State of Smoking in Japan

The State of Smoking is designed to provide a snapshot of progress, challenges, and circumstances facing smokers as they struggle to quit and as we work to end smoking worldwide. We’ve examined the tobacco control environment, trends, and key data points in 13 countries and provided profiles for each (9 are also translated into native languages). We hope that the State of Smoking provides useful information to all those interested in smoking cessation, harm reduction, and ultimately ending smoking worldwide within our generation.

2020-02-19
youtube.com

My Friend Died Because of Philly’s Addiction-Treatment Smoking Ban

Beginning January 1, 2019, city public health officials implemented a ban on smoking at publicly funded addiction treatment programs (including outdoor spaces). Philadelphia ranks second among large US cities for overdose death rates. Advocates have long been concerned about the unintended consequences of this policy—namely, a rise in patients leaving treatment prematurely and increased barriers to their seeking treatment in the first place. "Every time we spoke, Bobby made it clear that he would not enter a treatment facility which prohibited smoking." Bobby explained that he had entered a treatment facility in March 2019, three months into the smoking ban. But he had left against medical advice because the struggle to abstain from opioids and nicotine simultaneously had proven too difficult. (...) Although replacing cigarettes with vapes would have been a good option for him, the Philadelphia treatment smoking ban, unconscionably, also extends to vaping.

2020-02-19
filtermag.org

American Heart Association Journal Finally Retracts Study Implying That E-Cigarettes Cause Heart Attacks Before People Use Them

Eight months after the Journal of the American Heart Association published a study implying that e-cigarettes magically cause heart attacks before people even try them, it has retracted the article. (...) Notwithstanding the evidence that vaping is much less hazardous than smoking, Glantz and Bhatta, an epidemiologist at the center, concluded that "e‐cigarettes should not be promoted or prescribed as a less risky alternative to combustible cigarettes and should not be recommended for smoking cessation among people with or at risk of myocardial infarction." But as University of Louisville tobacco researcher Brad Rodu pointed out last July, the analysis that Bhatta and Glantz ran included former smokers who had heart attacks before they started vaping. Once those subjects were excluded, Rodu and University of Louisville economist Nantaporn Plurphanswat found, the association described by (...)

2020-02-19
reason.com

Is It Legal to Vape Nicotine in Australia?

We explain the law about vaping nicotine in Australia and how to do it legally. "Under Australian law it is a criminal offence to possess liquid nicotine without a prescription from a registered Australian doctor. It is legal, however to use a vaporiser with nicotine-free e-liquid. However if you have a prescription from a doctor you're legally able to import (...)"

2020-02-19
youtube.com

FlySense: A New Technology Which Can Detect Vaping

FlySense is a new device which like a smoke detector can detect vaping byproducts in the air, making it an ideal tool for school teachers and administrators in order to fight vaping amongst students. Displayed at the National Conference on Education, the FlySense machine is manufactured by Soter Technologies. “We can determine if a flavor is in the air, if THC is in the air, or if nicotine is in the air,” says CEO Derek Peterson. “The device can determine what’s in the air, whether someone’s using a jewel pen, vaping, or an old fashioned e-cigarette, or a regular cigarette.” The installed device works by sending alerts to the cell phones of nearby teachers and administrators so they are able to take action. Peterson pointed out that they have already sold 7,000 FlySense devices around the country, amongst which 1,000 in California.

2020-02-19
vapingpost.com

Efforts to Combat E-Cigarette Misuse Could Backfire

Recent news about e-cigarette misuse has fueled both public misperception and policy responses that are likely to have unintended consequences. As the US vaping market continues to evolve, policymakers face the tricky challenge of safeguarding the potential for positive public health outcomes from e-cigarettes, which offer a lower-risk alternative to traditional cigarettes, while ensuring reasonable protections against youth use. Because e-cigarettes are a less harmful alternative to cigarettes, public health advocates and officials must appreciate the impact of e-cigarette restrictions on smokers. A number of recent studies indicate that cigarettes and e-cigarettes are substitutes, which means that policies that discourage e-cigarette use will lead to more smoking. A study released last July (Abouk et al. 2019) found that state-level e-cigarette taxes cause an increase in pre-pregnancy and prenatal cigarette smoking of about 6 percent. Higher prices for e-cigarettes lead to higher pre-pregnancy smoking rates. A paper from last December (...)

2020-02-19
realclearhealth.com