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University seeks heavy smokers for landmark study on e-cigarette safety

Feb 1st, 2017
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http://www.standard.co.uk/news/health/university-seeks-heavy-smokers-for-first-study-on-ecigarette-safety-a3455371.html

A university is seeking smokers to take part in the first study into the long-term safety of switching to e-cigarettes.

Researchers at St George’s, University of London, want to assess the impact on the risk of cancer, brain activity, and quality of life indicators such as sleep.

The pilot study, which is looking for 100 volunteers, is part of the EU’s £3.4 million Smoke Free Brain project.

It is being carried out with Public Health England and its results could help determine whether e-cigarettes are offered on the NHS as a smoking cessation aid.

E-cigarettes have been available for a decade and are used by 2.8 million UK adults.

A report last year from the Royal College of Physicians said the long-term risks of vaping were unlikely to exceed five per cent of those associated with smoking, and called for e-cigarettes to be promoted as a tobacco substitute.

However, PHE says “reasonable concerns” remain about the long-term health risks and public health impacts, with “variable” research and “poorly sourced scare stories” in the media.

There is no e-cigarette product available that can be prescribed on the NHS.

The study will require participants to attend a clinic at St George’s hospital, in Tooting, six times over a month to give blood, saliva and urine samples and undergo electroencephalography, a non-invasive brain monitoring tool.

Those taking part will be “heavy smokers” — more than 10 a day for at least six months. The study aims to find ways to help people quit for good.

Dr Alexis Bailey, senior lecturer in neuropharmacology at St George’s university, said: “We are looking for smokers who want to quit smoking and transition to e-cigarettes for a period of one month.

“E-cigarettes have proved enormously popular, partly because of the harm reduction compared with smoking traditional cigarettes.

However, there is still considerable debate in the scientific community over just how much safer they are and how good they are for smoking cessation.

It is imperative for us to look at the science behind this and get the full toxicological picture.”

The main objective is to monitor how the measures of toxicity change when people switch to e-cigarettes.

Although e-cigarette aerosol does not contain many of the harmful chemicals present in tobacco smoke, it does typically contain nicotine and other chemicals.

The first results are expected in a year. Dr Bailey said: “There are many studies looking at e-cigarette use in terms of smoking cessation and various respiratory disorders and cardiovascular disease.

“What is different from our study is nobody else has measured the effect of transitioning from smoking to e-cigarettes on various toxicity markers which could potentially induce cancer.

“We are expecting to see these markers quite elevated in chronic smokers, and once they transition to e-cigarettes, these carcinogenic markers to reduce.

“I think we are doing a very important study. It has the potential to drive policy.”

Dundee smokers needed for university’s vaping study

Jan 27th, 2017
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https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/local/dundee/358278/dundee-smokers-needed-universitys-vaping-study/

Smokers in Dundee are being recruited for a new study that will examine the potential health risks of vaping.

Researchers at Dundee University are looking for 135 volunteers who have been smoking for at least two years and who smoke more than 15 tobacco cigarettes a day, or the equivalent amount of rolling tobacco, for the vital research.

The effects of smoking on blood vessels will then be compared to the blood vessels of those who use e-cigarettes.

The VESUVIUS study is being funded by the British Heart Foundation who say more work is needed to understand the potential impact of vaping on heart and circulatory health.

Smokers who sign up for the study will be put into one of three possible treatment groups: continuing with tobacco cigarettes, switching to e-cigarettes with nicotine or e-cigarettes without nicotine.

Dr Jacob George, who is leading the study, said: “Many people are using e-cigarettes to help them stop smoking and they are sold on the principle that they’re a much safer alternative to traditional cigarettes because they don’t contain harmful substances like tobacco and tar.

“But just like traditional cigarettes, most of the do contain nicotine, which can be harmful to blood vessels.

“So it’s essential to know how much safer they really are, compared to tobacco cigarettes.”

Participants will have to make two visits to Ninewells Hosptial, four weeks apart. There, they will provide blood and breath samples as well as receiving a blood pressure check and undergoing a non-invasive ultrasound examination of blood vessels in their arm.

British Heart Foundation Scotland director James Cant said: “We all know that smoking tobacco raises our risk of suffering from cardiovascular disease.

“E-cigs have been hailed by some as a great way to help smokers quit but little is actually known about their impact on our heart and circulatory system. That’s why we’re delighted to funding this important research.”

Anyone who wants to take part should contact trial manager Pippa Hopkinson on 01382 383195 or 07850 540230.

New Study on Mental Illness and Cigarette Use

Jan 27th, 2017
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40% of smokers in the U.S. have been diagnosed with mental illness

http://www.myarklamiss.com/news/local-news/new-study-on-mental-illness-and-cigarette-use/646438209

Taking a drag or just a quick smoke break could be hazardous.

According to recent data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, cigarette use continues to be the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S.

“We have a tendency sometimes to not think of it as being as dangerous as things like cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, when in reality it kills more people than any illicit drug,” says treatment coordinator for the Northeast Delta Human Services Authority, Jean Hartzog.

In West Monroe, a tobacco summit was held as different groups gathered to search for new ways to end the addicting habit.

“We are an area that has a lot of need for this sort of thing, and it’s good to see all of these people coming together,” says cardiologist, Mark Napolli.

Organizers share important facts, saying 40% of smokers in the U.S. have been diagnosed with mental illness.

“Individuals with mental health difficulties die on the average, 25 years earlier than the general population, that’s a lot of years to give up,” says Hartzog.

E-cigs seem to be the popular alternative for smoking cigarettes, but specialists agree there has not been enough research to determine the dangers of this device. However, they do comment on the dangers of nicotine.

“The main active ingredient in the e cigarettes and the vaping is nicotine, and that is the same chemical that is in tobacco which is addicting and which can cause a lot of vascular complications as well as brain development impairment in younger people, says Napolli.

Organizers say, they hope to improve tobacco treatment through policy change and coalition building.

They leave one simple message for residents.

“76% of Louisianians don’t smoke, and you need to join them,” says Hartzog.

Whether it’s in treatment facilities, in the work place, or at home, organizers encourage everyone to stomp the habit for good.

E-cigarettes attracting more youths towards world of tobacco

Jan 23rd, 2017
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You might have thought e-cigarettes cut down tobacco consumption, but the reality is a bit different.

A study, by University of California- San Francisco,suggests that it actually attracts more youths towards tobacco consumption.

It has been published in Pediatrics.

Researchers from University Of California in the United States of America said they did not find any evidence of decline in the consumption of tobacco. In fact, the usage of e-cigarettes & cigarettes has gone higher among adolescents in 2014 compared to the numbers from 2009.

“We didn’t find any evidence that e-cigarettes are causing youth smoking to decline,” said lead author Lauren Dutra.

The analysis by the researchers also saw that section of youth who start smoking e-cigarettes are more likely to draw themselves in consuming traditional cigarettes in later part of their lives.

“While some of the kids using e-cigarettes were also smoking cigarettes, we found that kids who were at low risk of starting nicotine with cigarettes were using e-cigarettes,” Dutra said. “Recent declines in youth smoking are likely due to tobacco control efforts, not to e-cigarettes.”

In August 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, already restricted the purchase of e-cigarettes to adults aged 18 years and older. The FDA also directed to have a warning label on e-cigarettes which will start from August 2018.

The authors also said that there has been a decline in cigarette smoking youth but the decline has not been rapid after the advent of e-cigarettes in the U.S. between the years 2007 and 2009.

The authors performed an in-depth analysis of the psychological characteristics of the consumers of e-cigarettes. The research showed that the smokers tend to display some characteristics which non-smokers are less likely to show.

Characteristics like the tendency to live with a person who smokes or to wear clothing which displays tobacco product logo. The smokers in the national youth survey showed these characteristics, while the youth who were only using e-cigarettes displayed less of these qualities.

“E-cigarettes are encouraging – not discouraging – youth to smoke and to consume nicotine, and are expanding the tobacco market,” said senior author Stanton A. Glantz.

These new results are consistent with a similar study that took place in California last year by the researchers at the University of Southern California. The researchers also found that adolescents who consumed ecigarettes, but not traditional cigarettes have displayed less risk factors which were commonly found among cigarette smokers. (ANI)

Study finds high tobacco usage among students

Jan 23rd, 2017
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A total of 775 students (336 boys and 439 girls) of two schools in Kannur were subjected to study by the medical college.

http://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/diagnostics/study-finds-high-tobacco-usage-among-students/56731360

Thiruvananthapuram: In Kannur, over 70% of higher secondary school students begin tobacco consumption at a tender age of 15, while in rural Thiruvananthapuram tobacco sales near educational institutions is alarmingly high, finds a study, jointly carried out by Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) here and Kannur Medical College.

A total of 775 students (336 boys and 439 girls) of two schools in Kannur were subjected to study by the medical college. While 41% of the sample population got tobacco products from nearby shops, 27% of them got it from friends. According to 79% of students, it was “fairly easy” and “very easy” to obtain these products.

Dr Paul Sebastian and Dr R Jayakrishnan of RCC, who led the study in the rural parts of the state capital, presented a similarly bleak picture.

Nearly 19% of boys between 15 and 18 years use tobacco in any form. Of the 1,114 students of 10 random government schools surveyed, 7.4% were ‘ever users’, persons who have used tobacco at least once during the academic year.

The findings reflected the gravity of the issue and also underscored the expert opinion that called for measures to control the menace, said Shoba Koshy, chairperson of commission for protection of child rights.

Dr Elizabeth K E, president, Indian Academy of Pediatrics said, “The World Health Organisation has termed tobacco a global pediatric concern. Once initiated, it becomes very difficult to come off it; the key is to prevent it at a young age.”

Health Minister’s call to raise legal smoking age to 21 receives cloudy reviews

Jan 21st, 2017
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http://cfjctoday.com/article/556545/bc-health-ministers-call-raise-minimum-smoking-age-21-conversation-starter

It’s the number-one preventable form of death in B.C.

“You look at cancer, heart disease, other vascular strokes, they’re all related to smoking,” said BC Health Minister Terry Lake.

Earlier this week Lake tweeted the idea of raising the minimum legal smoking age in B.C from 19 to 21.

According to Lake, Hawaii, California, and more than 120 jurisdictions in the United States have already made the move.

“In a study, they looked at one jurisdiction where they had raised the age verses surrounding jurisdictions where it was a younger age,” said Lake. “There was a 47% reduction in smoking in high school students in the jurisdiction that had raised the minimum smoking age to 21.”

The current legal age to buy cigarettes across Canada varies.

Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec’s legal age is 18.

The rest of the provinces are 19.

While B.C has the lowest smoking rate at 14%, Interior Health Smoking Reduction Coordinator Jeff Connors says raising the legal smoking age to 21 could lower that number even further.

“85% of people who smoke for life start before 19 years of age, so that’s highschool,” said Connors. “I think by sending the message you’re not allowed to, it puts an onus on staff and consumption agencies that tobaccos is a bigger problem. It’s not 19 it’s 21 now, that’s a big difference, so it will reduce the availability to it.”

Along with increasing cigarette buying age, Connors says Health Canada is toying with the idea of making health warning signs larger and even more visible on cigarette packs in an effort to get more people to butt out.

“Looking at plain packaging is another piece, just to reduce the sexiness of the drug,” added Connors.

The majority of the people CFJT-TV spoke to in downtown Kamloops Friday say raising the cigarette buying age won’t deter smokers.

“It’s a bad idea. I see 12-year-old kids smoking, kids are going to still do it,” said one man.

“I think it’s a great idea, anything you can do to deter smokers,” said one woman.

“I don’t think it’s necessary. If a teen wants to smoke, he’s going to smoke,” said another man.

The Health Minister says there’s still plenty to discuss before any changes are made to the smoking market.

“We don’t want to have unintended consequences,” added Lake. “The black market is always something you have to consider when you put in policies like this. It really is just a conversation starter.”

E-cigarettes less harmful than tobacco, UVic study says

Jan 19th, 2017
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http://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/e-cigarettes-less-harmful-than-tobacco-uvic-study-says-1.7987974

E-cigarettes are a replacement for tobacco, not a gateway to it, according to a new study by the University of Victoria’s Centre for Addictions Research of B.C.

Researchers also found that vapour from e-cigarettes is less toxic than cigarette smoke, since it does not release tar.

The report, Clearing the Air, found that vapour emissions contain 18 of the 79 toxins found in cigarette smoke, including considerably lower levels of cancer-causing agents and volatile organic compounds. The vapour is airborne for less than 30 seconds compared to 18 to 20 minutes for tobacco smoke, which substantially reduces exposure to second-hand smoke.

“Fears of a gateway effect are unjustified and overblown,” said Marjorie MacDonald, the report’s lead investigator. “From a public-health perspective, it’s positive to see youth moving towards a less-harmful substitute to tobacco smoking.”

Evidence suggests that fewer young people are smoking tobacco, while use of vapour devices among youth has been increasing.

This is backed by data from the Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, which showed that in 2015, 26 per cent of Canadians aged 15 to 19 reported having tried an e-cigarette, an increase from 20 per cent in 2013.

Tim Stockwell, the centre’s director and co-principal investigator, said the public has been misled about the risks of e-cigarettes.

“Many people think they are as dangerous as smoking tobacco, but the evidence shows this is completely false,” Stockwell said.

Researchers found evidence that e-cigarettes could be as effective as other nicotine replacements to help cigarette smokers quit.

MacDonald said e-cigarettes have polarized the public health community, with some medical studies supporting them as a harm reduction tool and others claiming e-cigarettes increase the chances young people will become addicted to nicotine and pick up smoking.

MacDonald said it’s important to recognize the implicit bias in e-cigarette research. Some studies have been funded by the tobacco industry, which has a large stake in e-cigarettes.

In November, the federal government introduced legislation called the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act, aimed at keeping e-cigarettes out of the hands of children while allowing smokers access to a device that is healthier than tobacco products. The proposed legislation would ban the sale and promotion of all vaping products to anyone under 18 and prohibit the promotion of candy flavours that appeal to youth.

The Canadian Medical Association has recommended that the legal age to buy e-cigarettes should be the same as the age for tobacco purchasing in the province or territory.

MacDonald cautioned that some studies in the U.S. showed youth who are banned from accessing e-cigarettes will turn to smoking instead.

“By banning the use of vaping devices by young people, you might actually be driving them to conventional smoking,” she said. “Let’s make sure that the devices are safe, that they’re regulated, that we have regulation on the liquids that go into them.”

The UVic report does not rule out all harmful effects of vaping.

Some devices could contain concerning levels of metals and particulate matter, and there’s still not enough research on the carcinogens that might be present.

The research, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, was based on a review of 170 articles identified as relevant out of 1,622 total articles on e-cigarettes.

kderosa@timescolonist.com

Youths More Likely to Combine E-cigarettes with Other Substances

Jan 18th, 2017
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Are youths more likely to combine e-cigarettes with other substances? A new study of Canadian high school students shows a correlation between e-cigarette use and other risky behaviors, including tobacco and marijuana smoking, binge drinking, and mixing alcohol with energy drinks.

http://www.medicalnewsbulletin.com/youths-likely-combine-e-cigarettes-substances/

E-cigarette popularity has increased significantly amongst global youths since 2011. Recent data also shows a spike in e-cigarette use amongst high school students in Canada, with approximately 20% of students reporting having tried an e-cigarette. With vapor emerging as a supposedly healthier alternative to tobacco smoking, researchers and public health workers have voiced concerns regarding unknown long-term effects of e-cigarette vapor on individuals’ health, the risks of renormalizing smoking in popular culture, and the potential for e-cigarettes to become gateway substances. Evidence suggests that high school students may be more likely to combine e-cigarettes with other substances such as marijuana and alcohol, which pose health risks amongst youths.

A recent Journal of Adolescent Health (2016) review of year 3 (2014-2015) of the COMPASS study analyzed data from 39,837 Canadian high school students from Grade 9-12 to investigate the correlation between e-cigarette use and binge drinking, mixing energy drinks with alcohol, and smoking tobacco or marijuana. During the course of the COMPASS study, a student-level questionnaire, or Cq, was given to participants during class time in order to collect information regarding substance use within the last 30 days to 12 months. Any student who indicated that they had consistently used a substance within the last 30 days was classified as a current user (e.g. students who reported smoking cigarettes within 30 days prior to taking the questionnaire were categorized as current smokers).

Researchers retained all data for participants that provided full information on necessary variables for the study, such as age, ethnicity, and consistent responses regarding recent substance use. Using these criteria, 2323 respondents were excluded from this study. The remaining data was further divided into subgroups based on sex, ethnicity, and spending money, and placed within a logistic regression model to examine any potential associations between each student’s demographic and their substance use patterns.

Nearly 10% of participating students reported having used e-cigarettes in the last 30 days. Comparatively, approximately 6% were current smokers, 15.97% were marijuana users, 13.69% consumed energy drinks mixed with alcohol, and 16.20% reported occasional binge drinking. While marijuana use was more common among male participants, occasional binge drinking was found to be more prevalent among females. Evidence also showed a higher likelihood of e-cigarette users to use other substances as well (28.66% of e-cigarette users were current tobacco smokers, 53.15% were current marijuana users, 20.09% were occasional binge drinkers, and 41.08% reported mixing alcohol and energy drinks). Researchers found that while the co-occurrence of binge drinking and marijuana use among current e-cigarette users seemed common, e-cigarette users who exclusively only smoked tobacco (and did not binge drink or smoke marijuana) was determined to be rare.

Both current smokers and male students with more spending money were found to be more likely to use e-cigarettes. Similarly, students who reported other health-risky behaviors, such as binge drinking and marijuana use, were more likely to use e-cigarettes than non-drinkers or non-smokers. This data on current e-cigarette use demonstrates a 35% increase amongst the youth of Ontario and Alberta from the previous year of COMPASS data. Furthermore, substance use appears to act as a strong indicator of future e-cigarette use relative to age, sex, ethnicity, and available funds.

As the results of this study have shown, health-risky behaviors appear to have a strong correlation with increased likelihood of e-cigarette use (although there is a lower prevalence of e-cigarette use as smokers increase in age). These findings are useful in terms of public health program planning, as further research may enable prevention efforts to target younger demographics within the youth population who are at a higher risk for e-cigarette or other substance use.

How spotting someone vaping triggers the same cravings as real tobacco

Jan 14th, 2017
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Seeing someone use an e-cigarette encourages smokers to light up, a study has warned. Even though they don’t look like a normal cigarette, ‘vape pens’ can trigger the same cravings as real tobacco products.

http://dailytimes.com.pk/infotainment/14-Jan-17/how-spotting-someone-vaping-triggers-the-same-cravings-as-real-tobacco

A study by Chicago University found the devices were a ‘potent trigger’ to encourage young adults to smoke as they mimic the same behaviour – inhaling and exhaling – and use the same hand and mouth movements as regular cigarettes.

The findings cast doubt on how well the smoking ban has worked to put cigarettes ‘out of sight’, as vaping becomes common.

Although the 18 to 35-year-olds in the study who were influenced by e-cigarettes already smoked, the findings also raise concerns about a ‘gateway effect’ encouraging people who smoke to vape as well.

The study, published in journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research, used 108 volunteers ranging from light smokers to those who went through a pack of cigarettes a day.

When they saw someone use a vape pen, they were more likely to want a cigarette or reach for one.

Vape pens look more like pens than cigarettes but still deliver a nicotine hit and puff out vapour.

Research leader Dr Andrea King, director of the clinical addictions research laboratory at Chicago University, said, “Vape pens look different but they share too many salient features of the act of smoking – including inhalation, exhalation and hand-to-mouth behaviours. This makes them a potent trigger, encouraging people to smoke.

Their impact is roughly equal to watching someone light up a cigarette. They made the young adults in our study want to smoke.”

The decade-old UK ban on smoking in public places was designed to make the habit seem less normal by keeping smokers out of offices and pubs.

However, despite calls from the World Health Organisation for countries to consider a similar ban on e-cigarettes, they are becoming increasingly popular.

To measure their effect on susceptible young adults, the researchers planted a pretend volunteer among their study group who smoked either a conventional cigarette or a vape pen.

Both cues increased the desire among research subjects for a cigarette or an e-cigarette. Then 26 of the group were tested 20 minutes later by placing a cigarette on a tray, along with a lighter and an ash tray.

Told they would receive a cash reward of 20 cents for every five minutes they resisted, those who had seen the person smoking a cigarette or vape pen managed to hold out for only 20 minutes.

Dr King said, “Our study focused on a classical Pavlovian trigger, as seeing someone smoke is a known potent cue that can induce others to smoke. We did not expect that the vape pen would be as potent a cue as the regular cigarette, but it was as potent.”

Leading U.S. websites stay in front despite slowing of traffic

Jan 12th, 2017
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Convenience and lower prices make the internet one of the most important distribution channels for e-cigarettes in the U.S., according to a new ECigIntelligence market report which estimates that the country has 180 vendors selling vaping products online.

Most traffic is concentrated among the top online vendors, although their web rankings declined during 2016.

Most of the leading websites receive more than half their visits from the U.S., although traffic from countries such as the UK, Canada and Turkey is increasing.

The leading source of visits is organic search, primarily from Google, followed by direct traffic – consumers who go directly to the vendor’s website. The impact of other channels such as email or social media is very low, according to ECigIntelligence data.

The study reveals that most of the leading online distributors in the U.S. have multi-brand websites, and the presence of corporate websites with single-brand is very low.

The report reveals a large variation in pricing between the leading websites. On the other hand, there is little average difference between prices among the top ten ranked online retailers and the next ten.

What This Means: Despite a downward trend in web ranking and visitor numbers for the leading online brands, the internet still provided one of the most important distribution channels for e-cig products in the U.S. in 2016, with about 15% of vapers regularly making their purchases online. The percentage is higher among hobbyists, of whom approximately 50% prefer to buy online.

The most popular vendors don’t necessarily have the cheapest products available – and though the leading websites’ statistics appears to have declined, they still account for the lion’s share of the traffic. There is no necessary correlation, however, between website visits or engagement and revenues.

– David Palacios ECigIntelligence staff

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