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- Category: October 2021
E-cigarettes could be prescribed on the NHS in England to help people stop smoking tobacco products, as Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid welcomed the latest step forward in the licensing process for manufacturers.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is publishing updated guidance that paves the way for medicinally licensed e-cigarette products to be prescribed for tobacco smokers who wish to quit smoking.
Manufacturers can approach the MHRA to submit their products to go through the same regulatory approvals process as other medicines available on the health service.
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- Category: October 2021
Foundation for a Smoke-Free World [...] announced that Dr. Derek Yach will no longer serve as President and Board Director. Heidi Goldstein, General Counsel, and David Janazzo, CFO and EVP of Operations and Finance, will serve as Interim Co-Presidents, effective immediately, while the Board conducts a search for a new President to lead the foundation and its vital mission forward.
“After careful consideration, the Board has determined that now is the right time for a new leader to guide the essential efforts of the Foundation, its team and its work with partners around the world,” said Pamela Parizek, Chair of the Foundation’s Board of Directors.
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- Category: October 2021
Doctors in England would be the first in the world to adopt medically licensed vaping devices to save lives. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said: “This has the potential to tackle the stark disparities in smoking rates across the country.” Guidance setting out steps manufacturers must follow to submit products for approval are published today by The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
If a vaping device is given the green light, doctors would then be able to decide whether a patient could benefit from a prescription.
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- Category: October 2021
The experts support a paper by leading British anti-tobacco campaigner Clive Bates, former director of anti-smoking campaign group ASH. He believes that as many as eight million people a year could be saved if they were encouraged to switch to safer vaping alternatives. Mr Bates has pointed to evidence that shows e-cigarettes are 95 per cent safer than traditional smoking alternatives, and greatly reduce the risk of cancer and other health problems.
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- Category: October 2021
As anyone who is involved in drug policy can tell you, Afghanistan wasn't really America's longest war. That shady honor belongs to the war on drugs, which has been waged at the state, local, and federal levels for well over a century, even before President Richard Nixon officially declared in 1971 that he was starting "an all-out offensive" on the "drug abuse" he called "America's public enemy number one." Yet it's obvious that the drug war is in fact winding down. In the 1990s, medical marijuana was legalized in various states. Now 16 states have legalized recreational marijuana, with more to come. [...]
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- Category: October 2021
Repeated lockdowns and pandemic restrictions failed to dampen drug use this year, with a rising number of young Australians using cocaine despite the closure of nightlife and an increase in the party drug’s price tag.
Eighty per cent of regular drug users reported taking the $350-per-gram stimulant in 2021, up from 68 per cent last year, marking the highest proportion since monitoring began 18 years ago.
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- Category: October 2021
Triton Distribution can continue selling its flavored e-cigarettes, a federal appeals court has ruled, despite the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's decision to the contrary.
In a unanimous opinion on Tuesday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that when the FDA last month denied the Richardson, Texas-based company's application to sell its products, the agency did not give adequate consideration to Triton's marketing plan to reduce the products' appeal to youth.
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- Category: October 2021
Evidence on the efficacy of harm reduction products like e-cigarette is incontrovertible, said speakers at a webinar on Thursday. [...] Michael Landl said that "Progressive countries are implementing vaping regulations. If Bangladesh implements the regulation for vaping, it could be 6 million people who could switch to vaping than smoking cigarettes as per our calculation."
"Vapes are at least 95% safer than the traditional combustible tobacco, according to the Public Health England. It's not the nicotine that kills people, but it's the tar from smoking, the speakers said while replying questions.", he said.
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- Category: October 2021
New research from UBC Okanagan shows that gradual nicotine reduction is key to helping e-cigarette users quit. "Vaping has become a popular global phenomenon, with more than 40 million users worldwide. Despite this growth in popularity, many current vapers admit they want to quit, particularly young Canadians. In fact, over 60 per cent of youth-;ages 15 to 19-;who vape reported trying to quit in the last year. Our study is the first to use the social media forum, Reddit, to find out how they are breaking this habit and how they can be best supported." Dr. Laura Struik, [...] lead researcher of the study
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- Category: October 2021
Adults in Luxembourg will be permitted to grow up to four cannabis plants in their homes or gardens under laws that will make it the first country in Europe to legalise production and consumption of the drug.
The announcement on Friday by Luxembourg’s government was said to deliver fundamental changes in the country’s approach to recreational cannabis use and cultivation in light of the failure of prohibition to deter use.
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- Category: October 2021
Kicking a smoking habit at any age reduces the risk of dying from lung cancer, but smokers who quit as young adults significantly lower their risk of dying from lung and other tobacco-related cancers, new data shows.
In a study involving more than 400,000 Americans, the rate of cancer death among smokers – especially from lung cancer – was three times higher than nonsmokers. But smokers who quit by age 45 reduced their excess risk by 89%. And those who managed to kick the habit by age 35 completely eliminated it.
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- Category: October 2021
On October 20, My Vape Order (MVO) petitioned a federal court of appeals for “an emergency motion for a stay pending a review and for expedited consideration” on the company’s vapor products that have been removed from the market.
In early September, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had issued a marketing denial order for MVO’s products. Like all other vape companies in the United States, MVO had until September 2020 to file premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) to be able to keep selling its vapes and e-liquids; the FDA, in turn, had until September 2021 to review the PMTAs.
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- Category: October 2021
A push to outlaw the sale of flavored smoking products in Denver has drawn Big Tobacco, mom-and-pop vape shops, hookah lounges, health care providers and social justice advocates into a fight over public health, business rights and the freedom of choice.
The proposal under consideration by the Denver City Council is becoming one of the most intensely debated issues in City Hall in recent years, with public health advocates saying a ban would help end the teen vaping crisis while the opposition argues the city would be going too far in restricting access to products that adults have a right to use.
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- Category: October 2021
Mental health problems are common among adults who smoke cigarettes and those with substance use disorders, illustrating a need for treating smoking and mental health problems together, according to a new study by Indiana University. The research, done in conjunction with other universities, found mental health problems were more than twice as common among adults with substance use disorder who smoke cigarettes compared to those without substance use disorder who do not smoke cigarettes.
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- Category: October 2021
In a bid to mitigate the risk factors and other hazards associated with smoking tobacco (cigarettes), Phillip Morris International (PMI) has embarked on a public sensitisation on e-cigarettes (a safer alternative smoke-free heated tobacco products (HTPs) to make over one billion tobacco adult smokers across the globe switch to a non-combustible tobacco smoking. This, according to PMI, was geared towards reducing smoke-related chronic diseases caused by different chemicals and other toxicants being inhaled by smoking tobacco with combustion which is responsible for many deaths.
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- Category: October 2021
Last week, the US Food and Drug Administration authorized the sale of e-cigarette products for the first time ever. The American Lung Association expressed displeasure, saying they are "dismayed" by the authorization.
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- Category: October 2021
The US Food and Drug Administration recently approved the marketing of e-cigarettes, reigniting a debate around the world, including in India, on whether the ban on e-cigarettes and vaping is justified.
Multiple groups in India have hailed this approval as an acceptance of the notion that vaping is a suitable alternative to smoking and in the best interest of public health. Those in favour of vaping have argued that it is a good tobacco alternative that will help people quit smoking. Those still opposed to the idea have contended that it is more dangerous than other tobacco alternatives, [...]
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- Category: October 2021
Tampa-based GOP House Rep. Jackie Toledo says that she was "shocked" recently after she went into a retail store in Tampa that sells e-cigarettes and didn't see any signs informing the public that it’s now illegal for anyone 21 and under to purchase vaping products in the Sunshine State. “I know that they were selling to minors because someone had told me that they had purchased something there and I wanted to make sure that they would comply,” says Toledo, who co-sponsored legislation during the 2021 session that raised the legal age to buy tobacco and nicotine products in Florida from 18 to 21, complying with federal law.
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- Category: October 2021
On October 22, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) put Fumizer’s flavored vaping products back under review—rescinding the denial it had issued in September. [...]
In early September, the FDA issued a marketing denial order (MDO) for Fumizer’s flavored vaping products. The company, like all others in the United States, had until September 2020 to file a premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) in order for its vapes and e-liquids to remain on the marketplace. The FDA, in turn, had until September 2021 to look over the PMTAs, which companies had to submit for every single product they wanted to keep selling.
Hong Kong bans sale of e-cigarettes and other heated tobacco products but personal use still allowed
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- Category: October 2021
Lawmakers passed a long-delayed bill on Thursday banning the import and sale of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products in Hong Kong, delivering a major victory for health activists and educators who have blamed the devices for encouraging smoking among young people.
While the new law targets the local business of vaping, people will still be free to use the gadgets, prompting some politicians to call for more aggressive measures to curb tobacco use, including banning smoking in all public places except for designated areas. [...]