Category Archives: Vaping

The ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has raised concerns about proposals from the Scottish Government surrounding the tightening of rules on the advertising and promotion of vaping products, including restrictions on in-store displays.

The Scottish Government consulted on new regulations on the advertising and promotion of vaping products to ensure they are only used as an aid to stop smoking and prevent young people and adult non-smokers from the uptake of these products.

The consultation proposals would have a direct impact on convenience retailers by introducing restrictions on:

In its submission, ACS highlighted the lack of clarity in the proposals and urges the Scottish Government to provide clearer definitions of in-store promotional displays, leaflets, flyers and moving video apparatuses, if they are to proceed with new regulations.

ACS chief executive James Lowman said: We do not support proposals to ban in-store displays or use of leaflets and flyers that promote e-cigarettes. These types of interventions have a disproportionate impact on local shops that have limited space to display products meaning they would incur significant financial cost to refit stores.

Banning in-store promotions and other advertising mechanisms would also reduce access to vaping products, which are a growing category for retailers and are widely considered to be an important smoking cessation tool. The Scottish Government should instead focusing resource on enforcement activity to remove illegal e-cigarette products from the market.

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Concerns raised over vaping product regulation proposals in Scotland - Convenience Store

CEO of Proactive Health Solutions Dr Fundile Nyati says vaping is not as safe as people think.

The world is observing World No Tobacco Month.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and its global partners dedicated the month of May annually to raise awareness of the harmful and deadly effects of tobacco use.

Speaking to Gugs Mhlungu, CEO of Proactive Health Solutions Dr Fundile Nyati says quitting smoking is one of the most difficult things one can do.

Quitting smoking is one of the most difficult things that people embark on many people want to stop but are unable to.

The big issue is nicotine which is one of the chemicals that are in cigarettes. There are plus minutes 7,000 chemicals in cigarettes but nicotine is very very addictive.

Nyati says some people have moved to vaping with the assumption that it's safer yet it is not.

Some people have died as a result of vaping and some people have been admitted to hospital but what they found is that it's people who have modified these gadgets used in vaping.

What has been found is that vaping and even the hubbly are now being seen as a gateway to actual smoking.

Listen to the full interview below:

This article first appeared on 702 : World No Tobacco Month: 'Quitting smoking is the most difficult thing'

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World No Tobacco Month: 'Quitting smoking is the most difficult thing' - CapeTalk

80% of Malaysians are in favour of having the local vape industry regulated by authorities.

Following his attendance at the recent virtual Global Tobacco & Nicotine Forum (GTNF) 2021, Fi explained that Malaysia needs to look for innovative solutions to manage the local high smoking rates. This is where tobacco harm reduction (THR) can be particularly beneficial, as it would allow smokers to switch to less harmful alternatives in their journey to quit completely, he said.

A recent survey has indicated that 80% of Malaysians, are in favour of having the local vape industry regulated by authorities. Earlier in 2021, the Malaysian Vape Chamber of Commerce (MVCC) had called onto the Malaysian government to set in place appropriate regulations on nicotine-containing e-liquids. He said that amongst other things, this move would have a positive effect on the local economy by creating more jobs and attracting foreign direct investment (FDI).

The findings show that there are more than 3,300 businesses related directly to the vape industry, with a workforce of more than 15,000 workers, said the MVCC on launching its Malaysian Vaping Industry report.

MVCC president Syed Azaudin Syed Ahmad, said that the report findings show that the sector is a viable and growing industry in Malaysia, and that it has facilitated the growth of local entrepreneurs. In addition, the Malaysian vape industry currently has an established ecosystem comprising manufacturers, importers and retailers, and a growing distribution and logistics network, he said.

And a recent poll has indicated that the public is of the same opinion. Titled Malaysian Insights & Perspectives on Vape, the poll was commissioned by the Malaysian Vape Industry Advocacy (MVIA) and conducted by market research firm Green Zebras. The compiled responses indicated that 76% of the respondents agree that the Malaysian economy would benefit from regulating the products.

Moreover, 87% agreed on a vape tax and 74% think that the government could spend the collected revenue on areas of importance, such as education and the economy. Recent reports from local industry groups already confirmed that the vape industry has significant potential to contribute to the Malaysian economy with capabilities to create jobs, develop existing businesses and SMEs (small and medium enterprises) within the industry, and attract investments, said MVIA president Rizani Zakaria.

Meanwhile Malaysias health minister Khairy Jamaluddin has recently announced a banon the sales of cigarettes and safer nicotine alternative products to anyone born in 2005 or beyond. The plan was released at the 150th session of the World Health Organizations (WHO) executive board meeting where Jamaluddin said the hope is that the legislation is finalized this year and that it would bring about a generation endgame to smoking.

In response to the announcement countless international public health experts wrote to Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob warning him that such a measure would eventually just create a large black marketand just fuel the illicit trade of the products.

In the letter, academics and tobacco harm reduction experts David Abrams, Clive Bates, Ray Niaura andDavid Sweanor,said that prohibitionist approaches may have unintended consequences. We hope the government will consider the limitations and likely unintended consequences of prohibition measures. We hope ministers will consider the alternative approach of risk-proportionate regulation based on MPOWER and tobacco harm reduction.

Read Further: The Star

Malaysia Reminded The Importance of Sensible Vape Laws to Reduce Tobacco Harm

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Much Needed Tobacco Harm Reduction Approaches in Malaysia - Vaping Post

EFUMA - YOUR NUMBER ONE VAPING SUPPLIER

Efuma is an online wholesale store that is dedicated to the sale of e-cigarettes and e-liquids to all stores offering vaping equipment and accessories to their customers.

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Are you in doubt if the product is legal to sell in your country? You can easily browse wholesale products that are legal in your country. Use our legal filter to ensure that you only order products that are allowed to be sold in your country.

efuma.com sells genuine and high-quality products manufactured by trusted brands that is bound to make great products and to ensure best vaping experience.

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We pride ourselves as a top online shop seller to bring the best products such as Clearomizers, Batteries, MODS, Coils, Starter Kits, and many others that is pertaining to vaping and even tools, accessories, and Do-it-yourself (DIY) e-cigarette products.

Our goal is to provide our customers with high quality products at best market prices and an excellent customer service experience.

Efuma offers you alternatives to traditional smoking as well as a multitude of options for regular vapers.

Efuma strives to be the preferred one-stop-solution and regulatory expert hence the leading distributor of vaping products in Europe.

Efuma wants to be a trusted partner in the European vaping market and consistently deliver top-class compliant products & services for all our customers; big or small.

Excerpt from:

efuma.com

How does nicotine in e-cigarettes affect young brains? Researchers are teasing out answers. Research on young mice and rats shows how nicotine hijacks brain systems involved in learning, memory, impulse control and addiction. Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

How does nicotine in e-cigarettes affect young brains? Researchers are teasing out answers. Research on young mice and rats shows how nicotine hijacks brain systems involved in learning, memory, impulse control and addiction.

The link between vaping and severe lung problems is getting a lot of attention.

But scientists say they're also worried about vaping's effect on teenage brains.

"Unfortunately, the brain problems and challenges may be things that we see later on down the road," says Nii Addy, associate professor of psychiatry and cellular and molecular physiology at Yale School of Medicine.

Potential problems include attention disorders like ADHD, impulse control issues and susceptibility to substance abuse.

There's no easy way to study precisely what nicotine is doing in a teenager's brain. But research on young animals shows that nicotine can interfere with processes that are critical to memory, learning, focus, impulse control and brain development.

"It's unfortunate that a whole generation of teenagers are basically guinea pigs for the effects of nicotine in the brain," says Frances Leslie, professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of California, Irvine.

Leslie says the problem is that nicotine mimics acetylcholine, an important chemical messenger in the brain. So nicotine is able to fool brain cells that have something called a nicotinic receptor.

Unfortunately, she says, "those parts of the brain that are actively maturing during adolescence are being actively controlled by nicotinic receptors."

Nicotine also acts on the brain's dopamine system, which plays a role in desire, pleasure, reward and impulse control.

It's still not clear what tweaking the dopamine system does to the brain of an adolescent human.

But in young mice, Leslie says, the result is alarming. "A very brief, low-dose exposure to nicotine in early adolescence increases the rewarding properties of other drugs, including alcohol, cocaine, methamphetamine and these are long-term changes," she says.

Of course, nicotine-vaping products also contain lots of other substances, including flavors like bubblegum and pink lemonade. And Addy wonders whether these flavors might offer a dopamine kick of their own.

"If both nicotine and flavors are both acting on this same dopamine system in the brain," he says, "is that somehow facilitating and making it more likely that people will take products that have both flavors and nicotine?"

So Addy and a team of researchers studied rats that drank plain and flavored liquids containing nicotine.

"What we found is that the sweet flavors can make the nicotine more palatable in the oral cavity," he says, "but also act in the brain to increase nicotine taking."

This effect is especially troubling in a teenage brain, Addy says, which is more sensitive than an adult brain to rewards.

Animal research by another Yale University scientist suggests that vaping during adolescence can lead to long-term brain changes, like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Addy says.

"If there's exposure to nicotine early on, that can influence attentional processes later in life," he says.

So what might help reduce teen vaping?

One approach is to ban flavored products, something that was proposed by the Trump administration in September.

And if the ban happens, it could reduce the number of new vapers, says Janet Audrain-McGovern, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania.

Research shows that "if the first e-cigarette that you used was flavored, then you're more likely to go on and use an e-cigarette again," Audrain-McGovern says.

Another promising approach is to make nicotine-vaping products more expensive. When taxes forced up the price of tobacco products, Audrain-McGovern says, the number of young customers declined.

Finally, Audrain-McGovern thinks it should be harder for teenagers to buy vaping products online.

At the moment, many vaping websites simply ask visitors if they are underage before allowing a sale.

"I don't think it's that difficult to click the box that you're 18 or you're 21 and, if you have a credit card, to get those products," Audrain-McGovern says.

In August, Juul Labs launched a program that offers incentives to retailers that implement an age-verification system for customers.

But some measures that helped discourage smoking probably won't work as well against vaping, Audrain-McGovern says. For example, studies suggest that physically active teens are less likely than their peers to smoke but no less likely to vape.

Another challenge is that it's hard for scientists and regulators to keep up with the rapid pace of change in the vaping world.

"Teens who maybe four years ago were using predominately vape pens are now using Juul and some of the pod mods," Audrain-McGovern says.

And those newer products are designed to deliver higher levels of nicotine to the brain. More nicotine makes the products more addictive.

Link:

Vaping Nicotine And The Teenage Brain : Shots - Health ...

Following the recent enactment of federal legislation clarifying the authority of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate all tobacco products, including those containing synthetic nicotine, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ)wrote to four leading vaping companies that sell synthetic nicotine products to request information regarding the health and safety of their products.The Chairman also asked each of the companies about their plans to comply with federal regulation, details on their marketing practices, and their role in the promotion of vaping and nicotine use by kids and teens.

In the letters, Pallone notes the companies have appeared to target younger audiences when marketing their products. For example, an ad from Puff Bar marketed itself as the perfect escape from theparental texts; 7 Daze released a range of fruity flavors using synthetic nicotine salts; VaporSalon recently advertised an in-store pizza party for anyone, including people under 21; and a post on Daddys Vapors Instagram states, musical education leads to better test scores with hashtags solely related to vaping.

Given the well-established health consequences of nicotine addiction, I am concerned by the proliferation of synthetic nicotine products like yours when so little is known about the specific consequences of their use.I also remain deeply troubled by the evident influence of your products on youth use of e-cigarettes, Pallone wrote.The rapid increase of adolescents using these products is alarming in its similarity to the early tactics of other tobacco companies that contributed to the emergence of the youth vaping epidemic.

Pallone also raised concerns that prior to enactment of legislation clarifying FDAs authority to regulate synthetic nicotine products, the four companies appeared to be attempting to circumvent agency regulation by selling so-called tobacco-free synthetic nicotine products rather than tobacco-derived nicotine. In the letters, Pallone noted that Puff Bar co-CEO Patrick Beltran claimed, It's well known that this product [synthetic nicotine] is not under the FDA jurisdiction, and VaporSalon posted on its company Facebook page that it switched to synthetic tobacco-free nicotine to be outside of the FDAs regulations.

As FDA continues its ongoing efforts to ensure that the products on the market have been authorized for the protection of public health, your company appears to have been intentionally skirting regulatory authority by using synthetic nicotine instead of tobacco-derived nicotine, Pallone continued.In light of the omnibuss recent clarification of FDAs regulatory authority over all tobacco products, including those containing synthetic nicotine and to address the concerns I have outlined above, please provide the following requested information, as well as a briefing by April 5, 2022.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an alarming rise in the rate of youth using disposable e-cigarette products.According to the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions 2021 National Youth Tobacco Study (NYTS), more than two million high school and middle school students reported using e-cigarettes in the last 30 days, with more than half using disposable devices.Flavored e-cigarettes are the primary driver of the shift to disposable vaping products among adolescents.In 2020, approximately 85 percent of adolescents using e-cigarettes exclusively used flavored products, and those numbers remained virtually unchanged in 2021.

Pallone has long been a champion of protecting youth from the harms of tobacco usage.As Chairman, Pallone has led Committee efforts to address the youth vaping crisis, including: launching aninquiryin August 2019 on the impact of e-cigarettes on adolescents; holding ahearingin February 2020 on e-cigarette manufacturers impact on public health; and authoringlegislationto address the youth tobacco epidemic, including language clarifying FDAs authority over synthetic nicotine, whichpassedthe House in February 2020.

Last week, President Biden signed H.R. 2471, the bipartisan and bicameral omnibus appropriations and Ukraine supplemental package, into law, which contained the provision championed by Pallone clarifying FDAs authority to regulate synthetic nicotine products.:

As part of the inquiry, Chairman Pallone requested answers to a series of questions, including the following:

The full letter to each company is available below:

7 Daze

Daddys Vapor

Puff Bar

VaporSalon

###

Read more:

Pallone Questions Vaping Companies Over Marketing of Synthetic Nicotine Products to Teens - Energy and Commerce Committee

More adolescents failed to quit smoking in 2020 than in any of the previous 13 years, according to new data published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. 2020 was the first year the research team had data on attempts to quit e-cigarettes, and it showed that around 4 percent of adolescents unsuccessfully attempted to quit e-cigarettes.

E-cigarettes have been pushed to adult smokers as an alternative to traditional, combustible cigarettes some evidence shows they might be less dangerous, and theres mixed evidence that they could push adults to quit smoking altogether. But the picture might be different for teens, who started vaping in droves in 2018 and are far less likely to be cigarette smokers first. The new analysis shows that for younger people, the introduction of e-cigarettes made quitting more difficult.

The new study includes data from the Monitoring the Future study, which surveys eighth, 10th, and 12th grade students. It includes a question asking the participants if they had ever tried to stop smoking and found that they could not. In 2020, it added a question asking if theyd ever tried to stop vaping nicotine and found that they could not. From 1997 to 2019, the survey found that the number of students who reported using cigarettes and the percent of adolescents estimated to have tried and failed to quit smoking both dropped.

But in 2020, those numbers popped back up. More students reported smoking cigarettes, and the analysis estimated that around 2 percent tried and failed to quit smoking. Combined with the 4 percent who tried and failed to quit vaping, the paper found that just under 6 percent of adolescents had unsuccessfully tried to quit using nicotine products that year.

The data comes as the Food and Drug Administration continues to try and create e-cigarette and vaping policies that benefit adult smokers while limiting their use by kids and teenagers. The contribution of e-cigarettes to unsuccessful nicotine quit attempts among adolescents is substantial and warrants consideration as the US formulates policies to regulate e-cigarettes, the authors of the new paper wrote.

The agency is still reviewing applications from some e-cigarette companies, despite having a September 2021 deadline to tell companies if they can keep products on the market. So far, it has authorized tobacco-flavored products from one company and rejected over 200 others. It has yet to rule on Juul, the company most tightly linked to kids and vaping.

Read more from the original source:

Teens are struggling to quit smoking and vaping - The Verge

Vaping increases your risk of diabetes.

That is the contention of a new study by a team of scientists at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Maryland. They analyzed data from 600,000 Americans and they say their findings, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, show a clear link between e-cigarette use and high blood sugar.

Should vapers be worried? Absolutely not.

This study is just the latest in a long line of alarmist reports that seem intent on convincing us that, one way or another, vaping is much more dangerous than we first thought. The issue of vaping has become so intensely politicized that the so-called science swirling around it is nothing more than a pool of harmful disinformation.

The sheer volume of ailments supposedly caused by vaping is staggering. In just the last few months, separate studies from reputable research institutions have claimed to discover some as-yet-unknown link between e-cigarettes and cancer,stress, gum disease, dry eye and even erectile dysfunction. The methodology behind these studies has been shown up for its fundamental flaws time and time again, but the world of public health science continues to churn them out.

What next? Will we soon be told that vaping is single-handedly responsible for obesity and Alzheimers too? Dont bet against it. The immensely powerful anti-vaping lobby will stop at nothing to villainize electronic cigarettes, even if that means citing them as the cause of every public health issue they can shake a stick at.

We dont have to search very hard to understand why. Like so many that went before it, the new Johns Hopkins study alleging a connection between vaping and diabetes bears the name of Michael Bloomberg. Vaping alarmism is unscientific and transparently political, and Bloomberg is the man behind a great deal of it.

In 2019, Bloomberg Philanthropies launched a new program designed to combat what it called the youth e-cigarette epidemic, backed up by a whopping $160 million of funding. Since then, Bloomberg has effectively positioned himself at the epicenter of the anti-vaping lobby. His fellow travelers on this venture include the World Health Organization, whose Tobacco Free Initiative project boasts Bloomberg Philanthropies as a partner.

Ironically, that project spends most of its time and resources bashing e-cigarettes and issuing diktats to governments around the world to crack down on vaping, despite them being tobacco-free. And that is precisely the problem with alarmism and misinformation around vaping: it is based on politics rather than science.

The conflation of vaping and smoking by Bloomberg, the WHO and countless other organizations is actively dangerous. The science on this is crystal clear that vaping is much healthier than smoking. It is around 200 times less likely to give you cancer. (And no, it does not cause erectile dysfunction.)

Crucially, vaping is not just healthier than smoking it is also the silver bullet that helps people escape the harms of tobacco. Electronic cigarettes are by far the most effective tool we have ever discovered for helping people quit smoking traditional cigarettes. When smokers use vaping to quit, they are successful approximately three-fourths of the time. Thats a much higher success rate than using nicotine patches, going cold turkey, or indeed any other method of quitting.

Across the world, people are quitting smoking en masse. They are spontaneously making the choice to adopt a healthier lifestyle. But quitting smoking is not easy. It is an addiction, after all. If we believe in freedom of choice and agree that people who want to quit smoking should be able to do so, the best course of action is to make freely available all the information and resources smokers will need to move on from cigarettes. Vaping is an indispensable part of that.

But thanks in large part to Bloomberg and the World Health Organization, thats the opposite of what is happening. Vaping is shrouded in misinformation and more and more governments and regulatory agencies around the world are bringing the hammer down on vaping. It is doing immeasurable damage to public health and our most basic liberties.

Original post:

Anti-Vaping Study With Bloomberg's Name on It InsideSources - InsideSources

Friday 25 March 2022 by Mark Molloy

A man discreetly vaping on a bus has definitely got away without anybody noticing, by only blowing out gently downwards towards his legs.

Simon Williams, who also vapes in the pub using exactly the same discreet method emerged from a thick cloud of smoke earlier to get off a bus without anyone noticing that he had been vaping throughout his journey.

Speaking earlier he told us, Youve just got to blow it slightly downwards, and cover the vape with your hand.

I got on the bus earlier for the eight minute journey to work, and realised that I hadnt had a puff on my vape since just before the bus arrived at the bus stop.

So I had to have a sneaky little puff or two because I had a good six minutes before I was getting off the bus and I couldnt possibly wait that long.

As long as you cup the vape in your hand and blow out the tons and tons of thick smoke very gently when you exhale then nobody has a clue youre doing it its an absolute piece of piss.

I tend to look out of the window too, whilst blowing the smoke the other way and I just look totally innocent. Nobody says a word.

Well to be honest I cant actually see anybody else on the bus I cant see my hand in front of my face -but I assume they have no idea anyone is vaping because its a really clever way of doing it.

Go here to read the rest:

Man secretly vaping on the bus definitely 'getting away with it' - NewsThump

A quarter of adults who vape regularly picked up the habit during the pandemic, and many are smoking too, according to a new Morning Consult survey that comes as health regulators prepare to rein in e-cigarette manufacturers amid a surge in sales but a dip in tobacco use and vaping rates.

Policymakers have been playing cat-and-mouse with e-cigarette manufacturers for years. In 2020, following public outcry over a surge in youth vaping and an outbreak of mysterious lung illnesses that were ultimately tied to vaping THC the Food and Drug Administration stepped up its enforcement on vape makers. This month, meanwhile, Congress plugged a loophole in those rules that allowed some manufacturers to evade FDA regulation by using synthetic nicotine rather than nicotine derived from tobacco.

E-cigarette sales have exploded over the past four years, even as U.S. vaping rates jumped and then more recently began to trend downward, including among teenagers. The estimated share of high schoolers who vape, for example, fell from 27.5% in 2019 to 11.3% in 2021, when many schools were still facing disruptions from COVID-19, meaning those rates may not be directly comparable. Meanwhile, 3.7% of adults vaped in 2020, down slightly from the year before.

The new findings offer some clues on the apparent paradox, in addition to shedding light on public perceptions of vaping as an alternative to smoking traditional cigarettes. Among adults who vape regularly and started doing so before the pandemic, 37% said they use e-cigarettes more now than before the COVID-19 crisis began, and another 48% are vaping the same amount.

The survey underscores the importance for FDA to assert its jurisdiction regulating the product, how its marketed and what consumers are informed, said Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, an anti-smoking advocacy group.

Further, while the vaping industry says their products are smoking cessation tools and indeed, Juul Labs Inc. has tried to clean up its image after facing a flurry of lawsuits claiming it targeted children by using fruity flavors and snappy marketing the survey shows the public isnt buying it.

Adults reported similar views of traditional and e-cigarettes, with roughly 7 in 10 saying they have an unfavorable view of both. Meanwhile, the public was most likely to say vapes and cigarettes are equally harmful to peoples health, at 52%, with another 16% saying e-cigarettes are worse and 14% saying traditional cigarettes are worse.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, people who use e-cigarettes regularly (at least once per week) were more likely to say vapes arent as bad for ones health as traditional cigarettes.

E-cigarettes have some promise as a smoking alternative, but they arent some incredibly powerful magic bullet, said Eric Lindblom, a former official at the FDAs Center for Tobacco Products who is now a senior scholar at the Georgetown University Law Centers ONeill Institute for National and Global Health Law.

Public Most Likely to Say Cigarettes, Vapes Are Equally Harmful

Survey conducted March 18-21, 2022, among a representative sample of 2,211 U.S. adults, with an unweighted margin of error of +/-2 percentage points. Figures may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

A third of regular vapers said they also use tobacco cigarettes more than five times daily, while 40% used e-cigarettes that frequently. Just 10% of regular smokers, meanwhile, said they vape at least five times per day.

Regular smokers also had a stronger preference for cigarettes over vapes (66%) than regular vapers had for e-cigarettes over traditional cigarettes (41%).

For smokers trying to quit, e-cigarettes are meant as a complete substitute. But some people become users of both vapes and cigarettes, and research shows they may struggle to eventually wean themselves from e-cigarettes that contain nicotine.

Were all concerned about the failure of the government to institute proper regulation, and then properly communicate about risks, Myers said.

The broader public maintains a sour view of teens relationship with vaping. Nearly 3 in 4 adults are concerned about claims that vape manufacturers target their products to young people, and 72% said the companies are responsible for youth vaping on par with the 74% who said the parents of schoolchildren are to blame.

3 in 4 Adults Blame Parents for Teen Vaping

Survey conducted March 18-21, 2022, among a representative sample of 2,211 U.S. adults, with an unweighted margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.

Adults cast the blame widely, though, with another 66% saying the FDA is at fault.

Blaming parents is sad. The manufacturers in the industry, the retailers who sell to kids, they really deserve a massive lions share of blame for this problem, Lindblom said. The FDA, meanwhile, didnt cause the problem; they just didnt stop it fast and firmly, an issue he said was due to bureaucratic and political hurdles during the Obama and Trump administrations.

E-cigarette manufacturers will soon see if a jury agrees. After settling multimillion-dollar lawsuits in Arizona and North Carolina, Juul will face trial this summer on claims that it deliberately marketed its products to children. The company launched a massive public relations blitz when such accusations first emerged, pulling most flavors except for menthol, which the FDA is now considering banning from shelves in late 2018.

Not all vape makers are eager to play by the rules, though, and experts have warned that theyre likely to find other regulatory workarounds. In July 2020, for example, the FDA told Puff Bar to take its flavored vaping products off the market but the company resumed sales in February 2021, this time using synthetic nicotine, and quickly became the No. 1 vape brand among young people.

That phenomenon prompted Congress recent decision to bring synthetic nicotine under FDAs purview. And the survey shows the public is on board with tighter regulation: Two in 3 adults said the FDA should advance its efforts to limit the production of flavored e-cigarette products. Support for state-level legal action also enjoys majority support.

E-cigarette manufacturers, for over a decade, have done everything they can to delay regulation and evade regulation, Myers said. Its critically important that FDA be vigilant in enforcing the law and acting quickly when they see e-cigarette manufacturers find new ways to appeal to kids.

Juul, Puff Bar and the FDA did not respond to requests for comment.

Excerpt from:

Vaping Rates Have Fallen. But a Quarter of E-Cigarette Users Started During the Pandemic - Morning Consult