As The Times reported this week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has denied permission for the myblu brand of e-cigarettes to be sold in the US. Myblu joins the tens of thousands of vape products that have had their marketing application refused since the agency began assessing them on a case-by-case basis. It is particularly significant since it is the first major pod-based device to be assessed. The decision does not bode well for similar brands such as Juul and Ace which still await their fate.



The US is in the grips of a moral panic about vaping. In a 2020 survey, 35 per cent of Americans said they thought vaping was as harmful as smoking and 28 per cent said it was more harmful. Only 2.6 per cent gave the correct answer that it is much less harmful. It is also widely believed that e-cigarettes are a ‘gateway’ to smoking despite the proportion of high school students who smoked in the last 30 days dropping from 16 per cent to 2 per cent since the supposed ‘epidemic’ of teen vaping began.  

According to the FDA, myblu ‘did not demonstrate that the potential benefit to smokers who switch completely or significantly reduce their cigarette use would outweigh the risk to youth.’ This is a high hurdle to clear since the company cannot prove beyond doubt what will happen in the future and the FDA appears to be paying no attention to the recent past. In effect, the FDA has the power to ban any vape product on the basis of the precautionary principle.



As IEA Head of Regulatory Affairs Victoria Hewson and I argue in a new IEA report, Vaper Trails: The precautionary approach to safer alternatives to smoking, it is not cautious but reckless. Activists who oppose tobacco harm reduction tend to focus on the potential risks, rather than on their risks relative to the hazards of smoking. This is a mistake. The realistic counterfactual to a scenario in which hundreds of millions of smokers switch to lower-risk nicotine products is not one in which nicotine use disappears but one in which hundreds of millions of people continue to smoke cigarettes.

What we need in this market, as in many others, is not a precautionary principle but an innovation principle. Victoria and I set out what we think this should look like. Read the full paper here.

The report was also covered in City AM and The Sun. 

Christopher Snowdon
Head of Lifestyle Economics, Institute of Economic Affairs

LIVE WITH LITTLEWOOD

Live with Littlewood returned this week with another expert panel of guests to debate the big news stories of the week, including the French presidential election, the Prime Minister and Chancellor's futures, and the Online Safety Bill.



Host and IEA Director General Mark Littlewood was joined by John Ashmore, Editor of CapX; Martin Durkin, Film Producer and Director; Tom Harwood, Political Correspondent at GB News; and IEA Head of Regulatory Affairs Victoria Hewson.



The panel discussed whether the backlash surrounding Rishi Sunak's wife's non-dom status is justified, and whether MPs' finances should be under greater scrutiny.  

On the chances of Marine Le Pen beating incumbent Emmanuel Macron in the French presidential election, Victoria and John agreed it was unlikely, while Mark quizzed the panel on whether Macron might deserve a better hearing than he gets from free marketeers. Is he setting France "en marche" towards economic liberalism? 

Watch the full episode on the IEA YouTube Channel here.

iN THE MEDIA



Cruel bureaucracy... It was reported this week that sponsors to Homes for Ukraine scheme were being rejected because their plug sockets were too low or ceiling plaster the wrong kind. In her weekly column for The Spectator, IEA Director of Communications Annabel Denham criticised this "British nit-picking bureaucracy," saying:

"The government ought to be straining every sinew to get the Ukrainian people out of danger as quickly as possible. At the very least, the standards that would normally apply to renting a property ought to be loosened in the interest of accelerating their exit from a war zone."



Cross Questions... On Tuesday, Annabel appeared on LBC Cross Questions to discuss the main news stories of the day.

Discussing the Partygate scandal, Annabel argued the Conservatives could recover their electoral credibility by tackling the cost of living crisis and sticking to their promise to reduce taxes. Watch a clip here.



Start drilling... This week, Ineos chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe urged the government to approve a fracking test site. IEA Energy Analyst Andy Mayer welcomed the proposals in City AM, reminding readers that harnessing domestic supply of energy would reduce reliance on Russian imports.

He also discussed fracking, and wider energy policy, on the Bloomberg Westminster podcast. Listen here. 



No country for old men... In a column for The Telegraph Business, Annabel examined how labour regulation is disincentivising over-50s from remaining in and re-entering the workforce.

The number of economically inactive over-50s has grown to over 300,000, up from 278,000 in the previous quarter. She noted that unfavourable IR35 rules on self-employment and tightening age discrimination laws may be to blame for the exodus of older workers. Read here.



Going private... Polling this week showed that close to a third of 18 to 34-year-olds would consider going private for medical care in order to avoid long waiting lists for treatment and GP appointments.

In her fortnightly column for Conservative Home, IEA Head of Media Emily Carver noted that the narrative is shifting around the NHS, and that in a world of convenience, people simply expect better service – as the shift to the private sector demonstrates.



Both the IEA's Head of Political Economy Dr Kristian Niemietz and our Editorial and Research Fellow Professor Len Shackleton both wrote for the IEA Blog on the health service.

Kristian observed that a "combination of NHS patriotism, aggressive moralising and strawman-bashing" has prevented a proper debate on healthcare in the UK. Read here.

Len responded to the news of a sharp fall in GP working hours, and the pitfalls of attempting to ‘plan’ the supply of doctors. Read here.



News review... On Tuesday, IEA Head of Lifestyle Economics Christopher Snowdon appeared on the Mike Graham show on talkRADIO to give his analysis on the economic challenges facing the UK, including the high tax burden and the inefficiency of our public services. Listen to the full programme here.



The 'Culture-Control Left'... In an article for 1828, IEA Head of Cultural Affairs Marc Glendening explained why the new-left's culture war is not 'liberal', as some commentators have suggested. Marc argued that by viewing society as a power hierarchy, in which power supposedly belongs to a group based on certain characteristics, the left are attempting to override individual freedom by authoritarian means. Read here. 

Marc also appeared on talkRADIO to discuss the news that the Colston statue-toppling case will be reviewed by Court of Appeal. He argued acts of vandalism should not be excused and statues should be reviewed in a democratic process. You can watch a clip here.

CALLING ALL STUDENTS!

We are excited to launch the Economic Thought Leaders’ Symposium at the University of Buckingham from 7-9 September 2022.

The theme for this year’s programme is The Economics of War and Peace. We will discuss topics like trade not war, international institutions, diplomacy and game theory. To apply, please send a CV and cover letter explaining why you’d like to attend, as well as 500 words on promoting the reconstruction of an economy after a war to [email protected] by 17 June 2022. You can find out more here.



We have launched the 2022 Dorian Fisher Essay Competition. Named after the beloved wife of our founder Sir Antony Fisher, this is our biggest essay competition of the year, exclusively for A-Level and IB students.

First prize will receive £500, with a separate prize of £500 for the school with the highest number of entrants. The deadline for this year’s competition is Friday 29 July 2022. You can find out more here.