e-cigarettes
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Flavored e-cigarettes are exempt from the FDA's proposed menthol ban
The FDA has proposed a ban on menthol cigarettes that doesn't cover e-cigs, but could shape policy for the technology.
Hitting the Books: The continuing controversies surrounding e-cig safety
In Viral BS: Medical Myths and Why We Fall for Them, Dr. Seema Yasmin examines controversies surrounding the tobacco replacement technology — as well as a host of other pieces of “common” medical knowledge. Excerpted from Viral BS: Medical Myths and Why We Fall For Them by Dr. Seema Yasmin, published by Johns Hopkins University Press. In the spring of 2019, young people, mostly young men in Illinois and Wisconsin, began to fall sick with a strange lung disease.
PAX skirts Apple's vape app ban with a web version
Apple may have banned vape software from the App Store, but PAX is betting a web app will be enough for some smokers.
Congress is raising the minimum smoking and vaping age to 21
Congress just raised the legal age to smoke or vape to 21, BuzzFeed News reports. The law will go into effect sometime next year, and it will cover all nicotine products.
Study suggests vapers are 1.3 times more likely to develop lung disease
As debate continues around how e-cigarettes should be legislated, vaping companies promote their products as less health-damaging than smoking regular cigarettes. However, a new three-year study from UC San Francisco shows that vaping is associated with an increased risk of developing lung diseases like asthma, bronchitis and emphysema, and is also a risk factor for pulmonary disease.
NYC city council votes to ban non-tobacco flavored e-cigarettes
New York City is set to become the largest city in the US to ban non-tobacco flavored e-cigarettes. The city council voted 42-2 to ban them, and Mayor Bill de Blasio will sign the bill or let it pass into law, according to his deputy press secretary.
Juul stops selling mint-flavored vapes
Juul will stop selling mint-flavored vape products in the US. The company says it's pulling mint pods from its website, as well as no longer taking new orders from retailers. As of this article, the company only sells three flavors: Classic tobacco, Virginia tobacco and menthol. Juul says it made the decision based on a study that came out this week that found mint-flavored vapes are popular among middle and high school students in the US. However, the company declined to comment on why it plans to continue selling menthol-flavored vapes when Bloomberg pointed out that the same study found both mint and menthol flavors were popular among youth. The move comes after Juul stopped selling fruit-flavored vapes on its website last month. Echoing a statement he'd made at that time, new Juul CEO (and former tobacco exec) K.C. Crosthwaite said today that "These results are unacceptable and that is why we must reset the vapor category in the U.S. and earn the trust of society by working cooperatively with regulators, Attorneys General, public health officials, and other stakeholders to combat underage use. We will support the upcoming FDA flavor policy and will follow the PMTA process." Earlier today, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) said that the number of vaping-related lung injuries in US is up to 2,051. Cases of vaping-related lung illnesses have come up in 49 states, which, combined with rising use among youths has lead a variety of regulators to look into a ban of vapes -- the Trump Administration is expected to announce a temporary ban on flavored e-cigarettes as soon as this week.
Massachusetts temporarily bans vaping products amid health crisis
Following a spate of vaping illnesses and deaths, Massachusetts has become the first state to do a full ban on vaping products. Governor Charlie Baker declared a public health emergency and said that both flavored and non-flavored vaping products -- made with nicotine and marijuana -- would be temporarily prohibited from sale for a period of four months. "[We] need to pause sales in order for our medical experts to collect more information about what is driving these life threatening vaping-related illnesses," he said at a press conference.
CDC warns against vaping until it figures out what’s making people sick
Until the Center for Disease Control can figure out what's causing the mysterious lung illness associated with vaping, it's cautioning people against e-cigs. Last week, it launched a joint investigation with the Food and Drug Administration into a respiratory illness reported after vaping. At the time, it said 215 possible cases had been reported from 25 states, and at least two deaths have been documented. "While this investigation is ongoing, people should consider not using e-cigarette products," the CDC wrote in a press release today.
Juul's app-connected e-cigarette keeps tabs on your vaping
E-cigarette manufacturer Juul has come under fire for contributing to teen smoking rates. Recently, the company has been scrambling to demonstrate its products are aimed at adults, not teens. Its latest defense is an app-connected e-cigarette which requires users to be over 18.
FDA targets teens with e-cigarette prevention ads
Today, the FDA launched its first e-cigarette prevention TV ads. Part of "The Real Cost" campaign, they're meant to educate teens on the dangers of e-cigarette use. The ads will target nearly 10.7 million teens, aged 12 to 17, who have used e-cigarettes or are open to trying them. The short clips feature street magician Julius Dein, who turns a vape pen into a cigarette before onlookers. The trick is supposed to highlight the fact that teens who vape are more likely to start smoking cigarettes.
San Francisco set to become first US city to ban e-cigarettes
San Francisco has edged towards becoming the first US city to ban sales of e-cigarettes, as well as the manufacturing and distribution of them on city property. A preliminary vote saw city supervisors unanimously approve a ban on e-cigarettes the Food and Drug Administration has yet to review. It hasn't assessed any yet and companies have until 2021 to apply for reviews of their products under the agency's draft guidelines.
Juul's pilot program could trace retailers that sell to teen users
Juul has launched an experimental track-and-trace program meant to curb teen vaping, perhaps as an attempt to appease the FDA and other government agencies. The e-cig company has been in authorities' crosshairs since last year due to its products' popularity among teens. After it was acquired by Marlboro's parent company, the FDA called Juul in for making statements that apparently contradicted the commitments they previously made to reduce teen vaping. The track-and-trace pilot program will help Juul zero in on retailers and other sources that sell its e-cigs to anybody below 21 years old.
San Francisco lawmakers will consider a ban on e-cigarette sales
Authorities in San Francisco are considering banning the sale of e-cigarettes until the FDA carries out an investigation on their effects on health. Officials from the city -- which has already banned the sale of flavored tobacco and flavored vaping liquid -- said such a review should have been completed before e-cigarettes entered the market.
FDA proposes stricter rules for flavored e-cigarettes
After months of talking about limiting flavored e-cigarettes, the FDA ready to take more definitive action. The regulator has unveiled draft rules that would let it restrict sales of e-cigs with flavors that could appeal to kids (that is, everything outside of menthol, mint and tobacco). It would "prioritize" enforcement on sales of those flavors in ways that make them easily accessible to or enticing for kids. This could include retail stores where kids can walk in at any time, online stores with weak quantity limits and products whose look and flavor could appeal to the younger crowd.
E-cig makers have 60 days to show they aren’t targeting minors
The Food And Drug Administration may force several e-cigarette brands to stop selling flavored products if they can't prove they can keep their products out of minors' hands. The brands -- Juul, Vuse, MarkTen, blu and Logic -- have 60 days to convince the agency they have adequate plans to stop kids from vaping with their products. Those five collectively account for more than 97 percent of the e-cigarette market.
Study says e-cigarettes increase risk of cancer and heart disease
Regulators may have had a change of heart about the danger of using e-cigarettes, but scientists would beg to differ. A newly published New York University School of Medicine study indicates that vaping may put you at a "higher risk" of cancer and heart disease. Mice subjected to the equivalent of "light" e-cigarette smoking for 10 years (12 weeks in reality) suffered DNA damage to their bladders, hearts and lungs, in addition to limiting both DNA repair and lung proteins. In short: nicotine can become a carcinogen in your body regardless of how it's transmitted.
Starting today, it will be a lot harder to vape if you're under 18
In May, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced plans to regulate e-cigarettes like it does regular tobacco products. Today, those changes go into effect. First, the new regulations make it illegal to sell e-cigarettes and other vaping supplies to anyone under the age of 18. As we reported when the FDA first revealed its plans, the age limit was already being enforced in some places, but now it's the rule nationwide. Retailers will be required to ask for identification from any customer who appears to be under the age of 27 and are prohibited from providing free samples to minors.
Federal law would block FDA reviews on e-cigarettes
No, this is not a repeat from 1964. Congress has blocked a funding bill amendment that would have allowed the FDA to review and approve electronic cigarette brands before they hit market. Republican Andy Harris said, "I think most people realize that they are less dangerous than cigarettes, and yet we're subjecting them to a higher level of regulation." However, the World Health Organization (WHO) is now set against e-cigarettes and early research has shown that vaping may have a toxic effect on lung cells. Democrat Rep. Nita Lowey, who introduced the original amendment, said she was "shocked" by the "objectionable" decision to kill FDA pre-market reviews, adding "many of these products are aimed at children."
Wales to ban e-cigarettes in public places
While the debate over the risks of e-cigarettes continues to rage on, some governments aren't taking any chances and have enforced new rules to limit their use. Belgium and Spain have already introduced public bans, and now Wales is planning to do the same. The Welsh Government today announced that it will seek to prohibit vaping in "enclosed public spaces" as part of a new Public Health Bill designed to "protect the health and wellbeing" of people living in the country.
