature passed a 46 percent wholesale tax on all liquid-containing vapor products. The American Vaping Association predicts Vermont politicians will attempt to raise the tax next year to 92 percent or higher.
Science and Harm Reduction
Editors of the journal Pediatrics are being accused of misconduct in an ongoing dispute sparked by a letter from Dr. Brad Rodu challenging a paper produced by Benjamin Chaffee, Stanton Glantz, and Shannon Lea Watkins. The paper claimed vaping causes adolescents who experimented with cigarettes to become regular smokers. Rodu, along with his colleague Nantaporn Plurphanswat, reproduced Chaffee’s analysis controlling for lifetime cigarette consumption and found the study’s conclusions were not supported by the data. Rodu submitted a comment to Pediatrics arguing the paper should be retracted. His comment, however, was not published until two weeks after submission by which time Pediatrics had solicited a response from Chaffee, et al, accusing Rodu of using a “statistical trick” to undermine their conclusions and that Rodu had undisclosed financial ties to Big Tobacco. Harm reduction advocates Clive Bates, David Abrams and Ray Niaura submitted a comment in support of Rodu.
Chaffee’s first response to Rodu was deleted by the editors and a new response from Chaffee was posted in its stead with the posting date from the original response. The editors did not note any change to the post. The dispute has been covered in Rodu’s personal blog, as well as by Carl Phillips at the Daily Vaper and the American Vaping Association.
Taxation
The D.C. Council approved an amendment proposed by former Mayor and Ward 7 Council member Vince Gray that would raise the cigarette tax by $2 per pack. The tax would also raise D.C.’s already high e-cigarette tax and could destroy the few remaining vape shops left in the District.
Regulation
The FDA sent a second round of official requests for information to four e-cigarette manufacturers requiring them to submit documents to related to “product marketing, documents related to research on product design (as it may relate to the appeal or addictive potential for youth, youth-related adverse experiences) and consumer complaints associated with the products.” The companies have until July 12, 2018, to respond. The letters follow a similar request sent to Juul Labs, last month.
Quotable Quotes
“If the choice is between getting addicted to nicotine and dying from cigarettes or getting addicted without dying from e-cigarettes, the answer is obvious,” — David B. Abrams of New York University’s College of Global Public Health
What’s Coming Up
The fifth Global Forum on Nicotine will be held in Warsaw, Poland, June 14-16. Registration is now open.
Additional Resources
Comment to FDA on Modified Risk Tobacco Product Application
The Proposed Tobacco Product Standard for NNN Level in Smokeless Tobacco Should Be Withdrawn
The World Health Organization’s Opposition to Tobacco Harm Reduction: A Threat to Public Health?
The Vapor Revolution: How Bottom-Up Innovation Is Saving Lives
Reason’s Research and Analysis of Nicotine and Vapor Issues
The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter – May 18, 2018 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter – April 20, 2018 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>There’s been a torrent of negative media coverage surrounding the nation’s most popular e-cigarette — JUUL. Lurid stories of addicted teens vaping in bathrooms appeared in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NBC, and dozens of other media outlets.
The American Enterprise Institute’s Sally Satel and Americans for Tax Reform’s Paul Blair took on some of the scaremongering around teen JUUL use at Forbes and the Washington Examiner respectively. Public health expert Clive Bates also wrote a helpful guide for journalists seeking to cover teen vaping and JUUL use accurately and dispassionately.
Eleven Democratic senators wrote to JUUL’s CEO Kevin Burns and FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb demanding action to curb youth JUUL use and ban so-called “kid-friendly candy and fruit flavorings.” Speaking to Congress this week, Gottlieb indicated the FDA will be taking action in the very near future to restrict access to vaping products to minors.
Reason’s Guy Bentley was published in Real Clear Health arguing the FDA’s plan to reduce nicotine levels in cigarettes to minimally addictive or non-addictive levels is unnecessary and would result in a host of unintended consequences.
State Updates
Vermont’s Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on HB 922, which would impose a 46 percent wholesale tax on vapor products.
Florida voters will decide this November whether to ban vaping in public spaces including restaurants and workplaces after the Florida Constitution Revision Commission approved a series of amendments to the state’s constitution to be put on the ballot.
A bill that would raise Connecticut’s minimum legal purchase age for tobacco and vapor products from 18 to 21 was voted out of the Committee on Public Health by a vote of 22–4 in support of the bill. The bill will now have to be voted on by the Senate and, if successful, will go to the House for debate and a final vote.
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin signed into law a budget that includes a $1 per pack tax increase on cigarettes and an equivalent increase on little cigars.
Alaska’s House Rules Committee passed an amended version of Senate Bill 63, which would ban smoking in the workplace. Originally, vaping was originally included in the ban but was stripped out before being scheduled to move onto the House floor.
Science and Harm Reduction
Scientists are calling for the retraction of a controversial article published in Pediatrics, which claims teen e-cigarette use is “positively and independently associated with progression to current established smoking.” The original article was authored by Professor Stanton Glantz and colleagues.
Professor Brad Rodu and et al used the same FDA survey data as Glantz to reproduce the analysis. While Glantz’s paper attributed teen smoking to e-cigarette use, according to Rodu, he ignored prior cigarette consumption. When Rodu’s team included the prior cigarette consumption variable, the e-cigarette effect disappeared. Rodu and colleagues are calling for Glantz’s paper to be retracted. Further details can be found on Rodu’s blog here and here.
Regulation
An article in the latest edition of the Brooklyn Law Review argues the FDA’s Deeming Rule violates the Administrative Procedure Act. Lauren H. Greenberg, a J.D. candidate at Brooklyn Law School, argues the rule violates the APA because the FDA: “failed to perform the thorough cost-benefit analysis that the APA requires, and instead passed arbitrary, burdensome legislation without considering alternative avenues of regulation.”
Taxation
In the current issue of The Lancet, Larry Summers argues one of the most often cited objections to sin taxes, namely that they’re regressive, is incorrect. To reach this conclusion Summers redefines regressive in order to show that taxing the poor improves their health and longevity and is therefore progressive.
Christopher Snowdon of the Institute of Economic Affairs responded in Spectator Health. “The regressive financial effects are real and well-evidenced whereas the ‘progressive’ health effects only exist in the spreadsheets of ‘public health’ computer models,” writes Snowdon.
Quotable Quotes
“The challenge for the agency is to see through this smoke screen, devise a thoughtful regulatory regime for non-combustibles, and resist the false choice between sacrificing smokers and protecting teens,” — Sally Satel, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.
What’s Coming Up
The Public Health Law Center will be holding a webinar on April 26 focusing on Juul and its popularity with youth & young adults.
The annual E-Cigarette Summit USA will be held in Washington, D.C., on April 30. The program is available and registration is open.
The fifth Global Forum on Nicotine will be held in Warsaw, Poland, June 14-16. Registration is now open.
Additional Resources
Comment to FDA on Modified Risk Tobacco Product Application
The Proposed Tobacco Product Standard for NNN Level in Smokeless Tobacco Should Be Withdrawn
The World Health Organization’s Opposition to Tobacco Harm Reduction: A Threat to Public Health?
The Vapor Revolution: How Bottom-Up Innovation Is Saving Lives
Reason’s Research and Analysis of Nicotine and Vapor Issues
The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter – April 20, 2018 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter- March 30, 2018 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>| Federal Updates
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering bringing e-cigarettes into the “over-the-counter regulatory pathway.” Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said the move would give FDA more tools to examine both the toxicology of e-cigarettes and whether they or not they promote smoking cessation. FDA also issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) to address the role of flavors in tobacco products and is calling for input on the role flavors play in both tobacco initiation and cessation. “We’re proceeding with the utmost caution by securing more information about both the potential positives and negatives of flavors in youth initiation and getting adult smokers to quit or transition to potentially less harmful products,” Gottlieb said in a statement accompanying the announcement. Several public health groups are suing the FDA for delaying the deadline for pre-market tobacco applications (PMTA) for cigars and e-cigarettes. The groups which include the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and Truth Initiative claim the deadline delay allows flavored tobacco products that allegedly target children to remain on the market. The deadline delay is widely seen by the e-cigarette industry as a lifeline that prevented the vast majority of vapor products being withdrawn from the market in 2018. Commenting on the lawsuit, Kenneth Warner, emeritus professor of public health at the University of Michigan, told BuzzFeed News: “You’re guaranteeing you’re going to kill off all the novel products and we’re going to once again be favoring the cigarette which is by far the most deadly of all tobacco products.” He added, “there is this enormous anxiety in the public health community about e-cigarettes leading kids to smoke — we don’t know that that’s true.” State Updates Florida’s Constitution Revision Commission voted in favor of an amendment that would ban vaping indoor workplaces. The proposal will move onto drafting and will have to pass a final vote of the commission before being put on the ballot in November. Rhode Island’s House Finance Committee heard testimony on Gov. Gina Raimondo’s plan to include vapor products in the definition of “other tobacco products” and introduce an 80 percent tax on the wholesale price of e-cigarettes. New York’s FY 2019 budget, which is due on April 1, includes a proposal that would enact a new tax on vapor products that could be anywhere from 10 to 40 percent of the wholesale price. Science and Harm Reduction Raising the minimum legal purchase age for tobacco products in New York City did not accelerate declines in youth smoking, according to a paper published in the American Journal of Public Health. A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicines attempted to determine whether e-cigarette use after hospital discharge is associated with subsequent tobacco abstinence among smokers who plan to quit. The headline of accompanying press release said: “e-cigarettes hamper smoking cessation.” The study’s conclusions, however, do not show this to be the case. Commenting on the study, Professor Peter Hajek, director of the Tobacco Dependence Research Unit at Queen Mary University of London, said: “The study just shows that smokers who did not manage to stop smoking with recommended treatments may have been more likely to try e-cigarettes than those who quit successfully. This provides no information on whether e-cigs help smokers quit or not.” According to a study published in Tobacco Control, daily e-cigarette users were more likely to quit smoking or reduce their smoking compared with those who did not use e-cigarettes. “These results suggest incorporating frequency of e-cigarette use is important for developing a more thorough understanding of the association between e-cigarette use and cigarette cessation,” said the study’s authors. Taxation The Tax Foundation’s Scott Drenkard produced a map of where vapor taxes stand in each state as of January 1, 2018. According to Drenkard, eight states and the District of Columbia levy a statewide excise tax on vapor, while three states are home to localities that are starting to apply excise taxes to vapor products. Quotable Quotes “There’s no particular reason to think that smokers will be happier with denatured tobacco than drinkers have been with weak beer,” J.D. Tuccille What’s Coming Up The annual E-Cigarette Summit USA will be held in Washington, D.C., on April 30. The program is available and registration is open. The fifth Global Forum on Nicotine will be held in Warsaw, Poland, June 14-16. Registration is now open. Additional Resources Comment to FDA on Modified Risk Tobacco Product Application The Proposed Tobacco Product Standard for NNN Level in Smokeless Tobacco Should Be Withdrawn The World Health Organization’s Opposition to Tobacco Harm Reduction: A Threat to Public Health? The Vapor Revolution: How Bottom-Up Innovation Is Saving Lives |
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]]>The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter- March 16, 2018 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>The Food and Drug Administration issued Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule Making (ANPRM) on a proposed nicotine standard that would, in theory, reduce levels of nicotine in combustible cigarettes to minimally addictive or non-addictive levels. “Today’s ANPRM is a significant step in our efforts to confront nicotine addiction in combustible cigarettes,” said FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb in a statement on March 15.
Seriou doubts have been raised about the feasibility of such a standard and the possible unintended consequences that might follow from such large intervention. Harm Reduction Policy Director at the R Street Institute Carrie Wade and public health expert Clive Bates have both voiced concerns over the policy.
A host of center-right organizations signed a coalition letter urging Congressional leadership and the appropriations committee chairmen to include Cole-Bishop language in the FY18 omnibus. The Cole-Bishop Amendment to the current FY18 Agriculture Bill would modernize the FDA’s Deeming Rule by changing the predicate date.
Reason’s Guy Bentley wrote for The Washington Examiner urging lawmakers to consider the merits of changing the predicate date to ensure that 99% of vapor products currently available are not removed from the market by 2022.
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that Bloomberg Philanthropies will be providing $20 million to fund the launch of Stopping Tobacco Products and Organizations, a new global watchdog that claims it will monitor attempts by the tobacco industry to undermine public health. The announcement was made the 17th World Conference on Tobacco or Health in Cape Town.
State Updates
The Washington State Legislature failed to pass a bill that would have raised the age of purchase for both tobacco and vapor products to 21.
Legislation to raise the tobacco age to 21 also fell short in West Virginia with neither the Senate or House bills making it out of committee.
Reason’s Guy Bentley submitted testimony to the Rhode Island Senate Committee on Health and Human Services regarding Bill 2228, which would define vaping as smoking. Bentley argued the bill would confuse the public and undermine efforts to reduce tobacco-related harms by conflating the risks of vaping with those of smoking.
Minnesota lawmakers introduced a bill in the Minnesota House to raise the age of purchase for tobacco products to 21.
Science and Harm Reduction
A study conducted by Pinney Associates found a majority of people incorrectly believe nicotine is the primary ingredient that causes cancer among smokers. According to the study, smokers are three times more likely than vapers to believe nicotine is a key cause of cancer at 52.5 percent and 14.6 percent respectively. Less than a third of smokers agreed e-cigarettes are less harmful than combustible cigarettes.
A new study published in PLOS claims e-cigarette use presents a net harm at the population level. The authors acknowledged several limitations to their paper such as assuming a gateway effect from vaping to smoking, ignoring the potential of e-cigarette use to decrease the number of cigarettes smoked per day and not considering the potential benefit of e-cigarette use to former smokers who may have relapsed.
Commenting on the study, Professor Peter Hajek, Director of the Tobacco Dependence Research Unit at Queen Mary University of London, said: “This new ‘finding’ is based on the bizarre assumption that for every one smoker who uses e-cigs to quit, 80 non-smokers will try e-cigs and take up smoking. It flies in the face of available evidence but it is also mathematically impossible.”
Regulation
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released data showing that middle and high-school students who use e-cigarettes were more likely to have seen e-cigarette advertisements than nonusers. Based on these findings the CDC argues there needs to be a raft of new regulations to clamp down on e-cigarette advertising. But the CDCs own data suggest that vaping is reducing smoking among middle and high school students, so restricting advertising could be expected to result in more smoking.
Taxation
The State of New Jersey is considering a wholesale sales tax on e-cigarettes of 75%, seven percentage points higher than the proposed tax on combustible cigarettes. Cigars, cigarillos, and snuff will also be hit with higher taxes.
Quotable Quotes
“A year-old fatally-flawed student project, which has been misinterpreted as showing vaping causes heart attack risk, has recently been resurrected by — who else? — Stanton Glantz” — Carl V. Phillips, Daily Vaper.
What’s Coming Up
The annual E-Cigarette Summit USA will be held in Washington, D.C. on April 30. The program is available and registration is open.
The fifth Global Forum on Nicotine will be held in Warsaw, Poland from 14-16 of June. Registration is now open.
Additional Resources
Comment to FDA on Modified Risk Tobacco Product Application
The Proposed Tobacco Product Standard for NNN Level in Smokeless Tobacco Should Be Withdrawn
The World Health Organization’s Opposition to Tobacco Harm Reduction: A Threat to Public Health?
The Vapor Revolution: How Bottom-Up Innovation Is Saving Lives
Reason’s Research and Analysis of Nicotine and Vapor Issues
The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter- March 16, 2018 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter- February 23, 2018 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
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Federal Updates Nicopure Labs, LLC, and the Right to be Smoke-Free Coalition filed their opening brief appealing the decision of Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia, who ruled in favor of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the first lawsuit challenging aspects of the Tobacco Control Act (TCA) and the FDA’s Deeming Rule. The appellants argue that both the Modified Risk Tobacco Product application process and the ban on free samples of vapor products violate the First Amendment. They also argue the FDA was obligated to consider a less burdensome Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) process for vapor products while still protecting the public health. “We believe in helping millions of adult smokers battle tobacco addiction through vaping products,” said Jeff Stamler, CEO and co-founder of Nicopure Labs. “We believe the FDA is doing a massive disservice to public health and we will keep fighting for the vaping industry to ensure these products will continue to help a growing number of people quit tobacco and start a new, smoke-free life.” Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller and others, including public health advocate Clive Bates, filed amicus briefs in support of the appeal. State Updates South Dakota’s House of Representatives voted 45-21 against raising the smoking age from 18 to 21. Georgia’s House Committee on Ways and Means voted 5-2 to allow a “modified risk’’ tobacco product to have a tax that is half that of cigarettes. R Street Institute’s Director of Harm Reduction Policy Carrie Wade and Southeast Region Director Marc Hyden testified in support of the bill. The city of Duluth, MN, became the fifth city in the state to ban the sale of menthol and other flavored tobacco products. Science and Harm Reduction The American Cancer Society (ACS) softened its position on e-cigarettes and other reduced risk nicotine products in a new position paper released Feb. 19. The ACS recommends, albeit with extreme caution, that clinicians suggest smokers switch to reduced risk nicotine products such as e-cigarettes if they cannot quit through any other method. “Some smokers, despite firm clinician advice, will not attempt to quit smoking cigarettes and will not use FDA approved cessation medications. These individuals should be encouraged to switch to the least harmful form of tobacco product possible; switching to the exclusive use of e-cigarettes is preferable to continuing to smoke combustible products,” said the ACS. Commenting on the shift in stance from the ACS, Consumer Choice Center Senior Fellow Jeff Stier said: “the ACS took a step in the right direction by recognizing this important harm-reduction method.” He added, “I continue to call on the American Heart Association and other major health organizations to reverse course and support smokers who wish to quit smoking with the use of e-cigarettes, heat-not-burn tobacco, or smokeless tobacco, all of which are significantly less harmful than smoking.” Regulation A working paper published in the National Bureau of Economic Research claims to provide the first causal evidence on whether e-cigarette advertising in magazines or television helps smokers quit. The authors conclude that restrictions on TV advertising would have a negative effect on smokers quitting. “Our results indicate that a policy to ban TV advertising of e-cigarettes would have reduced the number of smokers who quit in the recent past by approximately 3 percent, resulting in roughly 105,000 fewer quitters in that period,” said the authors. According to the study, the FDA’s consideration of severe restrictions on e-cigarettes is already having a chilling effect. The authors also note that: “On the other hand, if the FDA were not considering regulations and mandates that would likely eliminate many e-cigarette producers during our sample period, e-cigarette ads might have reached the number of nicotine replacement therapy TV ads during that period. That would have increased the number of smokers who quit by around 10 percent, resulting in an additional 350,000 quitters.” Taxation South Dakota voters will decide whether to raise the tobacco tax by $1 per pack on November 6th. South Dakota currently taxes cigarettes and other tobacco products at 35 percent of the wholesale price. Quotable Quotes “The goal should be saving lives, not moral preening, and to that end, there is no better approach than simply telling kids the truth.” — David Marcus, New York correspondent for The Federalist. What’s Coming Up The 17th World Conference on Tobacco or Health will be in held in Cape Town, South Africa, March 7-9. Additional Resources Comment to FDA on Modified Risk Tobacco Product Application The Proposed Tobacco Product Standard for NNN Level in Smokeless Tobacco Should Be Withdrawn The World Health Organization’s Opposition to Tobacco Harm Reduction: A Threat to Public Health? The Vapor Revolution: How Bottom-Up Innovation Is Saving Lives |
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]]>The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter- February 2, 2018 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>Federal Updates
Reason Foundation’s Julian Morris testified before the Tobacco Product Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC) hearing in support of Philip Morris’ modified risk tobacco product (MRTP) application. If approved by the FDA, the MRTP would allow the company to make modified risk claims related to its I-Quite-Ordinary-Smoking (IQOS) heat-not-burn tobacco product.
TPSAC agreed with the applicant that scientific studies have demonstrated that switching completely from cigarettes to IQOS significantly reduces the body’s exposure to harmful or potentially harmful chemicals; but rejected every other claim made, including that switching from cigarettes to IQOS presents less harm than continued smoking.
IQOS is currently being sold in 30 markets around the world, but cannot be sold in the U.S. unless FDA approves its pre-market tobacco application (PMTA). Reason Foundation’s Brian Fojtik and Dr. Brad Rodu of the University of Louisville School of Medicine wrote in the Huffington Post about the impact on smoking rates in Japan as a result of the introduction of IQOS to the market. The public comment period on the MRTP application remains open. Reason Foundation filed a public comment and Reason Foundation’s Brian Fojtik and Guy Bentley commented on the MRTP application here.
Reason Foundation co-hosted an event with Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) celebrating PLF’s new lawsuits launched against the FDA’s deeming rule. PLF filed three lawsuits in three different federal courts. PLF argues the deeming rule is unconstitutional under the Appointments Clause and the First Amendment. Reason’s Eric Boehm and Guy Bentley covered the launch at Reason.com and The Washington Examiner.
State Updates
Thirty-four states have resumed or opened legislative sessions so far in 2018. Legislative session deadlines and calendars for all fifty states can be found here.
New York Senator David Carlucci (D) introduced legislation that would create a new tax on vapor products at a rate of 25 cents per milliliter, more than doubling the cost of most products.
Delaware, by classifying vapor products as tobacco products in 2017, imposed a new 5 cents per milliliter vapor tax that became effective on January 1, 2018.
Washington is attempting to rush a 60 percent vapor tax to the House floor for a vote. The tax bill is a prerequisite to the state’s enacting a bill that would increase the age of purchase for tobacco (and vapor) products to 21, replacing lost revenue from the age change.
Science and Harm Reduction
The U.S. National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine released its new report on the Public Health Consequences of E-Cigarettes to mixed reviews. While the New York Times focused on the on the association between teens who had ever used e-cigarettes subsequently tried regular cigarettes, Reason Foundation’s Guy Bentley highlighted the report’s key finding which was switching from smoking to vaping dramatically reduced users’ exposure to harmful chemicals. Boston University School of Public Health’s Dr. Michael Siegel shared his perspective in The Rest of the Story Tobacco News blog.
Regulation
Writing for The Spectator, Head of Lifestyle Economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs Christopher Snowdon argues that TPSAC’s refusal to advise FDA to grant MRTP claims for either Swedish snus or IQOS is preventing companies from putting truthful statements on their products and, in the process, keeping smokers in the dark about their potential to reduce their risk of death disease by switching to these products. “The events of last week, which could have been two steps forward for harm reduction, demonstrated the futility of expecting scientific evidence to resolve arguments that are, at heart, about politics and ideology,” writes Snowdon.
Taxation
Reason’s Guy Bentley was published in the The Washington Post arguing against Washington D.C.’s proposal to increase the city’s cigarette tax by $2-a-pack. Bentley argues that such a draconian tax increase would increase crime, black market activity and could lose the District revenue. The proposal would also raise the tax on vapor products threatening the viability of the District’s few remaining vape shops, limiting choice and raising costs for those who have switched from smoking to vapor products. Bentley also testified before the D.C. City Council members raising concerns about the unintended consequences of such a tax increase.
Quotable Quotes
“Tobacco taxes are often presented as a policy with no costs or downsides. The evidence, however, tells a different story. Just because something is popular doesn’t make it wise, even when it comes to cigarettes.” – Guy Bentley
What’s Coming Up
Keller and Heckman LLP, a Washington, DC-based firm that specializes in regulatory and FDA issues for vapor product manufacturers, distributors and retailers will be hosting an E-Vapor and Tobacco Law Symposium in Irvine, California on February 6-7, 2018. Agenda and registration information for the symposium can be found here.
Additional Resources
Comment to FDA on Modified Risk Tobacco Product Application
The Proposed Tobacco Product Standard for NNN Level in Smokeless Tobacco Should Be Withdrawn
The World Health Organization’s Opposition to Tobacco Harm Reduction: A Threat to Public Health?
The Vapor Revolution: How Bottom-Up Innovation Is Saving Lives
Reason’s Research and Analysis of Nicotine and Vapor Issues
The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter- February 2, 2018 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter – January 12, 2018 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>Federal Updates
Reynolds American, Inc. (RAI) has filed 18 modified risk tobacco product (MRTP) applications related to six different styles of Camel snus smokeless tobacco products with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). If approved, RAI would be allowed to make specific, reduced risk claims to smokers who switch to snus. The FDA has opened a public docket for the applications where comments may be submitted through June 18, 2018.
Reason Foundation’s Vice President of Research Julian Morris will be testifying at a meeting of the Tobacco Product Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC) on January 24, 2018, regarding the MRTP application from Philip Morris for its I-Quit-Ordinary-Smoking heat not burn product. The public comment period on the MRTP for IQOS remains open. Reason Foundation filed a comment with FDA in support of the application.
Reason Foundation’s Brian Fojtik and Guy Bentley commented on the MRTP application.
State Updates
Thirty-four states have resumed or opened legislative sessions so far in 2018. Legislative session deadlines and calendars for all fifty states can be found here.
New York Senator David Carlucci (D) has introduced legislation that would create a new tax on vapor products at a rate of 25 cents per milliliter, more than doubling the cost of most products.
Delaware, by classifying vapor products as tobacco products in 2017, imposed a new 5 cents per milliliter vapor tax that became effective on January 1, 2018.
Science and Harm Reduction
R Street Institute’s Harm Reduction Policy Director Carrie Wade wrote a column at Real Clear Science explaining why vaping is not a “gateway” to smoking. Wade spelled out why the plethora of studies claiming to show a causal relationship between experimentation with vaping and subsequent smoking initiation do not stand-up to scrutiny.
“The truth is, we cannot define e-cigarettes as a gateway to combustible cigarette use,” writes Wade. “In fact, population-level data provide evidence directly contradicting the gateway hypothesis: While e-cigarette experimentation tripled between 2013 and 2014, combustible use decreased by 27 percent between 2013 and 2015.”
Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos and Dr. Gene Hillman conducted a systematic review of carbonyl emissions in e-cigarette aerosol, which was published in Frontiers and Physiology. Their review found a variety of different methodologies were used in lab assessments of carbonyl emissions. In their conclusion, the authors state that “it is particularly important that laboratory studies ensure that no dry puffs are generated under laboratory conditions; otherwise testing realistic conditions relevant to true human exposure cannot be ensured and the findings could be misleading and misinformative for consumers and regulators.”
Regulation
Tobacco Control expert and public health advocate Clive Bates outlined the potential dangers that could flow from heavy-handed regulation of e-liquid flavors. In December, Iowa Attorney General Thomas J. Miller and four public health experts, including Bates, wrote to the FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb regarding a framework for considering the appeal of flavors in nicotine products. The letter makes the point that much of the commentary concerning e-liquid flavors is “overly simplistic in presuming that the primary purpose and consequence of offering flavors is to recruit current non-users, especially youth, to nicotine use.”
Taxation
Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)’s Strategic Initiatives Director Paul Blair has published ATR’s updated vapor tax map to start 2018. The map will continue to be updated with changes as they occur throughout the year.
Quotable Quotes
“America’s health professionals and their patients could benefit from the availability of products that have the potential to reduce risk” – Dr. Erika Bliss
What’s Coming Up
FDA’s Tobacco Product Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC) will meet to discuss the Philip Morris MRTP application on January 24, 2018, in Silver Spring, MD.
Keller and Heckman LLP, a Washington, DC-based firm that specializes in regulatory and FDA issues for vapor product manufacturers, distributors and retailers, will be hosting an E-Vapor and Tobacco Law Symposium in Irvine, California, on February 6-7, 2018. Agenda and registration information for the symposium can be found here.
Additional Resources
Comment to FDA on Modified Risk Tobacco Product Application
The Proposed Tobacco Product Standard for NNN Level in Smokeless Tobacco Should Be Withdrawn
The World Health Organization’s Opposition to Tobacco Harm Reduction: A Threat to Public Health?
The Vapor Revolution: How Bottom-Up Innovation Is Saving Lives
Reason’s Research and Analysis of Nicotine and Vapor Issues
The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter – January 12, 2018 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter – December 15, 2017 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>While vapor trade organizations and consumer groups often find themselves at odds with one another regarding legislative outcomes and strategy, this week the American Vaping Association (AVA), Consumer Advocates for Smoke Free Alternatives (CASAA), Smoke Free Alternative Trade Association (SFATA) and Vapor Technology Association (VTA) came together to issue a joint statement in support of a change to the predicate date for vapor products. Reason Foundation Senior Fellow Brian Fojtik published a commentary on the proposed predicate date change at Huffington Post.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) indicated that the public comment period on the modified risk tobacco product (MRTP) application from Philip Morris for its I-Quite-Ordinary-Smoking (IQOS) heat-not-burn tobacco product will remain open until further notice. Reason Foundation filed a public comment with FDA in support of the application. Reason Foundation’s Brian Fojtik and Guy Bentley commented on the MRTP application here.
A noteworthy group of seventeen scientists and public health officials submitted a joint public comment on the IQOS MRTP application. The FDA has yet to publish the comment but signatories (listed in the document) include academics, public health leaders and scientists from around the globe.
The Tobacco Product Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC) will be meeting on January 24, 2018 to discuss the IQOS MRTP application. Space is limited. Requests to present an oral comment must be received by December 27, 2017 and written comment submissions to TPSAC (different than comments on the FDA docket) should be received by FDA by 4 p.m. eastern on January 4, 2018. For additional information, use the meeting link above.
State Updates
Most activity (flavor bans/restrictions and bills to raise the age of purchase for tobacco and vapor products to 21) are occurring at the local level as most states are out of session. 2018 legislative session deadlines and calendars for all 50 states can be found here.
Science and Harm Reduction
Less than 10 percent of American teenagers reported smoking in the past 30 days, according to the latest data from the Monitoring the Future Survey. Covering the survey’s release, The New York Times reports that “teenagers’ consumption of most substances — including alcohol, tobacco, prescription opioids and stimulants — has either fallen or held steady at last year’s levels, the lowest rates in 20 years.”
The UK’s Committee on Toxicity conducted a toxicological evaluation of two heat-not-burn tobacco products. The committee concluded “there would likely be a reduction in risk for conventional smokers deciding to use heat-not-burn tobacco products instead of smoking cigarettes,” adding that “a reduction in risk would also be experienced by bystanders where smokers switch to heat-not-burn tobacco products.”
Regulation
Reason’s Guy Bentley and resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute’s Sally Satel argued in Real Clear Health that the FDA should grant MRTP status to reduced risk products such as Snus and IQOS. Bentley and Satel wrote that the FDA should communicate clearly the public the benefits of switching from cigarettes to reduced risk nicotine products.
Quotable Quotes
“Big Tobacco’s well-documented sins do not excuse public authorities from their duty to tell the public the truth,” – Guy Bentley, research associate at Reason Foundation and Sally Satel MD, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.
What’s Coming Up
The Council of State Governments (CSG) will hold its National Conference December 14-17 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
FDA’s Tobacco Product Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC) will meet to discuss the Philip Morris MRTP application on January 24, 2018 in Silver Spring, MD.
Keller and Heckman LLP, a Washington, DC-based firm that specializes in regulatory and FDA issues for vapor product manufacturers, distributors and retailers will be hosting an E-Vapor and Tobacco Law Symposium in Irvine, California on February 6-7, 2018. Agenda and registration information for the symposium can be found here.
Additional Resources
Comment to FDA on Modified Risk Tobacco Product Application
The Proposed Tobacco Product Standard for NNN Level in Smokeless Tobacco Should Be Withdrawn
The World Health Organization’s Opposition to Tobacco Harm Reduction: A Threat to Public Health?
The Vapor Revolution: How Bottom-Up Innovation Is Saving Lives
Reason’s Research and Analysis of Nicotine and Vapor Issues
The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter – December 15, 2017 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter – December 1, 2017 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos, Research Fellow at the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center in Athens, Greece wrote a highly critical letter to the Food and Drug Administration of research recently presented at an American Heart Association related to heat-not-burn tobacco products. Citing the research on the Philip Morris I-Quit-Ordinary-Smoking (IQOS) product, Farsalinos commented that “this study provides no reliable scientific information about the effects of IQOS on cardiovascular disease risk.” Dr. Farsalinos is a renowned researcher on the cardiovascular impacts of cigarettes and tobacco harm reduction products.
In a blog post published Wednesday, the FDA announced the formation of a new Nicotine Steering Committee that will be charged with “re-evaluating and modernizing FDA’s approach to development and regulation of nicotine replacement therapy products that help smokers quit.”
The FDA docket on the modified risk tobacco product (MRTP) application from Philip Morris for its IQOS heat-not-burn tobacco product remains open for public comment and will close within the next two weeks. The Reason Foundation filed a public comment with FDA in support of the application. Reason Foundation’s Brian Fojtik and Guy Bentley commented on the MRTP application here.
State Updates
Most activity across the country regarding IQOS products is occurring at the local level, with a plethora of bills banning or restricting flavored tobacco products (and vapor products) in California and “Tobacco 21” bills that would increase the age of purchase for tobacco products (and vapor products) to age 21 in Minnesota and elsewhere.
In the year-to-date, there have been approximately 140 vapor-only bills (not including flavors which also include traditional tobacco products). The top states in favor of restrictive legislation are California, Minnesota, and Massachusetts. Top Issues (in order) are vapor use restrictions (vapor bans), legal age of purchase (“Tobacco 21” bills) and general product restrictions.
There are approximately 50 local bills currently being considered that would ban the sale of flavored products at the local level.
Science and Harm Reduction
The British Medical Association published a position paper Wednesday arguing, among other things, that “there are clear potential benefits to e-cigarettes in reducing the harms associated with smoking.” The BMA advises doctors to tell their patients who ask about whether or not to switch to e-cigarettes that “while the safest option is to use neither tobacco nor e-cigarettes, there is no situation in which it is safer to continue smoking than to use an e-cigarette.”
Regulation
Reason’s Brian Fojtik published an article in the Huffington Post arguing that a change in the predicate for vapor products to August 8, 2016, would be a significant step forward for allowing smokers to switch from cigarettes to reduced risk vapor products.
Quotable Quotes
“There is no apparent limit to how low tobacco control will go in pursuit of their special-interest activism,” – Carl V. Phillips
What’s Coming Up
On December 6-8, American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) will be holding its Nation & States Policy Summit in Nashville, TN.
On December 12, 2017, the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy will hold a public event to discuss the FDA’s regulatory approach to medicinal nicotine. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb and Director of the Center for Tobacco Products at FDA Mitch Zeller will be speaking at the event.
Keller and Heckman LLP, a Washington, DC-based firm that specializes in regulatory and FDA issues for vapor product manufacturers, distributors and retailers will be hosting an E-Vapor and Tobacco Law Symposium in Irvine, California on February 6-7, 2018. Agenda and registration information for the symposium can be found here.
Additional Resources
Comment to FDA on Modified Risk Tobacco Product Application
The Proposed Tobacco Product Standard for NNN Level in Smokeless Tobacco Should Be Withdrawn
The World Health Organization’s Opposition to Tobacco Harm Reduction: A Threat to Public Health?
The Vapor Revolution: How Bottom-Up Innovation Is Saving Lives
Reason’s Research and Analysis of Nicotine and Vapor Issues
The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter – December 1, 2017 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter – November 17, 2017 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>President Trump nominated Alex Azar, former president of the American division of Eli Lilly to replace Tom Price as Health and Human Services secretary. Azar served as general counsel and deputy secretary at HHS during the George W. Bush administration. Azar will require Senate confirmation before taking up the post at HHS.
Three academics, Dr. Amy Fairchild of Texas A&M University and New York University College of Global Public Health Professors Dr. Ray Niaura and Dr. David Abrams published a commentary in The Hill calling for more openness and honesty from government in providing truthful information about reduced-risk products and encouraging smokers to switch.
“America needs a candid smoking control champion,” the three wrote. “Ten years after e-cigarettes became available, governments and scientists know enough to assure smokers that e-cigarettes are safe enough for smokers to switch. Each year of delay endangers half a million lives in the U.S and over 7 million globally.”
Reason’s Brian Fojtik was published in National Review calling on government agencies and tobacco control organizations to stop lying to smokers about safe nicotine alternatives. Fojtik highlighted a critique of former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s misleading report on youth and e-cigarettes in the Harm Reduction Journal.
The FDA docket on the modified risk tobacco product (MRTP) application from Philip Morris for its I-Quit-Ordinary-Smoking (IQOS) heat-not-burn tobacco product remains open for public comment. Reason Foundation filed a public comment with FDA in support of the application. Reason Foundation’s Brian Fojtik and Guy Bentley commented on the MRTP application here.
Science and Harm Reduction
Dr. Brad Rodu provided additional insights from his study looking at e-cigarette use among US adults, co-authored with economist Nantaporn Plurphanswat, in a blog post for the R Street Institute.
Rodu writes that e-cigarette flavors “were consumed by 7 out of 10 current users. Never-smokers were significantly more likely to use them than current and former smokers (84% vs. 67% and 69%), and they were significantly less likely to use liquid containing nicotine (69% vs. 93% and 88%). Notably … 5.2% of current smokers, 7.8% of former smokers, and 25.9% of never-smokers used e-cigarettes that contained flavor, but no nicotine.”
The top five reasons for vaping listed by former smokers were: Less harmful to me (94%), less harmful to persons around me (88%), help to quit smoking (86%), don’t smell (80%), and use when/where smoking not allowed (78%).
The majority of vapers were misinformed about risks of nicotine, with 84% of never-smokers believing nicotine causes most kinds of cancer. More than three-quarters of current smokers and 66% of former smokers agreed. However, 94% of former smokers who vape believed e-cigarettes were less harmful than cigarettes. The figures were significantly lower for current and never smokers at 78% and 77% respectively.
Taxation
New York has the highest inbound cigarette smuggling rate in the country, with 56.8% of cigarettes consumed in the state derived from smuggled sources in 2015, according to a new study from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. These findings are perhaps unsurprising given New York also has the highest state cigarette tax in the country at $4.35 per pack, with New York City adding an extra $1.50 per pack.
“Public policies often have unintended consequences that outweigh their benefits,” commented Scott Drenkard, director of state projects at the Tax Foundation and one of the study’s authors. “One consequence of high state cigarette tax rates has been increased smuggling as people procure discounted packs from low-tax states to sell in high-tax states. Growing cigarette tax differentials have made cigarette smuggling both a national problem and in some cases, a lucrative criminal enterprise.”
Quotable Quotes
“One of the first priorities of those in public health should be to serve the public. But the misrepresentations of government agencies, politicians, and anti-tobacco groups, repeated ad nauseam by the media, mislead smokers — and keep them smoking,” – Reason Foundation Senior Fellow Brian Fojtik
What’s Coming Up
On December 6-8, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) will be holding its Nation & States Policy Summit in Nashville, TN.
Additional Resources
Comment to FDA on Modified Risk Tobacco Product Application
The Proposed Tobacco Product Standard for NNN Level in Smokeless Tobacco Should Be Withdrawn
The World Health Organization’s Opposition to Tobacco Harm Reduction: A Threat to Public Health?
The Vapor Revolution: How Bottom-Up Innovation Is Saving Lives
Reason’s Research and Analysis of Nicotine and Vapor Issues
The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter – November 17, 2017 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter – November 3, 2017 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>Food and Drug Administration commissioner Scott Gottlieb recently announced that the FDA will be launching “The Real Cost” campaign to educate teens about the dangers of using e-cigarettes and vapor products. Reason’s Brian Fojtik referenced this campaign and the misinformation about reduced risk products emanating from (or mandated by) government agencies and tobacco control groups in National Review.
The FDA docket on the modified risk tobacco product (MRTP) application from Philip Morris for its I-Quit-Ordinary-Smoking (IQOS) heat-not-burn tobacco product remains open for public comment. The Reason Foundation filed a public comment with FDA in support of the application. Reason Foundation’s Brian Fojtik and Guy Bentley commented on the MRTP application here.
State Updates
Kentucky’s Pegasus Institute published a paper by members of the University of Louisville’s James Graham Brown Cancer Center Doctors Brad Rodu (Professor of Medicine at the University of Louisville) and Nantaporn Plurphanswat (Research Economist at the University of Louisville) outlining a tax proposal for Kentucky that would incorporate tobacco harm reduction concepts by setting rates based on relative risks of different products (cigarettes, long leaf chewing tobacco, moist snuff and e-cigarettes).
The authors cite a number of economists and public health advocates such as David Sweanor, Dr. Kenneth Warner, Dr. Sally Satel and others who support and/or contributed to the proposal.
Science and Harm Reduction
A new report from R Street Institute Harm Reduction Policy Manager Carrie Wade and Associate Fellow Clive Bates explores the challenges facing the FDA’s controversial strategy of dramatically reducing nicotine levels in cigarettes. The report contends that such a nicotine reduction amounts to a prohibition of conventional cigarettes.
Wade and Bates argue a nicotine-reduction strategy should be evaluated against alternatives that lessen the appeal of smoking and provide low-risk alternatives. Promoting safer, alternative sources of nicotine would have the advantage of avoiding the harmful consequences that may stem from prohibiting a product with a customer base of 38 million.
“If the coercive reduced-nicotine strategy is to retain any credibility at all, it will be necessary to have alternative low-risk nicotine delivery systems readily available, so that these products can play a significant role in the behavioral response to the rule,” says Wade. “These low-risk alternatives should also be regulated proportionately and in ways that support diversity and innovation, rather than creating excessive regulatory barriers to entry that would establish a new tobacco industry oligopoly.”
Regulation
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill October 23 that bans vaping anywhere smoking is banned, which includes workplaces, restaurants, and bars.
Reason Foundation Senior Fellow Brian Fojtik argues in a guest column for Vaping 360 that vapers should not be quick to attack smokeless tobacco or heated tobacco products. “If vapers want to be intellectually consistent and they truly are fighting to ensure that smokers are allowed access to nicotine products that can lengthen and improve quality of lives, they should answer ‘whatever vapor product, smokeless tobacco product, heat-not-burn or other non-combustible products that work best for you,’” writes Fojtik.
Taxation
On November 6, voters in the city of Aspen, Colorado will go to the polls to determine whether to establish a municipal tax on a pack of cigarettes of $3, with an increase 10 cents per year for ten years and an additional 40 percent tax on other tobacco products. If approved, the tax would go into effect on January 1, 2018.
Quotable Quotes
“The new breed of safer nicotine products are substitutes for combustible cigarettes. Policies which deter the use of a safer substitute effectively encourage the use of the less healthy alternative” – Christopher Snowdon, Director of Lifestyle Economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs.
Additional Resources
Comment to FDA on Modified Risk Tobacco Product Application
The Proposed Tobacco Product Standard for NNN Level in Smokeless Tobacco Should Be Withdrawn
The World Health Organization’s Opposition to Tobacco Harm Reduction: A Threat to Public Health?
The Vapor Revolution: How Bottom-Up Innovation Is Saving Lives
Reason’s Research and Analysis of Nicotine and Vapor Issues
The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter – November 3, 2017 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter – October 20, 2017 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
]]>Federal Updates
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) issued a press release and spoke at a press conference calling on Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb to rescind the delayed implementation of new regulations on vapor products. Reason Foundation’s Brian Fojtik commented on Schumer’s request and a recent bill from Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) to tax vapor products at the Daily Vaper.
The FDA docket on the modified risk tobacco product (MRTP) application from Philip Morris for its IQOS heat not burn tobacco product remains open for public comment. Reason Foundation previously filed a comment with FDA in support of the application.
State Updates
California Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed legislation that would have prohibited smoking and vaping on state coastal beaches or in a unit of the state park system.
Following previous bans passed in Oakland and San Francisco, the California city of San Leandro banned the sale of flavored tobacco and vapor products by a 6-1 vote this week. Opponents of the San Francisco ban have successfully petitioned for a voter referendum on this issue next June.
New York’s legislature passed and sent to Gov. Andrew Cuomo legislation that would expand the state’s clean indoor air act or smoking ban to include vapor products. Reason Foundation’s Brian Fojtik highlighted the counterproductive nature of the policy in the New York Post. Gov. Cuomo is expected to sign the bill into law.
Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo signed a law that requires child-resistant packaging for e-liquid used in electronic nicotine-delivery systems and prohibits the use of nicotine vapor products in schools.
Science and Harm Reduction
Clive Bates, former director of Action on Smoking and Health in the U.K., published a two-page note highlighting the facts and figures of youth tobacco use in the U.S. Data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey, published in June 2017, showed both record low cigarette use and a fall in e-cigarette use in 2016. The second graph in Bates’ document examines the University of Michigan’s 2016 Monitoring the Future survey, which shows an accelerating decline in youth smoking post-2010. Bates argues the headline numbers regarding youth e-cigarette are also far less problematic than they suggest. While it is true that youth e-cigarette use rose substantially from 2011-15 and fell in 2016, much of this use was occasional or experimental. Many of the students who did experiment with e-cigarettes did so with products that contained no nicotine liquids. Data shows that adult smoking has also fallen rapidly as vaping has risen.
Regulation
Local e-cigarette crackdowns are both misguided and counterproductive, according to R Street Institute Northeast Region Manager Nicolas John. “The measure of a successful public health policy should be the impact it has on the whole population, not just certain segments,” writes John. “While cigarette use in the United States is at an all-time low, the significant drop-off in smoking rates is due, at least in part, to the development of attractive (and much safer) alternatives.”
Heavy-handed restrictions on vapor products aimed at protecting minors are more likely to harm the adult population of current smokers — who would benefit from switching to reduced risk nicotine products such as e-cigarettes — by reducing the accessibility, availability and affordability of these products. Specifically, measures targeting flavored vapor products are misguided as adolescent non-smokers have less interest in these allegedly youth-targeted flavors than adult smokers, according to a study by Saul Shiffman and colleagues.
Taxation
The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky and Baptist Health are arguing for a $1 hike in the state’s tobacco tax, which would raise the tax to $1.60. The Kentucky Farm Bureau argues a tax increase would be unwise, as smokers may go to neighboring states to stock up on cheaper cigarettes. For example, Missouri, which shares a small part of its border with Kentucky, has the lowest cigarette tax in the nation at 17 cents a pack.
Quotable Quotes
“Put simply, there is no youth e-cigarette crisis. The data from the last several years demonstrates that the rise of vapor products correlates with significant drops in teen smoking.”
— Brian Fojtik, Senior Fellow at Reason Foundation
Additional Resources
Comment to FDA on Modified Risk Tobacco Product Application
The Proposed Tobacco Product Standard for NNN Level in Smokeless Tobacco Should Be Withdrawn
The World Health Organization’s Opposition to Tobacco Harm Reduction: A Threat to Public Health?
The Vapor Revolution: How Bottom-Up Innovation Is Saving Lives
Reason’s Research and Analysis of Nicotine and Vapor Issues
The post Nicotine and Harm Reduction Newsletter – October 20, 2017 appeared first on Reason Foundation.
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