e-Cig News Update 12/28 – A long winter’s nap
And… The e-Cigarette News Roundup is back on the scene after a short break to spend time with family during the holidays. I hope everyone had a great time as well and hopefully Santa brought you all the e-cigarette gear you had on your wish lists (if not, you can always go through the e-Cigarette Holiday Gift Guide for yourself!). We have a few stories that came up over the holiday including a full-on ban in Holland, a branding problem in New Zealand, some analysis of the industry and the prohibitionists are gearing up for a fight. So finish off the last of the egg nog and check out today’s e-cigarette news roundup.
Holland Bans e-Cigarettes
Apparently an e-cigarette ban has been announced in Holland. Details are a little sketchy as there doesn’t seem to be a primary source in English (there is a translation of the original announcement in Dutch). According to a post on the ECF, it’s unclear whether or not the ban pertains to nicotine containing e-liquid or e-cigarettes of any stripe.
Holland can now prepare for a large black market, the loss of income to the state from retail sales of e-cigarettes, the loss of jobs from retailers, the money going into the hands of smugglers, thousands of smokers dying unnecessarily, and the state bearing the cost of treating their illnesses. All to save the pharma industry shareholders a few bucks.
I suppose the whole thing is odd in a country where marijuana is legal to put the hammer down on nicotine of all things. Many seem to think this smells of pharmaceutical industry manipulation. Let us know in the comments below what your thoughts are!
Via the Vapor’s Lounge Facebook group
What’s in a Name
A New Zealand company producing e-cigarettes under the brand name Mana has agreed to change the name of their product after criticism. According to a report in the NZ Herald, a single activist pressured the company to change the name. Mana is a word with special meaning to the Maori people.This population also has an above-average smoking rate.
“We’re not targeting Maori … or exploiting Maori … Our goal was to give it a brand name that New Zealanders, both Maori and Pakeha, could identify with. We thought Mana could be a good name for it. Looking at it from that angle, we probably could have picked a better name.”
While I tend to take exception that e-cigarettes are harmful simply because they “look” like cigarettes (all e-cigarettes in the country are nicotine free), this instance doesn’t seem as heavy-handed. Despite the New Zealand government’s hardline actions against e-cigarettes, this move was between private parties.
Bricks ‘n Mortar
Convenience story industry site Convenience Store News ran an article about e-cigarette stores. The story highlighted a recently opened store in Minnesota, the E Cig Shop and Vaporescense out of Texas. The article also looked at why e-cigarettes seem to have been pretty slow to catch on despite their advantages.
“What I see as the issue is there is an education curve that consumers are not willing to financially invest in and the manufacturers are not financially sponsoring,” he said. “It takes a huge amount of education to get people to try electronic cigarettes. It’s an uphill battle. It’s something that requires a big change.”
The article also went on to note that without standardization, e-cigarettes will continue to be a bit of a minority item. While I’m not for lack of choice, I believe this to be the case. Behind the political issues, the sort of wild west of standards out there along with the devices are considerably more work than regular cigarettes. If those things are resolved, the electronic cigarette industry could truly grow to huge proportions.
ALA Campaigns in Wisconsin
It’s no secret that the American Lung Association is against e-cigarettes. The organization has taken to a grass-roots approach in Wisconsin. The ALA has posted a form letter on their site that people can fill out urging politicians in the state to oppose a new measure that will exempt e-cigarettes from existing smoking bans.
No such evidence exists that e-cigarettes can help smokers quit; they are not approved by the FDA as smoking cessation devices. In addition, allowing e-cigarettes inside bars and restaurants would likely create an enforcement headache for business owners trying to comply with the law. Checking who is lighting-up an electronic cigarette versus an actual cigarette throughout your bar would be burdensome and create confusion among the patrons and the public.
It looks like the usual arguments are at play here, hiding behind the FDA’s seemingly misguided crusade against the devices. I particularly like that form letter encourages Wisconsin residents to infer that Wisconsin residents are a little stupid. Perhaps if you’re a state resident it’s time to send a letter off to your elected officials in support of the measure, no? See CASAA’s current call to action for details on how you can help!
via We are CASAA Facebook group
Small Case Study
CASAA recently reported on their blog about an e-cigarette case study. The small study followed three smokers with a history of failed quit attempts as they used e-cigarettes to give up regular cigarettes. I’m pretty sure you know how this will end.
Case presentation: Three Caucasian smokers (two men aged 47 and 65 years and one woman aged 38 years) with a documented history of recurring relapses were able to quit and to remain abstinent for at least six months after taking up a cigarette.
This study is encouraging, even if it is very small-scale. It also says what many of us already know having lived the same experience. Of course, even if the study observed 30,000 people it would likely be ignored by some of the powers that be.
Australian Science on e-Cigarettes
Simply named Australian science site, Australian Science ran a post about e-cigarettes recently. The post discusses electronic cigarettes and their future in Australia and elsewhere as cessation devices. The piece mentioned some recent studies (including the one mentioned by CASAA) showing the efficacy of the devices along with reasons for mistrusting the devices as stated by groups like the FDA.
What the real effects of using these devices are over a long period of time still remains unclear. Until long-term clinical trials are conducted, health authorities such as the FDA are going to see them as a threat and a potential health hazard. The reasoning is that the components of these products have not yet been tested for safety and cessation efficiency, and thus should be avoided.
Of course the problem with that particular passage (the article is not actually a prohibitionist piece) and many of these arguments is that every component has been tested individually. Propylene glycol has been studied for 70 years, nicotine separate from smoke has also been extensively studied. Flavoring has also been studied, but not as inhalants, that’s really the only missing piece of the study puzzle. Yet, listening to the claims, you would think e-cigarettes contain voodoo or something sinister.
Deal of the Moment
Did Santa pass you up this year? It’s OK, you don’t have to tell me, you know who you are. Vapge knows some of you are out there too and are offering up a sale to make up for any holiday omissions. Use the code “iwasnaughty” for a nice 25% off your order over at Vapage. Now you can pick up a shiny new V-MOD or the new V-MOD XL (review coming next week) at a steal!
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Photo Credits
Image: renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Image: David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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I am wondering what your source is of your news because here in Holland you can walk in ANY specialized tobacco store and buy 1 or 2 or 3 electronic cigarettes ..You even can choose out of 3 or 4 different kinds ! So , once again i dont know where you get your "news" but this is simply not the case right now !
I generally post a link back to the article or source I used. In this case it was a forum post which I try not to use, however that post had a link to the original article (in Dutch). I posted a followup a couple updates later where a UK blogger was able to get a friend from Holland to translate the article, which apparently stated that the government had intended to classify e-cigarettes as medical devices which would have the effect of preventing their sale unless they got the same approval as pharmaceuticals. That roundup is here: http://www.stevevape.com/e-cig-news-roundup-1-2-1…
To be honest, when it comes to stories about bans I'm more than happy to be wrong since that means either such moves never went through or they were largely symbolic.