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** 29 April 2020
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** UK
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** Inside Health: The Virus (#1)
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** New smoking laws will see certain varieties banned in UK from next month (#2)
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** International
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** USA: Imperial bids to avoid Blu going up in smoke (#3)
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** USA: Study claims vaping damages arteries and blood vessels (#4)
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** UK
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“It's well established that the best thing smokers can do for their health is to quit. Smoking contributes to many of the underlying conditions that undermine recovery from coronavirus, and it is pretty clear that a coronavirus patient who smokes will likely have a worse outcome than one who doesn't. The FDA in the US recently went so far as to suggest smoking might increase the risk of contracting the virus at all. Nevertheless, existing data coming from various studies of patients around the world appear to show smaller numbers of smokers amongst the hospitalised cases than might be expected from local smoking populations. There are fewer smokers than there should be in the data. But why?
“As the University of Edinburgh and Cancer Research UK's Professor Linda Bauld tells Claudia, there may be several simple reasons for this, such as data gathering - that patients' smoking status is going unrecorded or unverified. But a study last week from France goes so far as to suggest that nicotine itself, know to disrupt some of the receptors that viruses use to enter cells, may be conferring some kind of a protection. It is just a hypothesis, but while the dangers of smoking tobacco still stand, studies on COVID-19 patients using nicotine patches might be worthwhile. And if you are trying to quit, nicotine replacement therapy might be an even better idea just now than was thought.”
Source: BBC Sounds, 28 April 2020
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Menthol cigarettes will be banned in the UK under new laws coming into play next month. The ban - which will affect menthol cigarettes, skinny cigarettes and click-dual cigarettes - is the culmination of a four-year phasing out period under the EU Tobacco Product Directive.
Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) said the ban will stop the production and sale of any filters, paper, packaging, capsules or other component containing flavourings in cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco. It also extends to “technical features” which would allow consumers to modify the smell, taste, or smoke intensity of the product.
Source: The Mirror, 28 April 2020
Editorial note
Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive of ASH, said "Research shows that menthol makes it easier for young people to start smoking because it masks the harshness when they first try to inhale. In reality, menthol cigarettes are just as harmful as regular cigarettes and most adult smokers become addicted to smoking in their youth. Removing menthol cigarettes from the market will deter young people from starting smoking. This will help the Government reach its ambition for a smokefree England by 2030, which is defined by smoking rates below 5%.”
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** International
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The tobacco group behind Blu vaping products has applied for marketing approval in the United States after a clampdown by regulators. Fontem, an American subsidiary of Imperial Brands, has filed pre-market tobacco product applications to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking authorisation for the continued sale of a range of its Blu products.
The application comes before a deadline of 9th September for e-cigarette companies to submit their vaping products for review or take them off the American market.
Last week a federal court granted the FDA permission to extend the deadline, originally set for 12th May, because the coronavirus pandemic had disrupted laboratory work needed for the applications and because some FDA staff had been redeployed to work for the US Public Health Service.
The application process comes after the FDA banned fruit and mint flavoured e-cigarette cartridges amid fears that they were of particular appeal to young people
Imperial Brands, a constituent of the FTSE 100, is one of the world’s biggest tobacco manufacturers. Its core business remains selling tobacco, such as Davidoff and Gauloises cigarettes. There has been uncertainty in the City over the extent of Imperial’s commitment to e-cigarettes after a boardroom change. Stefan Bomhard, the boss of Inchcape, the car dealer, was appointed as chief executive in February, but is not due to start until July.
He replaced Alison Cooper, who had run Imperial for nine years but had faced criticism for disappointing progress with its non-combustible products and a slide in its share price. Imperial warned in February that the US ban and disappointing demand meant that it expected full-year net revenue to be at a similar level to last year’s £31.6 billion. Shares in Imperial rose 61½ pence, or 3.9%, to £16.31½ last night.
Source: The Times, 29 April 2020
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Vaping may damage the arteries and blood vessel function much like smoking traditional cigarettes, a new study has found. Researchers studied more than 400 men and women aged between 21 and 45 made up of non-smokers, cigarette smokers, e-cigarette users and people who both smoked and vaped (dual users).
The team measured blood vessel function in e-cigarette users and dual users who had been using e-cigarettes for at least three months. All e-cigarette users were former cigarette smokers.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association today (29 April 2020), found that former smokers who switched to e-cigarettes and dual users had arteries that were just as stiff as those of traditional cigarette smokers.
Source: Metro, 29 April 2020
See also
JAHA. Alterations in Vascular Function Associated With the Use of Combustible and Electronic Cigarettes. ([link removed]) April 2020.
Editorial note
Deborah Arnott, chief executive of ASH, said “I would urge e-cigarette users not to take this as proof that vaping is as harmful as smoking, which is not the case. This study only assessed people at one point in time, so could not say whether switching from smoking to vaping improves an individual’s heart health. Research funded by the British Heart Foundation studied smokers before and after they switched and found that smokers who switched to e-cigarettes demonstrated a significant improvement in their vascular health within four weeks. Participants who transitioned completely from smoking to vaping achieved greater improvement compared to those who continued to use both tobacco cigarettes and e-cigarettes.”
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