The Vape Guy on social media

[Rincewind]

Hey fellow forumites

Just to let everyone know that you can find The Vape Guy on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Me and @BumbleBee both man the facebook page, so anyone can get in touch with us there. @BumbleBee has taken over the instagram page and posts regular pics of whatever happens to take his fancy in the world of vape. I man the twitter page and share mostly health related studies and info from around the globe as I find it.

We would love it if you would join us, give us a like or follow us

 

[Stosta]

Hey fellow forumites

Just to let everyone know that you can find The Vape Guy on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Me and @BumbleBee both man the facebook page, so anyone can get in touch with us there. @BumbleBee has taken over the instagram page and posts regular pics of whatever happens to take his fancy in the world of vape. I man the twitter page and share mostly health related studies and info from around the globe as I find it.

We would love it if you would join us, give us a like or follow us

Hi @Rincewind !

Are you aware that @BumbleBee keeps on posting nudes of himself on your IG account?

 

[BumbleBee]

Hi @Rincewind !

Are you aware that @BumbleBee keeps on posting nudes of himself on your IG account?

 

[Rincewind]

https://www.clivebates.com/public-health-snoopers-detect-vapour-aerosol-at-vape-conference/

 

[Rincewind]

https://www.ibvta.org.uk/question-answers-vaping

Question and Answers on Vaping

• 5TH JANUARY 2017

Is vaping less harmful than smoking?

Yes. There is never a situation where it is better to smoke than it is to vape. According to independent studies by Public Health England and The Royal College of Physicians vaping is recognised as being at least 95 per cent less harmful than smoking [1]. This position is also supported by The Royal College of General Practitioners [2] and many other independent medical and public health bodies [3].

Is vaping an effective tool for helping someone quit smoking?

Yes. Vaping is recognised by the Government as being the number one tool used by smokers to help them quit. Vaping is also recognised as being at least 60 per cent more effective in helping smokers to quit [4] than conventional NRT products which have a recognised failure rate of around 90 per cent [5].

Do we know what is in e-liquid?

Yes. E-liquid contains: nicotine (though not always), propylene glycol, glycerine, and flavorings.

Is nicotine, when consumed by a vaper in e-liquid dangerous?

Pure nicotine is a toxic substance and should be handled with care. The vast majority of e-liquid on the UK market is below 2.0 per cent nicotine strength. Warnings of serious toxicological incidents resulting from e-liquid exposure are unjustified and not supported by available studies [6]. E-liquid has a very low level of toxicity whether it is 18mg/ml or 36mg/ml.

The vast majority of e-liquids will contain pharmaceutical grade nicotine. It is MHRA and FDA approved and the same as that used in NRT products.

Nicotine is addictive when consumed via cigarette smoke. However, as Professor Linda Bauld and others have made clear, nicotine when consumed in a form other than tobacco is not a particularly addictive substance [7].

Robert West, Professor of Health Psychology and Director of Tobacco Studies at University College London’s Department of Epidemiology and Public Health said, “E-cigarettes are about as safe as you can get. We know about the health risks of nicotine. Nicotine is not what kills you when you smoke tobacco. Vaping is probably about as safe as drinking coffee.” [8] Recently a number of bodies including ASH [9] and the Royal Society of Public Health [10] called for more to be done to ensure the public understand that nicotine is ‘not the deadly component in cigarettes.’

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the MHRA have ruled that long term use of nicotine is not detrimental to the health of the user [11]. A ruling that was specifically sought to allow clinicians to prescribe nicotine containing products to pregnant women.

Do children (under 18s) regularly vape and is it a gateway to smoking?

No. The key issue in all of this is not how many children try vaping, but how many vape regularly and how many having tried vaping, go on to smoking.

Recent research produced by ASH [12] demonstrated that children are not vaping in significant numbers. The survey found that regular use of vape products amongst children and young people is rare and is confined almost entirely to those who currently or have previously smoked [13]. Of those young people that do vape, the majority use nicotine free products [14].

Cancer Research UK looked in detail at two major studies into vaping amongst young people in Wales, they concluded, “Looking specifically at two studies dedicated to the use of vaping devices amongst young people in Wales only a minority of teenagers who try vaping go on to become regular users. And the majority of those who do use the devices regularly were already smokers.” [15]

Furthermore, there is no evidence of vaping acting as a gateway to smoking. If there were smoking rates would be rising as vaping has become more popular, instead smoking rates are at their lowest levels, including amongst children. According to ASH, the most recent survey found the lowest recorded smoking rates among children ever: only 18 per cent of 11 to 15-year-olds had tried smoking in 2014 compared with 42 per cent in 2003 [16]. In addition to this, new research from the Centre for Substance Use Research concluded that there was no evidence of a gateway effect from vaping, and furthermore, that vaping may actually contribute the de-normalization of smoking and thus further discourage tobacco use [17].

Sales and proxy purchases of vape products to/for those under the age of 18 is against the law in England and Wales and will soon be against the law in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Is passive vaping damaging to the health of non-vapers?

No. In a recent House of Lords debate the Government made its position on this subject clear: “The levels of toxicants in e-cigarette vapour were very much lower than those found in conventional cigarette smoke and not considered to pose any significant passive inhalation risk.” The Government’s position was recently supported by The Royal College of General Practitioners who said: “There are no identified hazards to bystanders.” [18] In addition, research from Public Health England and The University of Stirling concluded: “The evidence to date does not support a policy to prohibit vaping in public and such policies could have significant unintended consequences by sustaining the use of smoked tobacco.”

Aren’t the World Health Organisation and The British Medical Association critical of vaping?

Both the WHO and BMA recognise that vaping is less harmful than smoking and that if a smoker can only quit through vaping then they should do so. However, both organisations support a much more heavily regulated environment for vaping and are inclined to be overly cautious about vaping in general.

The positions taken by the WHO and BMA are extreme and are not supported by the growing body of credible and independent evidence. Most recently, the WHO position on vaping was publicly attacked by amongst others: Professor John Britton (UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies, University of Nottingham), Professor Ann McNeill (UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies, King's College London), and Professor Linda Bauld (UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies, University of Stirling) [19].

Is vaping in the UK regulated?

Yes. Vaping in the UK is heavily regulated, and in some instances vaping is more heavily regulated than some tobacco products. The primary regulation for vape products in the UK is the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016. These regulations place restrictions on nicotine strength, advertising, bottle and tank sizes. They also impose legal requirements on companies to test devices and liquids and to notify the results to the authorities.

Is vaping controlled and dominated by the tobacco industry?

No. In the UK, the Independent British Vape Trade Association estimates that roughly 85 per cent of the total market for vape products is controlled by the independent market, leaving only 15 per cent to the tobacco industry. Evidence would indicate that the share of the market controlled by the independent industry continues to grow.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/e-cigarettes-around-95-less-harmful-than-tobacco-estimates-landmark-review and https://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/projects/outputs/nicotine-without-smoke-tobacco-harm-reduction-0

[2] http://www.rcgp.org.uk/clinical-and...to-vape-the-rcgp-position-on-ecigarettes.aspx

[3] http://ash.org.uk/files/documents/ASH_1028.pdf

[4] Study carried out on 5,000 smokers, by Professor Robert West looking at the success rate of different methods to stop smoking: nicotine gum, nicotine patches, nothing, or e-cigarettes. Reported on BBC Breakfast 28 April 2014.

[5] Dr Jed Rose, Director of the Duke Center for Smoking Cessation and a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University Medical Center, speaking at the Global Forum on Nicotine (Warsaw, Saturday 6th June 2015): http://gfn.net.co/downloads/2015/Plenary%202/Jed%20Rose.pdf

[6] Epidemiological trends in electronic cigarette exposures reported to U.S. Poison Centers J. P. Vakkalanka , L. S. Hardison, Jr. , C. P. Holstege, Clinical Toxicology, June 2014, Vol. 52, No. 5 : Pages 542-548; Chatham-Stephens K, Law R, Taylor E, Melstrom P, Bunnell R, Wang B, Apelberg B, Schier JG (2014) Notes from the field: calls to poison centers for exposures to electronic cigarettes - United States, September 2010-February 2014. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 63: 292-293; and Ordonez JE, Kleinschmidt KC, Forrester MB (2014) Electronic Cigarette Exposures Reported to Texas Poison Centers. Nicotine Tob Res

[7] http://www.scottishparliament.tv/category.aspx?id=19&page=1&sort=date

[8] The Guardian newspaper 05 June 2013

[9] http://www.ash.org.uk/:ash-supports-calls-for-more-to-be-done-on-public-understanding-of-nicotine

[10] http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/aug/13/health-bosses-promote-e-cigarettes-harmful-tobacco-smoking-experts

[11] http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ph45

[12] http://metro.co.uk/2014/04/27/e-cigs-cleared-of-being-route-into-smoking-4710734/

[13] http://www.ash.org.uk/files/documents/ASH_891.pdf

[14] http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015-12-16/most-teen-e-cigarette-users-dont-vape-nicotine

[15] http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-us/cancer-news/news-report/2015-04-16-regular-e-cigarette-use-low-among-teens-analysis-suggests

[16] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/sep/06/e-cigarette-vaping-ads-children-underestimate-smoking-risks-study-tobacco-cigarettes

[17] https://clinmedjournals.org/articles/iaarm/international-archives-of-addiction-research-and-medicine-iaarm-2-023.pdf

[18] http://www.rcgp.org.uk/clinical-and-research/clinical-news/to-vape-or-not-to-vape-the-rcgp-position-on-ecigarettes.aspx

[19] http://ukctas.net/news/commentary-on-WHO-report-on-ENDS&ENNDS.html

 

[Rincewind]

Health impact of E-cigarettes: a prospective 3.5-year study of regular daily users who have never smoked