There’s been a bit of positive vaping news recently, and we’ve decided to give you the rundown on some of the freshest news in the vape world to ring in the Spring! Check out the highlights below.
Trump Backpedals on Vape Ban
In September, Trump announced he would take “very, very strong” action to combat the rise in underage vaping by banning all flavored e-cigarettes.
However, during a call at in the Oval Office (which was on speakerphone), the president expressed regret for getting personally involved in the issue, and reneged, “I should never have done that f*cking vaping thing.” The U.S. President now seems to be under pressure from the industry, interest groups and his own supporters, some of whom threatened not to vote for him if he went through with a complete ban. It appears the issue became more politically fraught than Trump had imagined, and this might mean less political backlash in the future.
An Updated Research Report on UK Vaping
Over in the UK, a recent 2020 study by the UK government shows that smoking among adults in England, has continued to decline over the past 10 years, and was at around 15% in 2019. Most adults in the country now use vaping products to help them quit smoking. The report also notes that, “Data from stop smoking services in England suggests that when a vaping product is used in a quit attempt, either alone or with licensed medication, success rates might be higher than licensed medication alone.”
Vapers have said that a total ban on flavors would impact their ability to use vapes to quit or reduce their smoking. It could also push current vapers towards illicit or off market products.
Similar to previous years, data from smoking cessation services in England suggests that when a vaping product is used to quit, success rates tend to be better than many other options.
Where statistical data is available, prevalence of vaping among adults in England appears to be higher than in other countries.
Current vaping prevalence (weekly or less than weekly) among young people in England has remained reasonably steady with the best recent estimates putting it at 6% of 11 to 15-year-olds in 2018 and 5% of 11 to 18-year-olds in 2019. This rate is under control.
Canadian Vaping Association Calls for Better Regulation
The Candian Vaping Association (CVA) has called for more reasonable regulation of the sale of flavored vape e-liquids during Covid-19. The CVA pointed out that vaping is a “critical tool” for many people in managing their nicotine addiction and flavored e-liquids are key to making that tool work properly.
The CVA is calling on governments around the world to ensure that adult-only vape shops remain open under the new public health guidelines put in place to manage Covid-19, in order to supply vapers with the products they need during these difficult times.
Darryl Tempest, Executive Director of The Canadian Vaping Association noted that there are around 1.1 million vapers across Canada for whom vape shops are critical in ensuring they don’t return to combustible cigarettes or black market homemade e-liquids.
New Vaping Regulations in Philippines
Vaping is now making the transition from illegal to regulated industry in the Philippines.
Three months after President Rodrigo Duterte banned the use and importation of vapes in a speech, e-cigarettes are now officially covered by the nationwide smoking ban, allowing all vapor products to go through official channels for certification as per a new executive order signed by the Philippino President. The Department of Health welcomed the President’s amendments, and marked it as a “solid step” in compelling the industry to comply with regulations. An earlier administrative order that regulated e-cigarettes was met with court injunctions filed by players in the industry.
The Truth About Vaping
Given the current research, there’s little doubt that vaping exposes you users to less harm than traditional cigarettes. England’s NHS published that it is estimated that vapes are “at least 95% less harmful” than traditional cigarettes.
If all smokers turn from cigarettes to vaping products, including box mods, pod kits, and easy-to-use, portable systems like SNOWPLUS, many smokers would be better off.
Final words
To some extent, things seem to be improving for vaping, as laws in more countries are becoming more reasonable. Vapes like these are readily available in many countries around the world and are great options for adult smokers looking for something better than smelly cigarettes.