ECig Lounge

Batteries & Bottles: Traveling Safely This Summer

Posted on July 4, 2018 by admin

With the summer travel season here, many consumers are wondering about traveling on vacation with their vapor devices and liquids. Lithium batteries are often the most concerning aspect. Headlines appear almost every week of a cell phone, laptop, headphones, hoverboards and even vapor devices overheating or even exploding. The next most common concern is having liquids confiscated by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

Read below about policies and practices that will safely and successfully get you to your destination!

TSA Rules Apply
– The FAA prohibits these devices in checked bags. Battery-powered E-cigarettes, vaporizers, vape pens, atomizers, and electronic nicotine delivery systems may only be carried in the aircraft cabin (in carry-on baggage or on your person). Check with your airline for additional restrictions. Remove all electronic cigarette and vaping devices from carry-on bags if checked at the gate or planeside.¹

– You are allowed to bring a quart-sized bag of liquids, including e-liquids, in your carry-on bag and through the checkpoint. These are limited to travel-sized containers that are 3.4 ounces (100 milliliters) or less per item. Placing these items in the small bag and separating from your carry-on baggage facilitates the screening process. Pack items that are in containers larger than 3.4 ounces or 100 milliliters in checked baggage.²
– Amtrak prohibits use of devices on its trains, Thruway buses and stations. Vaping is allowed in designated smoking areas.³

Packing Safety
– Do not place batteries in pockets, pouches or bags that contain coins, keys or other metallic objects. These things may come into contact with the batteries, complete an electrical circuit and could cause the battery to overheat. Many shops will provide free battery cases to customers with a battery purchase. Don’t throw those cases away!

– Remember to pack the original charger. Never use a phone or laptop charger to charge your device.

– If traveling to a foreign country, be sure to check what type of electrical outlets are common there. U.S.-style plugs may not work in the outlets of some countries and a special charging plug may be needed.

– If leaving your device in a purse or carry-on bag, remove the batteries or lock the firing button. If your device doesn’t have a locking mechanism, consider getting a device for travel that has safety features, such as the firing button lock, vent holes and overcharging protection.

Hotels and Motels
– Some hotels and motels still have smoking rooms, except in states and cities where smoking is prohibited. Check the hotel web site for smoking policies, as many now include vaping. You can also look up many state and local vaping laws on CASAA’s Find My State Info pages.

– Vaping is typically allowed in smoking rooms. However, use caution when exhaling large amounts of vapor, as excess vapor is known to have triggered hotel smoke alarms.

– Do not assume vaping is allowed in non-smoking rooms simply because vapor products do not create smoke. There have been several reports of hotel staff reporting vapers as smoking in their room, resulting in financial penalties for the guest.

Other Safety Considerations
– Never charge your batteries or rechargeable device overnight or unattended.

– Do not use batteries with peeling wrappers, are nicked, dented, bulging, or have been dropped.

– Do not expose your device or batteries to extreme temperatures, such as in a hot or freezing vehicle.

– Only use batteries recommended for your device.

– Do not mix old and new batteries or different brands.

– Do NOT make modifications to your device, including those which could block any ventilation holes or slots. Those holes or slots remove heat and/or allow venting gas to escape safely.

– Keep e-liquids away from the reach of children. It’s highly recommended that e-liquids be stored in bottles with child-resistant caps.

For more information on battery safety read CASAA’s guide: Battery Safety Making Peace with Power: A Guideline to the use and storage of portable power sources for Electronic Cigarette Consumers.

Sources

https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring/all
https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/liquids-rule
https://www.amtrak.com/smoking-policy

This article was originally published at CASAA
Author: KNoll-Marsh

Posted in All posts, batteries, CASAA Guidance, e cigarettes, News, news-all, Smokeless Tobacco, travel, TSA, Vaping, Vaping News | Comments Off

American Cancer Society Acknowledges Reduced Harm for Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems and Warns About the Dangers of Misleading Consumers

Posted on June 15, 2018 by admin

By Azim Chowdhury & Samuel Jockel on June 15, 2018
On June 11, 2018, the American Cancer Society (“ACS”) released a statement entitled, “The American Cancer Society Public Health Statement on Eliminating Combustible Tobacco Use in the United States’ (“Statement”).[1] The Statement sets forth the ACS’s goal of eliminating exposure to combustible tobacco smoke and provides three strategies for the ACS to enhance its approach in tobacco prevention and control.

This Statement follows its earlier “Position Statement on Electronic Cigarettes,” released on February 15, 2018, which acknowledged, for the first time, that e-cigarettes, also known as Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), play an important role in helping certain smokers quit.[2] In that prior position, ACS suggested that physicians should encourage individuals that will not use FDA-approved cessation medicines to switch to using ENDS.[3] This latest Statement takes that position further, as the ACS commits to joining in on efforts to better understand how or whether ENDS might be integrated into evidence-based cessation options, and the organization also warns about the misinformation given to consumers about those products.

“Rapidly Changing Tobacco Marketplace” and the Consumer Misperception about ENDS

The ACS’s stated highest priority is to eliminate cancer caused by tobacco use as cigarette smoking is the leading cause of mortality in the U.S.[4] Placing its Statement in the context of what is calls, “the rapidly changing tobacco marketplace today,” the ACS acknowledges that tobacco control has increasingly become a social justice issue, as the percentage of smokers at the greatest risk (e.g. because of their low socioeconomic status, lower educational attainment, etc.) has risen markedly.[5]

Given today’s landscape, the Statement highlights the need for consumers to receive accurate information about different tobacco products and the role that nicotine plays in disease.[6] Citing numerous studies and reports, the Statement posits that although the “current generation ENDS are markedly less harmful than combustible tobacco products,”[7] “[m]any adults believe, erroneously, that ENDS are as harmful as combustible tobacco products, and the level of public understanding has deteriorated overtime.”[8] The Statements cites the Monitoring the Future study, which reported that as of 2017, “e-cigarettes have one of the lowest levels of perceived risk for regular use of all drugs, including alcohol,” among adolescents.[9] And to contrast e-cigarette use with combustible (burned) tobacco products, the Statement notes that while ENDS delivers nicotine, flavor additives and other chemicals, they do not actually burn tobacco – a process that yields an estimated 7000 chemicals, including at least 70 carcinogens.[10]

Three Strategies to Eliminate All Combustible Tobacco Use: Lending Support to Further Utilizing ENDS for Tobacco Cessation

The Statement outlines three separate strategies to eliminate all combustible tobacco use-all of which involve some component linked to ENDS.
- Promote Increased Access and Utilization of Cessation Options for Smokers, With an Emphasis on Preventing Dual Use
As part of its first strategic effort, the ACS will work to promote tobacco-cessation strategies and develop health care provider and consumer-facing materials with information on the risks associated with tobacco products and cessation treatment options.[11] As a part of this communications strategy, the ACS notes that it intends to communicate to consumers that current-generation ENDS are less harmful than combustible tobacco products, and it provides that the ACS will contribute to research to determine how or whether ENDS might be integrated into evidence-based cessation options.[12]
- Prevent Initiation of ENDS by Youth and Other High-Risk Demographic Groups
Despite noting the lesser risks associated with ENDS relative to combustible tobacco use, the Statement still holds that protecting youth from cigarette smoking and the use of novel tobacco products remains a priority.[13] The ACS will advocate for tobacco-free policies, including ENDS in all cases, as well as for policies to raise the minimum age for sale of all tobacco products, including ENDS.[14] The ACS makes clear that it will continue to oppose what it calls, “the widespread exposure of youth to e-cigarette advertising.”[15]
- Promote and Support a Comprehensive Tobacco and Nicotine Regulatory Framework
As part of its broader regulatory strategy, the Statement describes a “continuum of risk” for tobacco products, noting that while science is mixed, ENDS are likely to be much less harmful that combustible tobacco products.[16] Among other proposals, the Statement again commits to conduct further scientific research, including research related to the short-term and long-term risks of using ENDS and the impact of ENDS on tobacco use behavior.[17]

Conclusion

Taking its February 15, 2018 statement on electronic cigarettes one step further, this latest announcement by the ACS makes clear that the organization intends to contribute to further research on whether e-cigarettes may be utilized for tobacco cessation strategies. However, the ACS continues to advocate for tobacco-free policies, which include the use of ENDS, and the organization remains concerned about preventing youth initiation of ENDS, which has fallen dramatically since 2015, along with all tobacco use.

Posted in All posts, community, consumers, e cigarettes, e-cigarette, ecig, Harm Reduction, health, modified risk, News, news-all, Smoking Cessation, Smoking/nicotine addiction, Vaping, Vaping News | Comments Off

FDA Grants a 30-day Extension for Comments on Flavor Regulation

Posted on June 7, 2018 by admin

The FDA is extending the comment period for the advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) regarding a product standard for flavored vapor and tobacco products to July 19, 2018. The unpublished version of the announcement is below.

CASAA and many other groups submitted requests for a 90-day extension (see below). While 30-days is obviously short of what we would like, it is an acceptable compromise for this phase of the rule making process. Please see our earlier post from our May newsletter about the ways consumers can participate and make comments on the flavor standards ANPRM.

The FDA is also granting extensions for submitting comments on:

The ANPRM for premium cigars – July 25, 2018
The ANPRM for a nicotine standard (reducing the levels of nicotine in cigarettes) – July 16, 2018.

CASAA’s request for extending the Flavors ANPRM comment period

04.17.18 – (2)FDA Extension Request (Flavors ANPRM) (2018)

Unpublished announcement of extension (to be published in the Federal Register on June 8, 2018)

06.07.18 – FDA Extenstion ANPRM Flavors – Announcement 2018-12369

This article was originally published at CASAA
Author: Alex Clark

Posted in All posts, ANPRM, e cigarettes, FDA, flavors, News, news-all, Smokeless Tobacco, Vaping, Vaping News | Comments Off

CASAA Newsletter – May 2018

Posted on June 5, 2018 by admin

May began with a “blitz” of enforcement action from the FDA and FTC against e-liquid manufacturers that use artwork which closely mimics or otherwise is directly appropriated from food, candy, or beverage products marketed to young people. Although intellectual property (“IP”) theft is not necessarily the domain of federal regulators, deceptive marketing (i.e., a nicotine product that looks like a beverage or food or candy) is. While we can certainly debate the appeal of certain images and branding to adult consumers, the reasons behind the actions taken by the FDA and FTC are no mystery.

As deceptive marketing and illegal sales of vapor products to minors are grabbing headlines, the June 19th deadline for comments on the FDA’s advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) for flavored vapor and tobacco products is approaching. Although CASAA and other organizations are requesting a 90-day extension to the comment period, there is no indication that the FDA is interested in postponing the deadline. The next two and a half weeks may be the last opportunity for stakeholders to comment on the flavors docket before the agency moves ahead with the rulemaking process.

CASAA is encouraging consumers to submit multiple comments on the flavors ANPRM.

CASAA is asking our members to submit comments regarding your daily use of flavored vapor products and smokeless tobacco. Similar to a comment we asked members to submit in response to the FDA’s proposed deeming rule, this comment should involve a look at your collection of products. Points to discuss in your comment:

How many flavors do you have on your desk or shelves (or in a locked box away from children)?
How many different flavors do you use in a day?
What are your favorite flavors?
Where did you purchase your e-liquid or smokeless tobacco (online, in a specialty shop, at a C-store, at a convention…) and why?

Click Here to Comment Now

Another comment CASAA is asking our members to submit is more specific as it deals with state and local laws and public health campaigns. Fortunately, not everyone lives in an area where aggressive anti-vaping policies have been enacted or deceptive campaigns are misleading consumers about the risks of smoke-free products. But if you do live in one of these areas, the FDA would like to hear about the consequences.

You can find more information

about submitting this comment at

www.august8th.org.

The simplest comment we are asking members to submit is your testimonial about switching to a smoke-free product. These comments should specifically focus on what role flavors played in your decision to switch to and continue using vapor or smokeless tobacco products as an alternative to smoking.

Click Here to Comment Now

Although CASAA is not suggesting that comments from consumers should be limited to the options we’ve provided above, we do believe that these topics are especially important. We also encourage individuals to submit their own request for a 90-day extension to the comment period as well as review the FDA’s 25 questions (requests for studies or information) in the ANPRM. While consumers cannot be expected to produce studies that address most of these questions, we are a source of valuable information. Sharing our experience is vital to making sure that whatever regulations are adopted will preserve the diverse marketplace and consumer choice.

Thank you for participating,

Alex Clark

CEO, CASAA

NEWS

POLICY

Cole-Bishop Throws Vapers Under the Bus – CASAA

23 hours ago

On May 17th, 2018, Congressman Sanford Bishop (D-GA 02) released a statement on Facebook (here) stating that he was “pleased that the committee passed my Cole-Bishop amendment that maintains the availability of harm reducing nicotine vapor products, while also keeping them out of the reach of children through robust advertising and labeling rules, enhanced shipment age-verification, battery standards, and FDA …

The ‘teen vaping epidemic’ is a myth – NY Post

May 2, 2018

By Abby W. Schachter

Public-health policy – especially regarding children – is being driven by the Voltaire Rule: The perfect is the enemy of the good.

Take the current mania about vaping and, most recently, a product called Juul. News reports are replete with high-school officials fretting about how hard it is to monitor the product because it looks like a flash drive and doesn’t produce the same smoke as traditional cigarettes.

Indeed, a Juul – which electronically heats nicotine into a vapor – can be recharged through a computer’s USB port. Juul pods are also flavored – fruit medley and cool mint are two examples – so the smell isn’t the same as combustible tobacco products….

Cole-Bishop Throws Vapers Under the Bus

Posted on May 31, 2018 by admin

Unfortunately, the Cole-Bishop Amendment (for 2019 fiscal year funding) does no such thing and bears little resemblance to the Cole-Bishop Amendment that vapers have been fighting for since early 2016. In fact, it reduces availability of harm reduction products to adult smokers.

The Cole-Bishop amendment to the Agricultural Appropriations Bill was first introduced in 2016 as a vehicle for language that would change the predicate date in the Tobacco Control Act (TCA) from February 15th, 2007 to the effective date of the deeming regulations (August 8th, 2016) for all newly deemed products. This change would have allowed for all vapor products currently on the market to remain on the market without being subject to the FDA’s burdensome and prohibitive premarket approval (PMTA) process.

The first CASAA Call to Action in support of Cole-Bishop, in April 2016, specifically targeted members of the House Agriculture Appropriations Committee, where including the amendment in budget language was being debated. The committee voted in favor of keeping the bipartisan legislation in the Agricultural Appropriations bill. Unfortunately, with no companion language in the senate and lack of support from congressional leadership, the Cole-Bishop amendment was, ultimately, stripped from the final budget package. While representatives Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) were quick to announce they had removed the language from the budget, intel from people on the ground on The Hill suggests it was not an easy fight. Reportedly, staffers were emerging from budget meetings saying that the vapor language was still being discussed.

The Cole-Bishop amendment was introduced again in 2017 as part of the FY 2018 Agricultural Appropriations bill. Unlike 2016, where the language was included as a rider to the bill, Cole-Bishop was part of the base appropriations bill which made it more difficult to simply strip out. Additionally, the battery standards language was clarified by providing a PMTA exemption for manufacturers that needed to make changes to their devices to be compliant. CASAA along with several industry stakeholders suggested these changes to representative Cole in 2016.

In addition to the necessary changes to the battery standards language, the Cole-Bishop proposal for FY 2018 included stricter regulation of advertising for vapor companies and prohibited self-service sales from vending machines. The authors also added a provision directing the FDA to promulgate a rule regarding standards for characterizing flavors–which the agency is currently doing without any direction from Congress. Despite these concessions, the Cole-Bishop language (Section 753) was not included in the final budget package. It is little consolation that, like during the FY 2017 budget negotiations, the effort to preserve consumer choice of low-risk vapor products was being considered until the last minute.

This year, representatives Cole and Bishop have reintroduced their amendment to the FY 2019 Agricultural Appropriations bill. Shockingly, the amendment only vaguely resembles previous versions.

Provisions affecting vapor products in the FY 2019 Cole-Bishop amendment:

Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to promulgate rules establishing standards for “characterizing flavors” and batteries
Limits advertising of vapor products to adult-only publications
Prohibits sales from vending machines (unless they are located in an adult-only establishment)
Requires vapor product labeling to contain the messages “Keep Out of Reach of Children” and “Underage Sale Prohibited”
Requires vapor retailers to register with the Secretary of HHS
Amends the “Remote Sales” provision in the Food, Drugs, and Cosmetics Act (21 USC 387 f (d)(4)) to specifically require vapor retailers selling online to verify a purchaser’s age through the use of a commercially available database. (Currently, the code refers to “tobacco products” generally. This change would narrow that focus to solely vapor products.)
Directs the Secretary of HHS to submit a report to Congress “that includes a plan of action with respect to the development and operation of the Youth Vapor Product Education, Prevention, and Enforcement Program”–the program is to be funded by $50,000,000 per year for the next four years from Center for Tobacco Products user fees.
Directs the Secretary of HHS to conduct a study on preventing the use of vapor products by youth. (This section specifically directs the Secretary of HHS to include an analysis of using biometric security features during the purchase and use of vapor products. In other words, imagine having to scan your fingerprint every time you wanted to turn on or use your mod.)

All references to the predicate date for vapor products are conspicuously missing which means that every vapor product currently on the market will still need to go through the PMTA process. The remaining provisions regarding vapor products, points which CASAA previously tolerated solely because of the enormous benefit of the predicate date change, involve keeping devices out of the hands of youth — and likely make it harder to obtain by smoking adults.

All of the points about keeping out of the hands of youth are virtually meaningless, not only because there will hardly be any products on the market, but also because these same provisions have failed in every other area where they have been tried (e.g. sex, drugs, alcohol). While it’s possible that larger tobacco or vape companies might be able to navigate the premarket approval process, that will do little to help thousands of other companies who cannot afford the time and expense required, leaving consumers with fewer choices. Failure to change the predicate date most certainly will NOT maintain “the availability of harm reducing nicotine vapor products,” as Bishop claims.

While the authors of Cole-Bishop have essentially thrown vapers and cigarette smokers under the bus, there is still much consumers can do to keep the fight going!

– Vote with your wallet by supporting industry members who support advocacy through donations, participation in lawsuits, advocacy promotion (i.e. link to CASAA and other advocacy efforts) and/or membership in recognized trade organizations.

– Respond to and share CASAA Calls to Action on other issues being considered by the FDA, and make sure to participate in state- and local-level Calls to Action as well. .

– Get to know your local legislators by meeting with them during their campaigns or contacting their office and telling them how switching to vaping has made a difference. Let them know about any other smokers you’ve helped switch to vaping, too. Seeing constituents in person makes an incredible impact.

– Register vote and then get out and vote.

– Do your part to change public perception of vapor products. Have conversations with family, friends, neighbors and acquaintances about how vapor products have changed your life.

– Share your testimonial with CASAA’s testimonial project at casaa.org/_testimonials

– If you haven’t yet become a member of CASAA, JOIN TODAY at casaa.org/join-casaa. It’s FREE!

This article was originally published at CASAA
Author: KNoll-Marsh

Posted in All posts, e cigarettes, FDA, News, news-all, Smokeless Tobacco, Vaping, Vaping News | Comments Off

Supporting the Nicopure/R2V Lawsuit

Posted on May 26, 2018 by admin

Last year, Nicopure Labs and The Right to be Smoke-Free Coalition (“R2B”) sued the FDA, arguing against portions of the Tobacco Control Act (TCA) and the FDA’s Deeming Rule as they are being applied to vapor products. The court ruled in favor of the FDA, so the plaintiffs filed an appeal in the D.C. Court of Appeals.

On appeal, Nicopure and R2B argue that “the Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP) provision of the TCA, as well as the ban on free samples of vapor products, (1) violate the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and (2) FDA was obligated to consider a less burdensome Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) process for vapor products while still protecting the public health.” A summary of these issues can be read here, and you can download the full brief here.

In support of that appeal, CASAA has filed an amicus brief with the court. An amicus brief is a legal document – filed by someone who is not a party to the action – that advises the court of relevant, additional information or arguments that they want the court to take into consideration.

In this case, CASAA is not really making legal arguments, but instead providing additional information from the consumer perspective, such as how consumers use vapor products, the importance of sampling, and why it is critically important that consumers be able to receive basic, truthful information from vapor companies about, among other things, the low-risk nature of vapor products (something that the TCA prohibits). The full CASAA amicus brief can be read here.

In addition to the amicus brief, CASAA disseminated information about the lawsuit on our web site, in our newsletter and on social media to raise awareness of the legal action. This alerted our 200,000+ members and nearly 83,000 followers on social media of the case.

On May 22nd, a fundraising page was launched by the plaintiffs, in coordination with a vaping media site, to help fund the appeal. After a request from CASAA, the fundraiser organizers made changes to the campaign to make it clear that while any donations are appreciated, this should be an industry-funded effort. At the end of the day, this is an industry-led lawsuit, and we believe industry is where the funding should come from. There are many large vapor product companies that have contributed little, if anything, to advocacy efforts, and it’s time for them to stop getting a free ride.

CASAA supports the lawsuit, and our only concern, which has been largely addressed by the organizers, is that consumers shouldn’t feel pressured to donate money to the fundraiser. Consumers are not a party to the lawsuit, and we have no input into legal strategies, nor are we privy to the kind of information that clients would ordinarily receive. And in a very real sense, consumers have been supporting this lawsuit since the beginning. CASAA, as an advocate for consumers, has provided support for the lawsuit, both at the district level and at the appellate level. Specifically, we’ve spent a considerable amount in legal fees not only for CASAA’s amicus brief, but also to assist other groups to file their own amicus briefs.

Of course, if consumers want to donate, they should absolutely feel free to do so. . . but they should do so understanding that it’s their choice, not their responsibility. If we, as consumers, have any responsibility in this regard, it’s to do business with responsible companies that are supporting advocacy efforts. Consumers can also help by alerting larger companies to the fundraising efforts, urging their shops to make their suppliers aware, and expressing their displeasure to large vapor companies that do not contribute.

A link to the industry fundraising campaign can be found here.

This article was originally published at CASAA
Author: KNoll-Marsh

Posted in All posts, e cigarettes, News, news-all, Smokeless Tobacco, Vaping, Vaping News | Comments Off

CASAA Newsletter – April 2018

Posted on April 14, 2018 by admin

CALLS TO ACTION

RESEARCH

US Vapor Flavors Survey – FDA Flavors ANPRM

1 week ago

In March, the FDA published an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) regarding standards for flavored vapor products. An ANPRM is the beginning of the rule making process and serves as an opportunity for all stakeholders to provide feedback to the agency by way of comments and scientific studies.

As part of the effort to address some of the questions posed by the FDA in the ANPRM regarding flavored vapor products, Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos has developed a survey. The data collected will provide valuable information about patterns of e-cigarette use with a focus on the role that flavors play.

Please take time today (approximately 20 minutes) to complete this survey.

Click Here to Take The Survey!

FDA

TOBACCO 21

9 hours ago

(Update – 04.12.18) The proposal to raise the tobacco and vapor purchase age to 21 remains on the city council agenda. As of the April 9th meeting, the proposal was included as part of a committee report. According to a local news report, city lawmakers remain concerned about the unintended consequences of raising the purchase age for all tobacco products. …

8 hours ago

(Update – 04.12.18) SB 164, which would raise the minimum legal purchase age from 18 to 21 for ALL tobacco and vapor products, was voted out of the Committee on Public Health with a favorable recommendation. The vote was 22 – 4 in support of the bill. Currently, SB 164 is on the calendar for the full Senate where it …

INDOOR BANS

3 days ago

Every 20 years, the state of Florida convenes a Constitutional Revision Commission (CRC) to consider possible amendments to the state’s constitution and put them to the voters to decide. In 1998, this process was used to pass an unpopular statewide anti-smoking law that prohibited smoking in workplaces. In 2018, much like 1998, a similar proposal would ban vaping in the …

FLAVOR BANS

TAXES

4 days ago

(Update – 04.09.18) HB 922, which would impose a 46% wholesale tax on vapor products, has been scheduled for a hearing on Wednesday, April 11, 2018 15 minutes after floor (1:00 PM) Senate Committee on Finance Room 6 115 State Street Montpelier, VT 05633 Please note: This is not a public hearing. Spoken testimony is being accepted by invitation …

2 weeks ago

RHODE ISLAND VAPOR TAX Update – 03.26.18 (House Finance Committee Hearing) Last week’s meeting that was cancelled due to weather is rescheduled for Wednesday, March 28, 2018 Rise of the House (4:30 PM) Room 35 – State House The committee will be hearing testimony regarding Governor Gina Raimondo’s proposal to impose an outrageous 80% wholesale tax on vapor products …

3 weeks ago

On March 13th, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced his budget proposal for FY 2019. The governor’s first budget includes a new 75% wholesale tax on vapor products and a tax hike for smokeless tobacco raising it from 30% to 68% of wholesale. CASAA has been informed that the rates for these taxes come from bills in the House (A.1586) …

ENDED CALLS TO ACTION

2 weeks ago

(Update – 04.02.18) In typical down-to-the-wire fashion, the New York legislature passed a budget for FY 2019 last week. The budget does NOT include a new tax on vapor products! Special thanks are in order to everyone who took a moment to contact their officials urging them to remove the governor’s proposed tax on vaping. Also thanks to the NYSVA …

Did you find this newsletter informative? Please consider making a donation to CASAA. We rely on contributions to provide timely information and engagements to help protect everyone’s access to life-saving, low-risk nicotine and tobacco products. Didn’t get the CASAA newsletter in your email? Sign up here.

This article was originally published at CASAA
Author: KNoll-Marsh

Posted in All posts, CASAA Newsletter, e cigarettes, News, news-all, newsletter, Smokeless Tobacco, Vaping, Vaping News | Comments Off

Tobacco Harm Reduction Expert Fact Checks UCSF “Gateway” study

Posted on April 13, 2018 by admin

Dr. Brad Rodu

Dr. Brad Rodu, a renowned Professor of Medicine at the University of Louisville who holds an endowed chair in tobacco harm reduction research, has called for the retraction of a Pediatrics article by University of California San Francisco’s Benjamin W. Chaffee, Shannon Lea Watkins, and Stanton A. Glantz.

The article claims that “Among adolescent cigarette experimenters, using e-cigarettes was positively and independently associated with progression to current established smoking.”

“The findings and the claim are false,” wrote Dr. Rodu. “In their analysis, the authors ignore the fact that their study group consisted entirely of experimental smokers with widely varied experience….”

“When we added lifetime cigarette consumption (LCC),” Dr. Rodu explained, “the positive results for e-cigarettes essentially disappeared, negating Chaffee’s core claim.”

“Their study should be retracted.”

Read the full story and see the results of Dr. Rodu’s analysis on his blog, Tobacco Truth, here and here.

This article was originally published at CASAA
Author: KNoll-Marsh

Posted in All posts, e cigarettes, News, news-all, Smokeless Tobacco, Vaping, Vaping News | Comments Off

CASAA Announces 2018 Board Election Results

Posted on April 13, 2018 by admin

CASAA’s leadership team, as confirmed at our last board meeting:

Alex Clark, Executive Director

Bruce Nye, President of the Board

Jennifer Berger-Coleman, Vice President of the Board and Director of Community Outreach

Karen Carey, Secretary and Treasurer of the Board

Julie Woessner, National Policy Director and Board Member

Brian Carter, Director of Scientific Communications and Board Member

Doug Carter, Information Systems Administrator

Kristin Noll-Marsh, Member Coordinator (Staff)

Elaine Keller, Board Member

Jan Johnson, Board Member

Ron Ward, Board Member

Jim McDonald, Board Member

We hope you will all join us in welcoming Jim McDonald to the CASAA leadership team and in wishing Bruce and Jennifer the best in their new roles

This article was originally published at CASAA
Author: KNoll-Marsh

Posted in All posts, e cigarettes, News, news-all, Smokeless Tobacco, Vaping, Vaping News | Comments Off

ECigIntelligence User Survey 2018

Posted on April 6, 2018 by admin

In November of 2017, CASAA assisted ECigIntelligence in conducting a focused survey of vapers. The integrity of ECigIntelligence was verified, as was the purpose and scope of the survey, and the survey was circulated to our members via email.As a part of our diligence to our members, CASAA is publishing the relevant results to educate and advocate for our members.

Our members continue to provide some of the most comprehensive and meaningful information on vaping. We are grateful to everyone who took the time to help provide this information that can be used by CASAA and others in our advocacy efforts.

As in the previous year’s survey, the typical respondent was male around 35-39 years old. Young adults (18-24) made up only 10% of respondents. Those who took the survey were mostly advanced open-system users.

The trend between years shows a 4% increase in the number of respondents who consider themselves ex-smokers, while there is a 3% decrease in the number of non-smokers initiating vapor product use. The number of “dual users”, the majority of whom are transitioning from smoking to vaping, has remained steady. For 2018, the market segment was further refined and shows that the majority of respondents (97-99%) prefer basic open systems or advanced open systems. Also new this year is the addition of the Open Pod / Ultra portable segment, which accounts for half of the remaining users surveyed.

For 2018, the survey explored a key area of interest in usage patterns that had not been captured before – those users who stopped or dramatically cut down on use of vapor products. While understandably a small segment of the respondents (1.36%), it is an important element in the effectiveness of vapor products that often goes unnoticed. Of those respondents who vape less than once a month if at all, 40% would not go back to, or increase, vaping as they have successfully quit both smoking and nicotine dependence. Note that less than 2% of those who vape infrequently or not at all returned to smoking.

Countering the idea that advertising is attracting more users, key motivation to try vaping remains feedback from friends/family and seeing others using the products, accounting for 52% of the reasons given. The key reason to continue vaping is still to help stop smoking entirely or to remain smoke-free (75%).

In this slide we see, once again, that the majority of vapers are ex-smokers (81%). Countering the argument that dual-use is growing, we also find that of the 19% who dual-use, more than 73% of them successfully transition from smoking to the exclusive use of vapor products.

Exploring this transition from dual-use to exclusive-use, the average length of time before dual-use becomes exclusive-use is less than 2 years (1.58 years average). This phenomena remains fairly consistent across time, gender, age, and location, with only a 1-2 month difference overall.

As potential regulation of nicotine and flavors looms, the survey takes a further look at the DIY market. While it is too early to identify clear trends, more than 1 in 6 of the vapers surveyed are creating their own e-liquids at home.

Key motivations for DIY vapers surveyed is the ability to customize flavors and nicotine strength and to save money. Notably, 80% felt that DIY was an important or very important safeguard against government regulation.

Exploring device usage a bit further, six segments have been identified. The majority of vapers (5,696 of 6,448 or 88%) were either new, or experienced, advanced-open-system users. Of the remaining 22%, the majority were on a journey from closed systems to basic open systems.

This last slide shows that there are key motivators in the journey to becoming an experienced vaper. Closed-system users typically find cost a sufficient motivation to move to open systems. For both the new-to-basic and new-to-advanced, the key motivating factor is the vaping experience (appearance/flavor), with the differences centering on cost/ease of use for experienced basic-system users, while experienced advanced-system users are motivated by customizing their experience.

CASAA thanks our members who took the time to answer the survey and ECigIntelligence for its work in providing this important data.

This article was originally published at CASAA
Author: Bruce Nye

Posted in All posts, CASAA Survey, consumers, demographics, dual-use, e cigarettes, ecig, flavors, News, Smokeless Tobacco, Vaping, Vaping News, vapor | Comments Off

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