Tobacco Asia

Volume 19, Number 3

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36 tobaccoasia E-CIGARETTE NEWS 电子烟新闻 WHO SAID WHAT? of quitting smoking," said Ann McNeill, a professor at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King's College London who was involved in both studies, told reporters. Dr Leonie Brose, lead author of the first study, from the IoPPN at King's College London, said: "E-cigarettes are still a relatively new product, so this study adds important information about what happens when they are used alongside tobacco cigarettes. We already know that using an e-cigarette in an attempt to quit smoking increases the chances of success compared to quitting without any support. This study did not test how helpful they are as quitting aids… [b]ut it is encouraging to see that even then, regular e-cigarette use was linked to reduced numbers of lethal cigarettes smoked and increased attempts to quit smoking in the follow- ing year." The second study extended this by looking at not only how often e-ciga- rettes were used but also what types were used, measured for the first time at follow up in 2013. Bill on Child-resistant E-liquids A bill that would mandate child-resistant packaging and warning labels on liquids used with electronic-cigarette vaporizers has been recently passed by the Senate. The primary sponsors of Senate Bill 286 are Sens. Stan Bingham, R-Davidson, and Don Davis, D-Pitt. The sponsors say the bill is endorsed by Reynolds Ameri- can Inc. and Lorillard Inc. The bill would enforce measures e-cigarette groups are already embracing. And it would help protect public health from bootleggers of e-cigarette-related products. The bill would ban the sale of any e-liquid product without the packaging and warning labels in North Carolina, the Journal's Richard Craver reported. It would take effect Dec. 1 if passed and signed into law. Violators could be charged with a Class Al misdemeanor charge. The bill deals with the liquid-nicotine capsules. It would require child-resistant packaging that would make it "signifi- cantly difficult" for children under the age of five to open these capsules. Safety warnings would have to be consistent with rules adopted by the N.C. Commis- sion for Public Health. "Heightened concern has been expressed about the safety of e-liquids, particularly by a group of seven US Senate Democrats, since the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report in 2014 that found a higher level of poisoning events for children, particularly those under age 5," Craver wrote. Bingham said: "We're concerned about the bootleggers of these liquids who are selling product without warning labels, either from recipes they make themselves or they get from suppliers." This bill followed another step the legislature took in 2013, when it added vapor products such as e-cigs to a law prohibiting sales of tobacco to youths under 18 and requiring age verification for Internet sales. At least 24 states have passed similar laws. E-cig Use Triples According to The New York Times usage rates tripled among American middle and high school students from 2013 to 2014, and the product is now more popular with the demographic than traditional cigarettes. Thirteen percent of high school students nationwide use the vaporized cigarette substitute, according to recently released data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some teenagers say they are vaping, the term for using e-cigarettes, as a way to quit smoking, while others had never taken a puff before and are simply jumping on a trend seen as cool. The development has accompanied an accelerated decline in the use of cigarettes among teens, but health officials don't seem to notice this victory over tobacco. The appeal of e-cigarettes seems to be both their perceived advantages over smoking, such as fewer health risks and a lack of offensive odor, and the wide variety of flavors and devices that allows users to customize the habit to their own tastes. Vapers can choose from a range of sweet, candy-like flavors, such as berry menthol or one called Unicorn Puke, said to resemble a mix of Skittles. As the success of upstarts such as Lost Art Liquids, the makers of Unicorn Puke, shows, the industry is still highly fragmented, and the future of e-ciga- rettes may lie with small startups rather than large companies. An estimated 60% of vapor sales occur through untracked channels, and the vast majority of competitors are still small niche brands. The next few years should bring further consolidation to the industry, however, particularly as Food and Drug Administration regulations are also likely to create barriers to new entrants and promote consolidation. Large companies with big budgets will probably be the winner in this market over the long run. While it is unclear at this point which stocks are best positioned, the e-cigarette market represents a rare growth opportunity for tobacco investors who are already happily reaping healthy dividend payouts "For the record, I agree that it's wise to try to keep kids from getting hooked on any tobacco product. But a tobacco policy that ignores the comparative risk of vaping versus smoking cannot be considered a serious health-based policy. And a tobacco-related survey report that papers over the comparative risk of vap- ing versus smoking should have no place in a serious public health journal." - Dr. Peter Sandman, expert in risk communication

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