Clear The Air News Tobacco Blog Rotating Header Image

March 1st, 2016:

Minimum Ages of Legal Access for Tobacco in the United States From 1863 to 2015

http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2016.303172?journalCode=ajph&

ABSTRACT

In the United States, state laws establish a minimum age of legal access (MLA) for most tobacco products at 18 years. We reviewed the history of these laws with internal tobacco industry documents and newspaper archives from 1860 to 2014.

The laws appeared in the 1880s; by 1920, half of states had set MLAs of at least 21 years. After 1920, tobacco industry lobbying eroded them to between 16 and 18 years. By the 1980s, the tobacco industry viewed restoration of higher MLAs as a critical business threat. The industry’s political advocacy reflects its assessment that recruiting youth smokers is critical to its survival.

The increasing evidence on tobacco addiction suggests that restoring MLAs to 21 years would reduce smoking initiation and prevalence, particularly among those younger than 18 years.

Nerudia and Broughton unveil TPD partnership

http://www.tobaccojournal.com/Nerudia_and_Broughton_unveil_TPD_partnership.53497.0.html

Nerudia, which develops nicotine products, and Broughton Laboratories announced a strategic partnership to help e-cigarette companies comply with European regulation of their previously unregulated market.

Vaping products will be regulated in the EU from 20 May, when requirements of the revised Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) take effect. “The analytical capabilities and expertise of Broughton Laboratories are a perfect fit with Nerudia’s regulatory knowledge and our own services,” said Peter Beckett, compliance officer at Nerudia.

No ifs, ands or butts, e-cigarettes not welcome here

Hong Kong is moving rapidly to join others in snuffing out the e-cigarette craze, as new, local research reveals the smoking alternatives contain toxic chemicals. Sylvia Chang reports.

Latest research, undertaken by Hong Kong Baptist University reveals that electronic cigarettes, marketed as the safer alternative to tobacco, are not safe at all. Studies of 13 randomly selected brands of electronic cigarettes contain formaldehyde, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), flame retardants used on furniture, automobile interiors, textiles and plastic products. Health risks include a list of maladies ranging from impaired fetal development to cancers

The research findings are clear validation of the administration’s determination to play it safe on the subject of e-cigarettes. Of equal concern was the fear that e-cigarettes might be seen as chic, fashionable and stylish, and could undermine years of effort to make Hong Kong one among the most smoke-free cities in the world.

The final verdict on the health hazards associated with e-cigarettes remains in abeyance as scientific tests are carried out around the world.

The question of whether or not to sell has been whirling around for a few years and is now the subject of a heated controversy. People have been arrested, puffing on e-cigarettes at sites where smoking is prohibited by law, all the while protesting that they are not smoking, but “vaping”.

The battery powered e-cigarettes create a vapor from replaceable cartridges, offering an experience similar to smoking. Sales of e-cigarettes hit $3 billion globally in 2013, according to figures produced by the World Health Organization. Market projections anticipate retail sales will be seven times that amount by 2030.

The School of Public Health at the University of Hong Kong covered e-cigarettes for the first time in its annual household survey of smoking patterns, released in early February.

The survey revealed that among 41,000 students from 92 secondary schools surveyed, nine percent said they had smoked e-cigarettes when they are not even legally on sale in the SAR. Researchers interpreted the finding as a “red alert” to health authorities and urged greater efforts to raise awareness of the potential risks of e-cigarettes.

Catch ‘em young Teenagers are prone to smoking addiction. By the time they’ve smoked about 100 cigarettes, they are hooked as life-long smokers, says anti-tobacco advocate Judith Mackay, director of the Asian Consultancy on Tobacco Control. Mackay is also a senior policy adviser to the World Health Organization.

Many e-cigarettes contain nicotine, the same addictive substance found in normal cigarettes, but in lowered concentrations. Many other brands claim their products contain no nicotine. Another argument in favor of e-cigarettes is that they produce vapor instead of highly toxic smoke.

Still, latest studies show that both “vaping” and smoking suppress the normal function of 53 genes of the body’s immune system. Alarmingly, 305 more immune genes were shown to have mutated under exposure to e-cigarettes, leading many researchers to believe that e-cigarettes pose serious, long-term health hazards.

That study was presented on Feb 12 at the annual conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington. Lead researcher Ilona Jaspers of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was quoted by Ars Technica as saying that it was still unclear whether the changed immune response will lead to more infection risks or other immunological diseases.

Despite all these findings, even experts seem a bit ambivalent about the issue. “If all smokers changed to smoking e-cigarettes, it would mean a lot of lives being saved. But it’s not as simple as that,” Mackay told China Daily. “Only in the next three or five years will we have a clear understanding of the effects of e-cigarettes.”

Health authorities fear that nonsmokers, mistakenly believing e-cigarettes are safe, will be enthused to take up the habit and that people who have quit smoking may pick up the vaping habit, exposing themselves to the same sort of Pandora’s Box that can afflict regular smokers. This is a matter for the social sciences, and as Mackay explained, there have been no definitive studies as to how e-cigarettes will affect the market if they were to become fashionable.

Fashion statement

With their attractive design and multiplicity of flavors, e-cigarettes are targeted at the youth market. There are more than 8,000 e-cigarette flavors available in the global market, with approximately 200 new flavors being added every month.

The majority of e-cigarette manufacturers have argued their products contain no nicotine at all and thus shouldn’t even require licensing or the levying of any “sin tax”. The selling price is usually 60 percent less than that of normal cigarettes, another way to attract young people.

Also there are several instances of batteries exploding during recharging, and getting inside the clothes of e-cigarette smokers, raising dangers of serious burns or fire outbreaks.

As the debate goes on, the tobacco industry already is moving in, buying e-cigarette manufacturing companies, recalling days gone by when smoking was portrayed as sexy,
cool, refreshing and sophisticated.

As medical evidence condemning tobacco piled up, the tobacco industry changed tactics promoting “better filters”, “low tar and nicotine”, and commissioned spurious research aimed at undermining the influence of serious scientific findings.

In 2012, a US Federal Court judge ordered that tobacco companies publicly confess to lying to consumers in their efforts to minimize health concerns.

Mackay supported the Hong Kong government’s adoption of a “precocious principle”—to ban e-cigarettes completely. “When we don’t know, when we’re not sure, it’s better to be really careful, and to get more science before allowing them to go market,” Mackay emphasized.

Under Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee said that the department will finalize an initial amendment on e-cigarettes by the end of the year for  presentation to the Legislative Council for approval.

The prohibition is expected to cover importing and manufacturing, selling, distributing and advertising.

Under the current law, only e-cigarettes cartridges containing nicotine are banned. The new rule seeks to ban all cartridges, even those containing no nicotine.

Contact the writer at sylvia@chinadailyhk.com

No ifs, ands or butts, e-cigarettes not welcome here

http://www.chinadailyasia.com/focus/2016-03/01/content_15392153.html

Hong Kong is moving rapidly to join others in snuffing out the e-cigarette craze, as new, local research reveals the smoking alternatives contain toxic chemicals. Sylvia Chang reports.

Latest research, undertaken by Hong Kong Baptist University reveals that electronic cigarettes, marketed as the safer alternative to tobacco, are not safe at all. Studies of 13 randomly selected brands of electronic cigarettes contain formaldehyde, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), flame retardants used on furniture, automobile interiors, textiles and plastic products. Health risks include a list of maladies ranging from impaired fetal development to cancers

The research findings are clear validation of the administration’s determination to play it safe on the subject of e-cigarettes. Of equal concern was the fear that e-cigarettes might be seen as chic, fashionable and stylish, and could undermine years of effort to make Hong Kong one among the most smoke-free cities in the world.

The final verdict on the health hazards associated with e-cigarettes remains in abeyance as scientific tests are carried out around the world. The question of whether or not to sell has been whirling around for a few years and is now the subject of a heated controversy. People have been arrested, puffing on e-cigarettes at sites where smoking is prohibited by law, all the while protesting that they are not smoking, but “vaping”.

The battery powered e-cigarettes create a vapor from replaceable cartridges, offering an experience similar to smoking. Sales of e-cigarettes hit $3 billion globally in 2013, according to figures produced by the World Health Organization. Market projections anticipate retail sales will be seven times that amount by 2030.

The School of Public Health at the University of Hong Kong covered e-cigarettes for the first time in its annual household survey of smoking patterns, released in early February.

The survey revealed that among 41,000 students from 92 secondary schools surveyed, nine percent said they had smoked e-cigarettes when they are not even legally on sale in the SAR.

Researchers interpreted the finding as a “red alert” to health authorities and urged greater efforts to raise awareness of the potential risks of e-cigarettes.

Catch ‘em young

Teenagers are prone to smoking addiction. By the time they’ve smoked about 100 cigarettes, they are hooked as life-long smokers, says anti-tobacco advocate Judith Mackay, director of the Asian Consultancy on Tobacco Control. Mackay is also a senior policy adviser to the World Health Organization.

Many e-cigarettes contain nicotine, the same addictive substance found in normal cigarettes, but in lowered concentrations. Many other brands claim their products contain no nicotine. Another argument in favor of e-cigarettes is that they produce vapor instead of highly toxic smoke. Still, latest studies show that both “vaping” and smoking suppress the normal function of 53 genes of the body’s immune system. Alarmingly, 305 more immune genes were shown to have mutated under exposure to e-cigarettes, leading many researchers to believe that e-cigarettes pose serious, long-term health hazards.

That study was presented on Feb 12 at the annual conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington. Lead researcher Ilona Jaspers of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was quoted by Ars Technica as saying that it was still unclear whether the changed immune response will lead to more infection risks or other immunological diseases.

Despite all these findings, even experts seem a bit ambivalent about the issue. “If all smokers changed to smoking e-cigarettes, it would mean a lot of lives being saved. But it’s not as simple as that,” Mackay told China Daily. “Only in the next three or five years will we have a clear understanding of the effects of e-cigarettes.”

Health authorities fear that non-smokers, mistakenly believing e-cigarettes are safe, will be enthused to take up the habit and that people who have quit smoking may pick up the vaping habit, exposing themselves to the same sort of Pandora’s Box that can afflict regular smokers. This is a matter for the social sciences, and as Mackay explained, there have been no definitive studies as to how e-cigarettes will affect the market if they were to become fashionable.

Fashion statement

With their attractive design and multiplicity of flavors, e-cigarettes are targeted at the youth market. There are more than 8,000 e-cigarette flavors available in the global market, with approximately 200 new flavors being added every month.

The majority of e-cigarette manufacturers have argued their products contain no nicotine at all and thus shouldn’t even require licensing or the levying of any “sin tax”. The selling price is usually 60 percent less than that of normal cigarettes, another way to attract young people.

Also there are several instances of batteries exploding during recharging, and getting inside the clothes of e-cigarette smokers, raising dangers of serious burns or fire outbreaks.

As the debate goes on, the tobacco industry already is moving in, buying e-cigarette manufacturing companies, recalling days gone by when smoking was portrayed as sexy, cool, refreshing and sophisticated. As medical evidence condemning tobacco piled up, the tobacco industry changed tactics promoting “better filters”, “low tar and nicotine”, and commissioned spurious research aimed at undermining the influence of serious scientific findings.

In 2012, a US Federal Court judge ordered that tobacco companies publicly confess to lying to consumers in their efforts to minimize health concerns.

Mackay supported the Hong Kong government’s adoption of a “precocious principle”—to ban e-cigarettes completely. “When we don’t know, when we’re not sure, it’s better to be really careful, and to get more science before allowing them to go market,” Mackay emphasized.

Under Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee said that the department will finalize an initial amendment on e-cigarettes by the end of the year for presentation to the Legislative Council for approval. The prohibition is expected to cover importing and manufacturing, selling, distributing and advertising.

Under the current law, only e-cigarettes cartridges containing nicotine are banned. The new rule seeks to ban all cartridges, even those containing no nicotine.

dd

And you thought tobacco was toxic?

Tests by Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) show controversial e-cigarettes, pushing hard for admission into the Hong Kong market, contain deadly chemicals.

The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), among other toxins found in the samples tested, are derived from petroleum hydrocarbon contamination and the burning of other organic materials known as carcinogens. Inhaling carcinogens could lead to malformation of human tissue, potentially leading to cancer.

The result showed that the highest level of PAHs concentration in fumes rising from a concentrated solution reaches 504.5 nanograms/ml, almost 1 million times more concentrated than its presence in Hong Kong’s outdoor urban environment.

Tested e-cigarettes were also found to contain high amounts of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). PBDEs create a risk of disruption of thyroid hormones and reduced fertility. They also pose risks for fetal development and may cause cancers.

This is the first time electronic cigarettes have been scientifically proven to contain PBDEs, said Chung Shan-shan, assistant professor of Croucher Institute for Environmental Sciences from HKBU.

The discovery hints that other harmful substances, which may have been ignored in previous studies, will be found in the future, Chung added.

This is a “clear sign” that e-cigarettes affect human health, said Lam Tai-hing, chair professor of Community Medicine in the School of Public Health, the University of Hong Kong. The Council urges the government to ban e-cigarettes.

“The more you look into it, the more problems are indicated,” Lam said, citing that quick changes in technology have resulted in more variations of e-cigarettes in terms of temperature, chemical components and so on.

The Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health also released a survey conducted by the School of Public Health at the University of Hong Kong to monitor the prevalence of e-cigarettes use.

The survey shows that smokers in the age group of 15 to 29 comprised the biggest chunk (7.9 percent) of e-cigarette smokers.

The study is alarming and is a step forward on extending our understanding on those potentially cancer-causing substances in e-cigarettes, said Judith Mackay, director of the Asian Consultancy on Tobacco Control.

“It clearly sends out the message that e-cigarettes need strict regulation before there is a clear and comprehensive understanding on what they contain, how they work, how dangerous they are, particularly to pregnant women and young people,” Mackay said.

E-cigarette tax sets scene for EU lobbying war

https://euobserver.com/science/132510

EU countries are preparing to tax e-cigarettes under the same regime as normal cigarettes, in a move likely to increase prices and to prompt a fight by lobbyists in Brussels.

Last Friday (26 February), member states’ ambassadors agreed to take the first step by asking the European Commission to draft an “appropriate legislative proposal” in 2017.

The project is to be endorsed without further discussion when the bloc’s finance ministers meet on 8 March.

The ministers’ draft conclusions said that e-cigarettes, as well as other “novel” products, could cause “inconsistencies and legal uncertainty” in the single market if they stayed exempt from excise tax.

They also said excise duties or some “other specifically designed tax” on novel tobacco items, which use steam instead of smoke to put nicotine into people’s lungs, could help meet “public health objectives”.

They added that work on the new tax regime should be “intensified” if “the market share of such products show a tendency to increase”.

Prices ‘will rise’

Global e-cigarette sales were about €7.5 billion last year. But analysts forecast they will grow to €46 billion by 2025 or 2030.

Under existing rules, all EU countries must impose an excise tax of at least 57 percent on tobacco products, but most impose only VAT on e-cigarettes at a level of about 20 percent.

In the UK the excise and VAT burden sees the state collect £6.17 every time someone pays the recommended retail price of £7.98 for a pack of 20 premium-brand cigarettes.

The excise income alone is worth €15.5 billion a year.

One EU official said on Monday (29 February) it was “self-evident” that the price of e-cigarettes would go up if the commission went ahead. A second official said it was “too early to say what effect the review” of excise rules might have on prices.

The ministers’ draft conclusions noted that the commission was not obliged to go ahead. But the draft text said EU states would want “reasons” if it did not act.

With several EU capitals still struggling to balance the books, the commission in a report in December also said e-cigarette taxes could have “significant long term budgetary implications” for national treasuries.

Lobbying war

One of the EU officials said the next steps would be “to undertake studies, carry out impact assessments, [and] a public consultation”, setting the stage for a new lobbying war in Brussels.

The last time the EU regulated e-cigarettes, in 2014, big tobacco firms led by Philip Morris International (PMI) tried to dilute the new restrictions on grounds that e-cigarettes help people to quit smoking.

They did it because they were buying up e-cigarette makers to protect their profits.

E-cigarette firms joined them in what Olivier Hoedeman, from Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), a Brussels-based pro-transparency NGO, called an “angry” campaign with “very strong emotions”.

One MEP at the time got an email saying she would be “finished” if she obstructed e-cigarettes.

EUobserver received emails saying it would be responsible for smokers’ deaths if it published stories giving credence to claims that e-cigarettes are bad for your health.

On the other side, pharmaceutical giants such as GlaxoSmithKline lobbied for tougher EU rules on the grounds that e-cigarettes encouraged young people to start smoking.

They did it because they make nicotine gums and patches, which compete with e-cigarettes for people trying to give up. But gums and patches are regulated under more exacting EU medical product standards.

They were joined by companies such as Trierenberg-Gruppe, the world’s top producer of cigarette papers.

More research needed

Public health advocates such as Cancer Research UK and the European Heart Network are concerned that the corporate lobbyists are ignoring science.

Most health NGOs do not have a position on e-cigarettes because they are too new for conclusive research on long-term benefits and risks.

The European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention, a Brussels-based group, is calling for tougher EU rules.

But its spokesman, Dominick Nguyen, told EUobserver: “This is not about being for or against e-cigarettes, but [about] encouraging research and provision of evidence on e-cigarettes in order to make the right informed decisions.”

Commenting on the “public health” aspect of the excise tax project, CEO’s Hoedeman said: “It would be quite awkward to put e-cigarettes in the same category [as normal cigarettes] if the science isn’t there yet”.

PMI was not available for comment on Monday. GlaxoSmithKline declined to comment.

According to their public declarations, PMI spent up to €1.5 million lobbying EU officials in 2014. GlaxoSmithKline spent up to €2 million.

Imperial Tobacco files legal challenge against tobacco control bill

http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/imperial-tobacco-files-legal-challenge-against-tobacco-control-bill

Anti-smoking groups say they are not at all surprised that Imperial Tobacco is challenging the provisions of Quebec’s Bill 44 that ban the sale of flavoured cigarettes and sleeker packaging that appeal to youth.

On Friday, Imperial Tobacco Canada filed legal proceedings against the Quebec government claiming Bill 44 infringes on the company’s constitutional rights.

The company said in a statement released on Tuesday that the government committee that reviewed the bill adopted a number of additional provisions “without due consideration given to ensuring that the constitutional rights of those affected by the measures were infringed to the least extent possible.”

Mélanie Champagne, Director of Public Issues with the Canadian Cancer Society’s Quebec Division, said the company’s legal action is predictable.

“All it shows is that the measures (Quebec is taking) would be effective,” she said.

Tobacco companies, she said “would not spend so much money on legal proceedings if they didn’t realize this will affect their revenues substantially. But that is exactly what we want: lower revenues for tobacco companies means less smoking, and fewer cancer deaths.”

Anti-smoking groups rejoiced last November when Quebec’s National Assembly adopted Bill 44, “An Act to Bolster Tobacco Control”, unanimously. They said the new legislation made Quebec a world leader in the struggle against smoking, because Bill 44 bans all flavoured tobacco products, including menthol, and imposes a minimal size for health warnings on packages.

Current federal legislation requires health warnings to take up 75 per cent of the packages, but as packages were getting smaller, anti-smoking advocates those warnings were less effective. Quebec has countered this with its regulation, which requires the health warnings to be at least 4.6 square centimetres.

That means tobacco companies here cannot sell cigarettes in the tall, thin packages, sometimes called “purse packs” or “lipstick packs” that anti-smoking groups claim are designed to appeal to young people. An estimated 250 teenagers in Quebec begin smoking every week, and an estimated one third of all cancer deaths are related to smoking.

Flavoured cigarettes and cigars, including menthol, are also very popular with Quebec teens. Studies have shown that more than 50 per cent of Quebec youth who smoke use flavoured tobacco products.

Although menthol flavours are thought to appeal mainly to adults, new smokers do use them because they reduce irritation of the throat, said Flory Doucas, co-director of the Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control, said menthol cigarettes are particularly appealing to youth.

“Menthol has analgesic properties so it masks the irritation caused by smoking. Menthol cigarettes are like training wheels for smoking.”

She added that legal challenges by tobacco companies are designed to have a chilling effect on other jurisdictions in Canada or elsewhere that might be considering legislation.

But Eric Gagnon, head of Corporate and Regulatory Affiars for Imperial Tobacco Canada, said the ban on flavoured tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes, will result in the growth of an already significant illegal cigarette market in Quebec.

“There is an incredible amount of hypocrisy around the sale of tobacco in Quebec,” he said. “The government of Quebec will generate over $1 billion in tobacco taxes in 2016. There is already comprehensive legislation … 75 per cent of the package is a health warning, they are hidden from view, and very highly taxed. There is nobody in Quebec who could say they don’t know the risk of smoking but an important part of the adult population will still continue to smoke. At the end of the day we are still a legal company and we believe we have the right to sell our products.”

The company is not challenging other provisions of the bill, such as the ban on smoking in motor vehicles when children under 16 are present and the prohibition on smoking on patios adjoining businesses and restaurants.

But it is challenging the bill’s restrictions on how tobacco companies communicate with retailers. The bill will not allow the companies to advertise to retailers, which Gagnon said unfairly prohibits retailers from passing on information to customers.