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Tag: News
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Alberta to introduce tax on vaping products in 2020
The province of Alberta is set to introduce a new tax on vaping products in 2020. This is according to the provincial budget that was released last Thursday.
Health Minister Tyler Shandro stated, “We’re looking forward to understanding the science behind e-cigarette use and the extent to which it could be a safer alternative to smoking tobacco, but our main concern will be the extent to which children and adolescents start with vaping products.”
The idea behind this provincial tax is to increase the price of vaping products to deter youth from using them. While traditionally ‘sin tax’ has been used on items like cigarettes that hurt the public health system, the concern is adding taxes to vaping products could discourage smokers looking to transition to a safer alternative.
University of Victoria professor Chris Lalonde is against the provincial vaping tax. He states: “If you accept the fact that vaping is safer than smoking – not safe – but safer, adding a tax on the vaping is illogical because there hasn’t been a demonstration that there is anywhere near the same healthcare costs or dangers”
Lalonde goes on to suggest that taxes are the wrong way to go about preventing youth from vaping because he says youth shouldn’t be able to access age-restricted products in the first place.
From my perspective, increasing the prices of vaping products will do little to deter youth from using them. It would be more effective to increase the policing of the sales of vaping products to minors. If businesses in Alberta are selling vaping products to anyone under the legal age, they should be subjected to strict punishments and business shutdowns.
What would also be great to see, would be the government of Alberta taking all the funds received from any proposed vaping tax, and putting it into the increased policing regarding sales to minors of vaping products. They could also use these funds for improved education towards youth regarding vaping as well as other adult activities – alcohol, gambling, marijuana, etc.
This is ultimately in the bigger picture, a step in the right direction and a step away from any type of ban or severe restriction on vaping products in Alberta. We will wait and see what the results, if any, of this proposed new tax will be on vaping in Alberta.
Original article from the Edmonton Journal.
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Significant(96.5%) Decrease in Vaping-Related Lung Disease Across the United States
The Onset of Vaping-Related Illness
In September of 2019, numerous news reports began to emerge regarding vaping-related illness and lung disease. Both the CDC and various news media sources provided scant specific information on these incidents.
The Media’s Role
The media effectively grouped all vaping into one category, suggesting that any use of vaping or e-cigarette products was dangerous and causing illness.
The CDC’s Findings
In the vast majority of incidents reported to the Center for Disease Control – 86% – the users of the vaping products reported using vapes with THC in their devices. [Source] The CDC also suggested that many of the THC Vape pods were not purchased from reputable stores and distributors, but received from friends and family, or purchased from the streets. [citation] The CDC stated on their website: “THC is present in most of the samples tested by FDA to date, and most patients report a history of using THC-containing products”.
The Issue of Self-Reporting
An additional concern with this type of self-reporting is that if an individual is underage, or lives in a State where marijuana products are illegal, they may not disclose their THC/marijuana use.
The CDC’s Record Keeping
The Center for Disease Control has been keeping a record of all patients being admitted to the hospital for these vaping-related illnesses. These results have been reported on a weekly basis.
The Reduction in Vaping-Related Illness
The week with the highest reported incidents was September 8, 2019. During this week, 166 individuals were admitted to the hospital due to lung injury, and 118 patients had experienced symptoms of this lung injury. Contrast that with their most recent reported week, October 6, which had 16 admissions into the hospital and 4 people reporting symptoms. In less than two months, this is a reduction of 90.3% of people hospitalized, and a reduction of 96.5% in patients with symptoms of vaping-related illness.
The Implications of the Reduction
The reason for this reduction is not known, but the incredible reduction has not been in the forefront of the news stories or reports. If you factor in that there are approximately 327 million people in the United States, with an estimated 9% of Americans vaping [source], this is 29.4 million current vapers in the United States. With four individuals experiencing vaping-related illness during the week of October 6, this equates to just a 1 in 7.3 million chance of being affected by this vaping-related illness. If you factor in that an estimated 90% of the current individuals who experienced this lung disease have been using THC products, this number reduces further to a one in 73.5 million chance.
The Question of Regulation
This begs the question – does something that has a one in 73 million chance of illness warrant a continued, fear-mongering outcry against it? Does it require congress to rise up to ban flavors, and in Massachusetts, ban all vaping products across the state? Considering the majority of nicotine vaping users are people using the products to quit smoking, and smoking kills 5 Million people each year- [source], vaping is much safer than smoking, and safer than many things we do every day without concern.
The Future of Vaping
With the increased knowledge regarding the dangers of using unregulated THC products acquired from unknown sources, the reduction of vaping-related illness should continue. We fear that the media’s blanket statements suggesting ‘all vaping products are dangerous’ has caused so much fear in many nicotine vaping ex-smokers, that it’s pushing them back to cigarettes.
Ultimately, until the government fully regulates all marijuana and THC products, as well as all nicotine vaping products, we could continue to see illnesses and quality control issues within the industry.
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Ontario government set to ban vape advertising in gas stations and convenience stores
The Province of Ontario has announced its plans to place a ban on advertising of any vaping-related products inside of variety stores and convenience stores. This ban is set to be in place on January 1, 2020.
This ban is set up to regulate advertising in areas where the general public has access. It will not affect current exclusive vape shops or cannabis retail stores that already have adult-only 19+ restrictions in their businesses.
The health minister of Ontario has confirmed that the ban will be in effect January 1st, 2020.
Recently, Richmond, British Columbia, banned advertising for vape products on city property.
The design of this ban is to reduce the potential interacting with vaping promotions to youth, who can visit gas stations and grocery stores without any age restrictions.
Health Minister Christine Elliot stated in her release: “Restricting the promotion of vapour products will help prevent youth from being exposed and influenced by promotion in retail settings”.
This ban is being considered by some as the first step by the Ontario government, who is behind some other provincial regulators. Rob Cunningham, from the Canadian Cancer Society, states “There are eight provinces that have e-cigarette legislation” The two that don’t are Alberta and Saskatchewan”.
Other areas being looked into by the Ontario government as it relates to vaping are:
- Restricting the sale of vaping products to specialty stores
- Considering raising the age to purchase vaping products to 21
- Limiting the range of flavoring in vaping e-liquids
WHAT DO WE THINK?
From my perspective, as the owner of a specialty vape shop in London, Ontario, I applaud the Ontario government. About a year ago when I started seeing advertisements for vape products on my gas station pump at Petro Canada in London, I was taken aback. I had been under the understanding that outside public advertising of vape products was already banned in Ontario.
What it ended up being was the big tobacco companies, who now own Vype and Juul, using their access to gas stations and convenience stores through their sales of cigarettes, and using this access as an easy area for promotion of their vaping products.
It was never the independent vape shop owner responsible for this type of advertising, but Big Tobacco. I believe that limiting adverting to only inside of vape shops, and requiring only legal adults to visit said vape shops will improve the success in combating under age purchasing of vaping products. This is similar to our beer and liquor stores, which require you to be 19+ to enter and purchase products. However, with new Ontario regulations offering beer to be purchased at grocery stores, this same regulation is not in place for alcohol in Ontario, which in my opinion is unfortunate – but that’s a conversation for another day…
Information for the article thanks to CBC.
Howie
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Illegal YOLO CBD vapes causing illnesses traced to California woman
This is a public notice not to use any product called:
Avoid using the following products:
- “YOLO CBD OIL” vape pen
- Any products from the manufacturer “Hookahzz“
- CBD Pods labeled “Black Magic” or “Black Diamond“
- Products sold under the name or distributed by “Mathco Health Corporation“
- Any vaping products lacking complete ingredient listings or manufacturer information
Key Points:
- Janell Thompson, a California woman, pleads guilty to conspiracy to distribute synthetic marijuana and money laundering charges.
- Thompson’s company sold “Yolo CBD pens” in several states, including New York, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Utah.
- Yolo CBD pens have been associated with at least six deaths in Europe and over 40 illnesses in North Carolina, with additional cases across the United States.
- The outbreak of illnesses in Salt Lake City caused by Yolo CBD pens was due to synthetic marijuana, not CBD.
- Thompson’s involvement in distributing spiked vapes led to her arrest and guilty plea, facing up to 40 years in prison.
- Yolo CBD pens were found to contain synthetic marijuana, known as K2 or spice, instead of CBD, leading to severe health issues among users.
- Investigations into the distribution of Yolo CBD pens revealed connections to multiple states, indicating widespread distribution.
- Thompson’s involvement in the distribution of spiked vapes extended beyond Utah, with evidence of sales in at least six other states.
- The Utah Poison Control Center received a tip about the source of Yolo CBD pens, leading to further investigation by law enforcement agencies.
- While Thompson’s guilty plea focused on the distribution of synthetic marijuana, her former business partner, Katarina Maloney, distanced herself from Yolo during the investigation.
- Maloney emphasized that products from Mathco Health Corporation undergo lab testing and comply with all laws, denying any involvement in the manufacture or sale of illegal products.
- Despite legal action against Thompson and investigations into the distribution of spiked vapes, questions remain about the safety and regulation of vaping products in the market. Original Article posted on USA Today, by Halbrook Mohr, of the Associated Press.
Background:
- Thompson’s entrepreneurial journey began in 2010 when she co-founded Hookahzz, an e-cigarette company, with a roommate in Southern California.
- Hookahzz experienced early success, with their CBD vapes featured at prestigious events like the Emmy Awards and included in Oscar nominee gift bags.
- Thompson’s business ventures expanded to other CBD products, including capsules, edibles, and pet products.
- In 2017, Thompson and her partner established Mathco Health Corporation, which later became associated with the distribution of Yolo CBD pens spiked with synthetic marijuana.
Investigation and Legal Action:
- Yolo CBD pens containing synthetic marijuana began appearing on store shelves in Utah in 2017, leading to numerous poisonings and deaths.
- Investigators traced the distribution of spiked vapes to Thompson’s company, Mathco Health Corporation.
- Thompson’s former bookkeeper and other employees raised concerns about the production and distribution of Yolo CBD pens.
- Federal prosecutors linked Thompson to the distribution of spiked vapes, resulting in her guilty plea to drug trafficking and money laundering charges.
- Thompson’s former business partner, Katarina Maloney, distanced herself from Yolo during the investigation.
Conclusion:
The case of Yolo CBD pens highlights the dangers of unregulated vaping products and the importance of transparency in the industry. Consumers should exercise caution and avoid products from manufacturers with questionable practices. Law enforcement agencies continue to investigate and prosecute individuals involved in the distribution of illicit vaping products.
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Health Canada May Permit Promotion of Vaping’s Health Benefits
Federal Government’s Consideration
Our federal government is contemplating allowing vape companies to advertise the health benefits of their products.
Potential Approved Statements
Examples of these approved statements might include “switching completely from smoking to E-cigarettes will reduce harms to your health” and “if you are a smoker, switching completely to vaping is a much less harmful option”.
Public Perception and Reality
This may come as a surprise to some individuals who have been reading reports on vaping and lung disease. It is important to understand that the above statements are accurate and will be beneficial to current smokers considering the use of E-cigarettes.
The Data on Vaping-Related Illness
The data has shown that the vast majority of individuals affected by vaping-related illness have been using THC pods that are often unregulated, and not nicotine vaping products. In fact, nicotine vaping products have been on the market for over 15 years, are currently used by an estimated 50 million people across the world, and have not shown any history of acute illness related to their use.
The Importance of Target Audience
The key here is to ensure that these advertisements are viewed only by adults who are currently smoking cigarettes.
Original article available here.
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Richmond British Columbia bans promotional advertisements for vaping on city property
City Council voted unanimously against advertisements for vaping products on any city property throughout Richmond British Columbia.
Clay Adams, who is the spokesperson for the city of Richmond, states “vaping is a significant health issue. All the evidence suggests that, and this is the at least one thing that we can do. We hope others will follow suit and do similar.”
I disagree with this concept that promoting any adult recreational activities or harm reducing activities should be banned across Canada. If this is going to the stance of our government, we should be banning all alcohol and gambling related advertisements in any public places. These activities both have the potential to do great harm to the youth in our Country.
What I’d rather see, is to require any vaping advertisements to come with it additional risks and information similar to the responsible gambling rules required for promotion of gambling. To my understanding, there are no required warnings on alcohol advertisements in Canada.
Almost everything we do carries with it a degree of risk. Unless we want to see Canada become either a nanny state, or worse some sort of socialist – communist society, there needs to be some sort of free market capabilities and grace for various products and services that are for adults.
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California suggests their residence to put E-cigarettes down
In one of the most aggressive and polarizing statements made by any government agency anywhere in the United States, the California Department of Public Health [CDPH] stated this: “refrain from vaping, no matter the substance or source”.
This is an incredible and ignorant step outside of any conceived rationality, and for that matter any scientific evidence currently available on this topic. If you suggest current nicotine vapors to stop using vaping products, you are sending them back to cigarettes as the only effective source to receive their nicotine fix. We are all aware of the incredible damage smoking cigarettes causes and for government to recommend this action is nothing short of a catastrophic misguided statement from ignorant overzealous political figures.
Even the Center for disease control has made the statement “to date, national and state data suggest that products containing THC, particularly those obtained off the street or from other informal sources are linked to most of the cases and play a major role in the outbreak”.(Citation)
The CDC also states “if you are an adult using E cigarettes, or vaping, products, to quit smoking, do not return to smoking cigarettes.” (Citation)
It feels like the California government is protecting the legalization of marijuana while ignoring the obvious fact that THC pods are the primary source for the illnesses taking place in the United States. It is estimated by Forbes magazine that California has total sales of recreational marijuana products in the neighborhood of $2.75 billion dollars. They have a lot of skin in the game regarding marijuana products.
Dr. Charity Dean, who is the acting state public health officer stated: “there are numerous unknown factors at this time, and due to the uncertainty of the exact cause, it is our recommendation that consumers refrain from vaping until the investigation has concluded.”
Vaping nicotine E–liquid has been around the United States for over a decade and has caused no known acute lung illnesses since its inception. Yet it is now recommended by the California government to stop due to an uncorrelated and unsubstantiated piece of information. The E-cigarettes themselves are not the culprit, but rather specific products being used inside the devices.
Hopefully cooler heads will prevail, as California has always been the most dramatically socialist state in the United States and more controlling than any other state.
Review original article here.
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Juul suspending sales of fruity flavours over impending Trump ban
The most popular e-cigarette manufacture in North America, Juul has chosen to pull all of their fruity flavours off of the shelves in the United States.
This move is being done pro-actively in the Trump administration policy that is expected to remove flavored e-cigarettes from the market.
Trump States “we can’t have our youth be so affected” and “people are dying with vaping” suggesting that a flavour ban would reduce deaths due to vaping.
The administration for Donald Trump stated they would remove all flavour pods, including mint and menthol flavours, and leave just tobacco flavours on the market.
To be clear – the preliminary evidence regarding people dying and being sick from vaping has not shown nicotine e-cigarettes as the likely culprit, but rather THC infused vape pens that are unregulated in the United States, with the exception of a few states that have legalized marijuana. Banning fruit flavored vaping products will not protect against recent vaping related deaths and sicknesses, as there has been no evidence to support that vaping nicotine e-liquid is causing this epidemic, and a great deal of evidence to support the theory it is THC vape pods causing it. Even if there were evidence to support nicotine e-cigarettes as causing sickness, allowing tobacco flavours in the market would keep the dangers in play.
Vaping illness and deaths and increases in youth vaping are two entirely separate problems that seem to be being lumped together by our media, our policy makers, and our government.
Juul Spokesman Austin Finan stated that Juul will “continue to review our policies and practices in advance of the FDA’s flavour guidance and have not made any final decisions… We are refraining from lobbying the administration on its draft flavour guidance and will fully support and comply with the final policy when effective”
In 2018, Tobacco company Altria purchased a 35% stake in Juul, at a suggested 12.8 billion dollars. Over the past several months the Juul company has been under fire in the media for allegedly miss-representing their products, and targeting youth in their promotions.
From my perspective, banning flavours outside of tobacco flavors will have little impact on youth vaping. Teenagers drink beer, and smoke cigarettes, both which taste pretty terrible to most people. They seem to be missing the point that teenage vaping use is a way to rebel against their parents, gain individuality and freedom, and has been going on in different forms since as long as we know.
Product Bans and prohibitions most often increase challenges as under ground and illegal unregulated vaping products will show their faces on the black market. This lack regulation could increase the risk of dangerous chemicals being used in their production. Just look at the recent case involving THC pods making people sick that is still ongoing in the United States.
What can be done?
No one wants an increase in youth and teenage use of vaping products. What we need is better and more strict regulations and penalties for businesses selling vaping products to minors, as well as better education for our youth. We talk with our children about alcohol, prescription drugs, and other forms of dangerous activity. When we discuss vaping, its dangers, and what is is designed for – current smokers looking for an alternative – it will go a long way to reduce this problem. In my opinion, bans and prohibitions will have little net positive effect.
Howie
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CDC Report – Significant Decline in Young Adult Smokers Disproves ‘Gateway Effect’ of Vaping
CDC’s Findings
A recent study released by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention presents intriguing data. The CDC reports that between 2014 and 2018, the percentage of young adults aged 18-24 who currently smoke cigarettes in the United States has dropped from 16.7% to 7.8%. This represents an overall reduction of over 50% in smokers aged 18-24, indicating no ‘gateway effect’ of vaping.
Increase in E-Cigarette Usage
During the same period, the percentage of adults in this group who currently use electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) has risen from 5.1% to 7.6%, an increase of 33%.
Debunking the ‘Gateway Effect’
The notion that an increase in the use of e-cigarettes will lead to an increase in adult smokers seems to be unfounded based on this CDC information. In contrast, the number of young adult smokers has seen a significant reduction over the past 5 years.
The Net Result
The overall net result is a 50% decrease in young adults smoking cigarettes, and an overall increase in non-smokers aged 18-24 from 78.2% to 84.6%.
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Toronto Ontario considering mandatory licences for local vape shops
This Monday, October 7th, 2019, the General Government & Licensing Committee signed off on a new recommendation. This vaping regulation would require businesses that sell vape products in Toronto to buy a license from the city.
If this proposal continues it could come into place by the end of October.
Its estimated in the Toronto area to be 78 specialty vape shops, and up to 1,400 gas stations and variety stores selling vape products.
The proposal would cost vape shop owners an estimated $645 initial fee, and annual fees of $315.
From my perspective, being a vape shop owner, I’m all for vaping regulations across Canada. The problem is this: “…of the roughly 1,400 locations in the city that sell vape products, including gas stations and tobacco shops, Grant said will be a different process. The locations that already have licenses to sell tobacco will be required to register with the city that they are selling vape products at no additional cost.” (citation)
What this means is, of the 1,478 businesses actively selling vaping products in Toronto, 1,400 of them will not have to pay any additional fee to be allowed to sell vaping products, and 78 of them will. This will specifically target stand alone vape shops in Toronto. I am all for regulation, but it needs to be fair and balanced. Targeting the 0.55% of stores that specialize in vape shops with licensing fees, and allowing the 1,400+ gas stations and grocery stores to pay nothing, is unfair.
Lumping tobacco products and vape products is a dangerous precedent. Vaping products need to be separated from tobacco products in the eyes of the world, and lumping them all together, and forcing vape shops alone to incur additional fees is unreasonable.
What is needed (in my humble opinion) is regulation on the quality of the products, and not just not selling vaping products to minors. If all that is needed to sell vape products is a license, but the quality of the products remains unregulated, concern will still remain about the safety of vaping products.
What we need is a regulation similar to current regulations we have for selling and manufacturing food products, which has specific requirements, including expiry dates, ingredient lists, and a host of other processing and producing regulations. This protects the public from low quality food products in our grocery stores.
When you visit a grocery store, you have an expectation of safe food products, and when you visit a vape shop, you should have these same expectations. With properly imposed government regulations this would be the case when purchasing vaping products.
We recommend you purchase you vape products only from recognized and long-standing vape companies. Don’t purchase vape products from convenience stores, pop up locations at carnivals, kiosks at malls, or farmers markets, and never buy an e-liquid without the ingredients listed, and an expiry date or manufactured date on the bottle.
Original article can be found here.