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‘Strong certainty’ that e-cigarettes are better than other nicotine replacement therapy for quitting smoking, review finds
A Cochrane review, published on 17 November 2022, has concluded there is a “strong certainty” that people who use nicotine-containing e-cigarettes to help them stop smoking are more likely to quit than those who use nicotine replacement therapy. The researchers calculated this would lead to an additional 4 people stopping smoking for every 100 who used e-cigarettes instead of nicotine replacement therapy.
Researchers from the international Cochrane Collaboration reviewed current evidence and included 78 studies (22,052 participants), of which half were randomised controlled trials.
There are currently no nicotine-containing e-cigarettes licensed by the Medicines and Health products Regulatory Agency for smoking cessation, although the agency updated its guidance on e-cigarettes in October 2021, which the Department of Health and Social Care said would “pave the way” for licensing applications.
Hazel Cheeseman, Deputy Chief Executive of Action on Smoking and Health, said: “Pharmacists should have already been recommending vaping as a smoking cessation option following new guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence last year. The updated Cochrane review gives us even stronger confidence in the evidence and reaffirms the importance of ensuring smokers know that vaping is an effective way to stop smoking.”
Source: The Pharmaceutical Journal, 29 November 2022
See also: Cochrane Library - Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation
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Lincolnshire's healthy lifestyle service now offering e-cigarettes as a route to quit smoking
From this month, the healthy lifestyle service commissioned by Lincolnshire County Council will provide e-cigarettes as an additional Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) option for over 18’s, on its 12-week Be Smoke Free Programme. Since One You Lincolnshire began in 2019, it has successfully helped over 7,500 people across the county to stop smoking.
Research has found people who used e-cigarettes to quit smoking, as well as having expert face-to-face support, can be up to twice as likely to succeed as people who used other nicotine replacement products, such as patches or gum. The latest OHID review into vaping found “significantly lower exposure to harmful substances from vaping compared with smoking, as shown by biomarkers associated with the risk of cancer, respiratory and cardiovascular conditions.”
One You Lincolnshire Stop Smoking Lead, Theresa Shortland, says: “According to Public Health England, around 60% of smokers want to quit, 10 % of whom intend to do so within three months. Around 16% of adult residents in Lincolnshire are estimated to be current smokers which means there could be as many as 59,000 smokers in Lincolnshire who want to give up. Currently, around half of all smokers in England try to quit unaided using willpower alone, despite this being the least effective method. This 12-week programme gives Lincolnshire residents the perfect opportunity to succeed in their quit […].”
Source: Lincolnshire World, 30 November 2022
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Scotland: ‘Bitter smoker ’ is suspect over banker killing
Detectives believe an embittered smoker may have been behind the murder of a banker who was shot dead on his doorstep. Officers are convinced the motive for Alistair Wilson being shot was a dispute over decking at a bar next to his family home in Nairn.
Wilson was killed on November 28, 2004, when the Scottish executive was pushing ahead with plans to ban smoking in public places. Detective Superintendent Graeme Mackie told The Scottish Sun: “We understand a lot of locals were invested in the decking because they helped build it — with people probably feeling this is an area they could enjoy a drink while having a cigarette and this might be getting taken away from them. So we believe there would have been a strength of feeling . . . [of being] aggrieved.”
Many detectives who helped to bring William MacDowell to justice after 46 years have been tasked with solving the 2004 killing.
Source: The Times, 30 November 2022
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Big tobacco tries to stop California flavoured tobacco ban
R.J. Reynolds and other tobacco companies filed a request yesterday asking the US Supreme Court to impose an emergency order to stop California from enforcing a ban on flavoured tobacco and vaping products that was overwhelmingly approved by voters earlier this month.
The ban was first passed by the state legislature two years ago but never took effect after tobacco companies gathered enough signatures to put it on the ballot. But after nearly two-thirds of voters approved of banning the sale of flavoured vapes and cigarettes, it is set to go into effect by 21 December.
R.J. Reynolds filed a federal lawsuit challenging the ban a day after the vote on 8 November, but the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday denied the company's emergency motion to block the law pending appeal.
California will be the second state in the nation, after Massachusetts, to enact a ban prohibiting the sale of all flavoured tobacco products.
Source: ABC News, 30 November 2022
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Australian government to crack down on e-cigarettes
Australia’s federal health minister, Mark Butler, plans to propose reforms aimed at curtailing the e-cigarette industry in the country. Butler claims, “The former government dropped the ball on vaping. Our children are paying the price for that division and delay.”
It is illegal to sell, supply or possess an e-cigarette or any liquid that contains nicotine in Australia without a doctor’s prescription. But some suggest suppliers have been getting around this by removing “nicotine” from the ingredients list, even when their products contain it.
At an event at Parliament House in Canberra today to mark 10 years since plain packaging was introduced for tobacco products, Butler will announce the government will begin a public consultation process through drugs regulator the Therapeutic Goods Administration on nicotine vaping products.
Guardian Australia understands the proposed vaping reforms will include a blanket ban on the import of nicotine vaping products and tougher measures to curb advertising of tobacco and vaping to children on social media. Butler is also expected to propose additional tobacco control measures at the event.
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Backbench debate
Disposable Vapes: Environmental Impact
Yesterday, 29 November, MPs held a backbench debate on the environmental impact of disposable vapes.
Led by Kirsten Oswald SNP MP for East Renfrewshire, the motion put forward was: “That this House has considered the environmental impact of disposable vapes.”
Responding for the Government, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Rachel Pow:
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Restated the Government’s commitment to a smokefree 2030 and confirmed the Government recognises that vaping is far less harmful than smoking and is an effective device for helping smokers quit.
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Restated the Government has two priorities for vaping: maximise the opportunity to help smokers to quit whilst minimising uptake by children.
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Acknowledged that improper disposal of disposable vapes is an environmental concern that needs addressing, citing the key findings from recent research commissioned by non-profit organisation, Material Focus.
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Stressed the importance of striving to ensure compliance with existing environmental obligations before jumping to an outright ban
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Confirmed that officials had held discussions in recent weeks with the vaping sector to ensure the sector understands and communicates its obligations in relation to waste electrical and electronic equipment regulations, and similar obligations in relation to batteries, and confirmed the discussions will continue, in accordance with Article 5.3 of the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).
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Stated the Environment Agency and the Office for Product Safety and Standards (enforcer of the retailer take-back obligation) are putting together a programme to drive up compliance to this obligation, and are looking at what more can be done.
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Stated the Government are reviewing the current producer responsibility system for waste electricals and batteries and plan to publish consultations on both areas next year which will include considering what, if any, changes are needed to that legislation to ensure that the vaping sector plays its part in properly financing the cost of the collection and treatment of the products when they become waste.
Source: Hansard, 29 November 2022
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