Author: Michelle Villar

15 May The World Pushes Back Against E-Cigarettes and Juul

Howard A. Willard, ex-chairman of Altria, had very big plans for Juul. In January of 2019, after increasing public backlash against Juul, of which Altria had a 35 percent stake in, Willard told executives his plans for the company: “I believe that in five years, 50 percent of Juul’s revenue will be international.” Seemingly following in big tobacco’s footsteps, Juul attempted to move to new markets overseas following public pressure in the United States. This global takeover was entirely unsuccessful, with countries worldwide enacting bans and restrictions, and overall anti-vaping sentiments. China removed Juul from the market after just four days, and plans for India have been abandoned entirely after the country banned all e-cigarettes. Similarly, Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia, and Laos have closed their markets to e-cigarettes. South Korea’s government issued “dire health warnings” concerning e-cigarettes, leading the vaping giant to scale back distribution there and vaping rates to plummet. “It has been an extraordinarily quick backlash,” said Kathleen Hoke, director of the Network for Public Health Law at the University of Maryland. “Countries that you wouldn’t necessarily describe as progressive public health nations are attacking this new product so that it doesn’t become embedded in their culture as cigarettes have.”

Public health officials overseas fear for their youth and a potential vaping epidemic, considering that the company continues to sell their fruit-and dessert-flavored pods outside of the United States. These fruity and enticing flavors have been one of the main factors to blame for the widespread e-cigarette use among American teenagers. Backlash abroad has also been tied to Juul’s marketing advertisements, with critics claiming it has been targeting youth and non-smokers. “We have enough problems with cigarettes and now we have 9-year-olds vaping because they think it’s fun,” said Dr. Ylysses Dorotheo, executive director of the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance. “More than half our population is under 30. The last thing we need is for young people to get hooked on vaping.”

With worldwide anti-vaping sentiment growing exponentially, it seems the vaping giant Juul has nowhere to run.

08 May Anti-Vaping PSAs On YouTube Not Slowing Down Rates of E-Cigarette Use

04 May New Study Finds Ban of Sweet Flavored Pods Has No Effect on Juul Sales

A study released by American Cancer Society researchers published in the American Journal of Public Health showed the removal of “sweet” flavored products by Juul had little-to-no long-term effect on sales, with users quickly switching to other flavors or different brands that were still offering the sweet flavors. The removal of these flavors came in 2018 after the company faced intense scrutiny from the FDA about curbing youth vaping rates. The current study also showed that the introduction of Juul led to the highest levels of youth tobacco use in nearly 20 years, and a CDC report released in 2019 found that over 5 million American middle- and high-schoolers were e-cigarette users, with flavors being a key reason for use. In November 2018, Juul decided to voluntarily stop production of its sweeter-flavors of e-cigarettes from hitting stores in the U.S., and they experienced a decline in sales by approximately ⅔, however, their sales of menthol/mint-flavored products doubled.

Researchers state that their study was done before the new regulations were imposed in January 2020, therefore it will be a while before researchers can find out whether these new restrictions have reduced youth sales. Robin Koval, President and CEO of Truth Initiative, believes there will be no changes and argues that “the current national e-cigarette flavor guidance… includes a large and dangerous loophole that keeps menthol and other youth-appealing e-cigarette flavors on the market. It favors the very industry that has ensnared a new generation to become tobacco users, the highest number in nearly 20 years.” Professionals also believe that the best regulation to reduce e-cigarettes use in youth is to tax the products and limit the nicotine content of the pods.

26 Apr Tobacco, Vaping Industries Enhance Public Image Through Donations for Coronavirus Relief

Tobacco and vaping industries are viewing the coronavirus as an opportunity to boost their public image on social media through charitable donations to their community and by offering freebies, protective gear, doorstep deliveries, and festive pandemic-themed discounts to their customers. Some of the world’s biggest tobacco companies, like Philip Morris International, donated 50 ventilators to the government of Greece where they have one of the highest smoking rates in all of Europe, and Altria, the maker of Marlboro cigarettes, donated a $1-million relief investment to help support vulnerable residents who surround its headquarters in Virginia. Vape manufacturers and retailers are also joining in and donating bottles of hand sanitizer to local police and fire departments across the country.

Anti-smoking advocates, however, are quick to notice the immorality behind the industries’ actions. Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, stated in an interview “it’s as if they don’t realize they’re in the business of destroying lungs… it makes the word ‘hypocrisy’ feel feeble.” The FDA recently warned the public that individuals that smoke are at an elevated risk for complications if they contract COVID-19. Health officials state that smoking or vaping damages the lungs and weakens a person’s ability to fight off respiratory infections, which then heightens their risk of developing chronic lung conditions that can be detrimental once infected. Scientists also note that e-cigarettes can be efficient carriers of the virus since they are frequently passed around and shared, smokers often touch their face and mouth, and the smoke vapor can spread infectious particles to people and surfaces nearby. Myers believes that with the ongoing pandemic, it should serve as a “wake up call” for the community to recognize the harmful effects of smoking and vaping.

17 Apr ACE Project Shifts to Remote Appointments Due to COVID-19

Nothing slows down the ACE Project Team! Florida International University officially closed campus on March 16th due to COVID-19, which has many FIU employees working from home and places restrictions on visitors coming to campus to participate in research. The ACE team is now meeting over Zoom, a remote conferencing service, and has moved quickly to produce protocols in order to complete questionnaire data collection with participants remotely.

Thanks to the speedy efforts of our team, ACE Project participants are given the opportunity to participate in the ACE Project online. Participants will now complete their consent/assent forms and questionnaires through a REDCap link sent to their emails. ACE Project staff will set a time to Zoom with participants in order to answer questions prior to completing their consent, as well as during questionnaire sessions, which mirrors on-campus procedures. Keep the hard work going team!

10 Apr FDA Warns E-Cigarette Users May Be at Greater Risk for COVID-19

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently sent out an email warning individuals of potential health risks linked to COVID-19 from the use of e-cigarettes. In the email, the FDA states that e-cigarettes may leave users with underlying health conditions, therefore, leaving them at a higher risk of serious complications if they contract a respiratory disease, such as the coronavirus. Michael Felberbaum, an FDA spokesman, explains that “e-cigarettes can damage lung cells” which can, therefore, impair the mechanical defenses of the respiratory tract.

In the past, groups of adolescents who regularly vape came down with “e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury (EVALI),” a sometimes deadly lung illness mainly caused by the use of products containing THC. Earlier this year, the FDA took a more hands-on approach to regulate e-cigarette use among youth by banning the sale of flavored cartridge/pod products and raising the minimum age to purchase from 18 to 21. Nonetheless, officials are still warning everyone that COVID-19 can be a serious threat to anyone who smokes tobacco, marijuana, or uses e-cigarettes.

06 Apr American Lung Association Says Recent E-Cigarette Ban is Not Protecting Youth

01 Apr ACE Project Presents At M-DCPS Professional Development Workshop

As adolescents continue to use e-cigarettes, The ACE Project continues to make it their mission to spread awareness of the harms associated with vaping. The team has made great progress on their tour around  Miami-Dade since their start in 2018. On February 24th, Co-Principal Investigator, Dr. Elisa Trucco, presented to over 60 attendees at the M-DCPS Professional Development Workshop on “What Everyone Needs to Know about E-Cigarette Use & Vaping Among Teens”. The workshop consisted of social workers, psychologists, and clinicians of the M-DCPS Emotional/Behavioral Disorders (E/BD) program, and was hosted at Florida International University. Dr. Trucco provided current statistics of e-cigarette use among teens and described the potential risks that it has on the developing brain. At the end of the presentation, attendees were given the opportunity to practice intervention strategies to assist youth with making healthier decisions about vaping. Then, on March 10th, Nasreen Hidmi, ACE Project Program Coordinator, with the help of graduate student, Nilofar Fallah-Sohy, visited the Student Success Center at Paul Bell Middle School where they provided an educational presentation to 18 students on the harms of vaping.

Along with educating the community on the harms of vaping, the ACE Project continues to provide recruitment presentations on how interested students can participate in the project. On February 27th and 28th, Ms. Hidmi and Intake Specialist, Odette Manresa, conducted two days of presentations at Miami Springs Senior High to recruit for the study as well as provide brief information on the harms of vaping. Finally, on March 12th, Ms. Manresa and Senior Research Assistant, Brigitte Madan, dedicated their whole day to present to 150 students at Miami Killian Senior High. The two also set up a lunchtime information table where students were able to ask questions and learn more about The ACE Project.

10 Mar The Californian Vaping Black Market is Hiding in Plain Sight

According to the California Bureau of Cannabis Control (CBCC), in a state where recreational cannabis use is legal, unlicensed stores selling untested vape products, including THC cartridges, are openly in operation. “It is difficult for consumers to know which shops are operating legally,” said Mark Hoashi, founder of Doja, an app where consumers can review cannabis products. Hoashi is a proponent of legalized, and tested, marijuana, saying “I believe that legal vape cartridges are safe. Every drop of cannabis, from the seed all the way to when it’s consumed, is documented and reported to the state — not to mention all of the testing that is required for a product to make it to a legal dispensary.” However, Hoashi warns consumers, saying it is oftentimes difficult to differentiate between legal and illegal cannabis shops, especially because the counterfeit shops sometimes display forged licences and charge customers taxes to seem legitimate. Hoashi says he noticed users on his app reporting worrisome symptoms after vaping THC cartridges, such as nausea and headache. He decided to test cartridges from unlicensed stores at a certified lab and found that most of the products contained illegal levels of pesticides and heavy metals. CNN conducted a similar investigation and found that all five THC cartridges tested contained excessive, and therefore illegal, levels of pesticides. Myron Ronay, who runs BelCosta Labs where CNN sent the cartridges for testing, says “when you concentrate the THC, you concentrate everything along with it. So every pesticide that could’ve been in that plant material — if it went from, let’s just say 20% THC, and now you’ve concentrated it to 80% THC — you’ve also concentrated the pesticides that same amount.”

While these results may not generalize to all black market cartridges, this underlines “the need for transparency” concerning the ingredients in vape products, specifically after the vaping epidemic that recently spread across the nation. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identified vitamin E acetate as a “chemical of concern,” although they do not believe only one ingredient or product is tied to the 2,807 hospital cases and 78 deaths linked to vaping-related lung injury. Vitamin E acetate is a food grade product, meaning it is harmless when added to foods or on the body with lotions. However, the ingredient has not been tested for inhalation, and black market THC cartridges are being filled with Vitamin E acetate as a thickening agent to pass “the bubble test.” Ronay explained the bubble test, saying “you take a cartridge and you flip it over. If the bubble moves too fast, people might assume it’s been diluted with some kind of additive. So some black market sellers turned to vitamin E acetate — which is more viscous and resembles THC distillate — to cut their product while still passing the bubble test.”

So, how can consumers feel confident they are purchasing legal items from a licensed store? Many of the states where recreational cannabis use is legal keep this information online, such as the California’s Bureau of Cannabis Control’s website. Additionally, “legal products are required to have certain markings on their packaging including state warnings, lab results and a unique identification tag.”

06 Mar Salem, Massachusetts Launches E-Cigarette Buyback Program

A vape pen and e-cigarette buyback program was launched earlier this week in Salem, Massachusetts. The City of Salem has partnered with North Shore Community Health and North Shore Medical Center to discourage e-cigarette use by providing resources and education to the high-school-aged adolescents. To participate in the buyback program, students must first voluntarily turn in their devices to Salem High School’s Teen Health Center and then complete a 45-minute vaping cessation session at the center. Maggie Brennan, the CEO of North Shore Community Health, stated that the sessions serve as a method for the teenagers to “engage in a behavior change” rather than it being a quick and hollow transaction. After completion, they will then receive a $50 gift card to the business of their choosing. The buyback program is currently a one-year pilot program with the hopes of earning more funding to expand to other cities.