7 October 2019

UK

UK vape sales hold fast despite US scares

International

US: Temporary ban on vape sales in Massachusetts' upheld

Parliamentary Activity

Parliamentary questions

UK

UK vape sales hold fast despite US scares

UK vape sales appear to be remaining steady despite the criticism of e-cigarettes seen in the US, with the vaping market growing 37% in value year-on-year, according to new data from Juul. Last week Asda owner Walmart said it would stop selling e-cigarettes while US president Donald Trump announced plans to ban flavoured e-cigarettes.

In the UK, where the e-cigarette market is regulated by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), Public Health England continues to advise that e-cigarettes are 95% safer than cigarettes based on available evidence. "Our advice on e-cigarettes remains unchanged - vaping isn't completely risk free, but is far less harmful than smoking tobacco" a spokesperson told Convenience Store magazine. 

An independent retailer in Warwickshire said his vape sales were growing steadily and were now worth almost £2,500 a week. "We are about to invest in vaping in a big way so obviously the reports of deaths in the US are a concern, but so far we have seen no impact on our sales and if customers do ask us about it, we are reassuring them that the government advice is still that vaping is much safer than smoking" he said.

Source: Convenience Store (print edition), 4 October 2019

International

US: Temporary ban on vape sales in Massachusetts' upheld
 

A federal judge has upheld Massachusetts' four-month ban on the sale of vaping products. US District Judge Indira Talwani on Friday 4th October denied the vaping industry's request for a temporary reprieve from the ban while their legal challenge plays out in the Boston federal court.

Industry group Vapor Technology Association and local vape store owners have argued the ban will destroy Massachusetts' $331 million nicotine vapour products industry and cause "irreparable harm" to their business.


Source: Daily Mail, 5 October 2019


See also
CNN: Massachusetts to temporarily ban the sale of e-cigarettes and vaping products
Read Article

Parliamentary Activity

Parliamentary questions
 

PQ1: Tobacco import duties post-Brexit (HMT)


Asked by Catherine McKinnell, Newcastle Upon Tyne North
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HM Treasury’s September 2019 publicity campaign on duty free cigarettes and alcohol for travellers to EU countries was subject to approval by Ministers in his Department.

Answered by Jesse Norman, Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
This is Government policy and the announcement was subject to ministerial approval.

Source: Hansard, 4 October 2019
Link: https://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2019-09-25.290761.h

PQ2: Tobacco import duties post-Brexit (DHSC)

Asked by Catherine McKinnell, Newcastle Upon Tyne North
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on HM Treasury’s September 2019 publicity campaign on duty free cigarettes and alcohol for travellers to EU countries in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Answered by Jo Churchill, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care
No such discussions have taken place. The Government is committed to addressing harms from alcohol and smoking and improving the population’s health.

Source: Hansard, 4 October 2019
Link: https://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2019-09-25.290757.h

PQ3: E-cigarettes and tobacco 

Asked by Damian Hinds, East Hampshire
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what evidence base his Department used for the guidance issued on (a) vaping, (b) heat-not-burn and (c) other non-smoke nicotine products.

Answered by Jo Churchill, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care
The Government has an ongoing programme to build the evidence base about e-cigarettes. This includes annual evidence updates available from Public Health England available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/e-cigarettes-and-vaping-policy-regulation-and-guidance#e-cigarettes-evidence-reviews

Systematic reviews from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence available at the following links:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng92
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ph45

Reports from the Committees on Toxicity, Mutagenicity, Carcinogenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment on heated tobacco products and on electronic cigarettes available at the following link:

https://cot.food.gov.uk/committee/committee-on-toxicity/cotstatements/cotstatementsyrs/cot-statements-2017/statement-on-heat-not-burn-tobacco-products

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s Yellow Card Scheme notification process for collecting safety concerns about e-cigarettes available at the following link:

https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/the-yellow-card-scheme/

Reports from the National Poisons Information Service available at the following link:

http://www.npis.org/

Source: Hansard, 4 October 2019
Link: https://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2019-09-26.291364.h

For more information call 020 7404 0242, email [email protected] or visit www.ash.org.uk 

ASH Daily News is a digest of published news on smoking-related topics. ASH is not responsible for the content of external websites. ASH does not necessarily endorse the material contained in this bulletin.  
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