Louise Ford

POLITICIANS have called for vaping to be allowed in the workplace – with the UK's Houses of Parliament leading the way as a vape-friendly zone, it has been revealed.

In a drive to make e-cigarettes more acceptable at places of work in Britain - and given separate rules to smoking - a group of MPs (Members of Parliament) have called for new policies to be drawn up to help address common “misunderstandings” about the practice.

Members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Vaping (APPGV) agreed designated vaping areas inside offices should be considered along with employers allowing e-cigarette use in all outside areas unless there is a legitimate safety or professional reason not to, according to UK news agency Press Association.

There should also be guidelines for the “reasonable vaping etiquette expected from vapers”.

In the UK, where vaping is banned in train stations, restaurants and airports and is routinely

A JUDGE has hit the headlines after vaping his way through a high-profile murder trial.

Justice Vincent Del Giudice was spotted covertly enjoying an e-cigarette as he presided over a string of cases at the Brooklyn Supreme Court including the ongoing murder trial of accused “Brooklyn Ripper” Daniel St. Hubert.

During the hearing of St. Hubert, who is standing trial for allegedly murdering a child and seriously injuring another four years ago, the judge of 38 years appeared to routinely hold his hands up to his face as though stroking his goatee beard in contemplation.

But photos of Del Giudice show a blue light peeking out from his closed fist, showing he was secretly using a vaporizer.

“Everybody knows about it, but nobody says anything,” one court worker told the New York Post newspaper.

The judge's not so subtle vaping has reportedly “raised eyebrows” among courtroom lawyers who deem it not just unprofessional but in violation of a 2017

THE rapid rise in e-cigarette sales is threatening to wipe out tobacco bonds sooner than expected, it has been revealed.

Tobacco bonds were forecast by many analysts to begin defaulting within the next decade but as more Americans swap cigarettes for vaping – far quicker than anticipated - some are predicted to default in less than five years.

In 1998, big tobacco companies agreed to make annual payments to most U.S. states to cover medical costs for sick smokers.

Many states opted to securitize that stream of money by selling municipal bonds backed by the expected payments from tobacco companies.

However, the payments are tied to smoking rates. Fewer shipments of cigarettes means less money to back the bonds - and smoking rates have been falling.

This means that when a bond defaults, the bond issuer - in this case the US states - fails to make its annual payment to the bond holder.

It typically occurs when the bond issuer has run

SMOKERS wanting to quit their cigarette habit have been urged to spend time with people who vape, following new research funded by Cancer Research UK.

Scientists at University College London, who conducted the study, found that smokers who spend time with e-cigarette users were 20 times more likely to try and ditch tobacco for good.

Over one in four cigarette smokers in the survey said they were regularly in close contact with e-cigarettes in the past year, with around a third (32.3 per cent) of those admitting they had tried to quit through vaping in the past year, according to the academic survey published in the BMC Medicine journal this week.

In comparison, around a quarter (26.8 per cent) of smokers who don’t have regular contact with vapers,

British tobacco firm Imperial Brands has revealed it is to go “all-in” on vaping after a better than expected full-year revenue and profit.

The maker of Gauloises and Winston cigarettes is now shifting its focus towards the vaping market and is preparing to launch a heated tobacco product in Japan in early 2019, according to a report by Reuters news agency.

Imperial Brands, which reported a net revenue of $39.83 billion for the full-year ending September 30, is also planning to increase investment in its e-cigarette brand blu by around 100 million pounds ($131 million) over the coming six months.

It’s plan for “Next Generation Products” (NGP) also includes launching a “connected” e-cigarette in America with built-in age verification, according to the company’s

MARLBORO makers Altria has pulled its e-cigarette pods from the market - which critics claim is an attempt to get their biggest rival Juul to follow suit.

Altria Group Inc announced on Thursday it would also be discontinuing the sale of most of its flavoured e-cigarettes in response to the US Food and Drink Administration's (FDA) drive to stop underage vaping.

Altria's brands, MarketTen Elite and Apex, represent just nine per cent of the American market, which is dominated by Juul Labs, currently under fire for sparking a so-called "epidemic" of vaping use among teenagers.

But critics say Altria has more to gain than lose by pulling some of it's vape products.

Changes

TOBACCO giant and vape manufacturers Philip Morris Korea Inc is suing the South Korean government after it claimed their e-cigarettes contained a number of harmful substances.

The billion dollar global firm has filed a lawsuit for the disclosure of data from the country’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety after it released a report in June which claimed to have found five cancer-causing substances in their electronic cigarettes during tests.

The study claimed to have found not just harmful substances but the level of tar exceeded that of regular cigarettes in two of their heated smoking devices, including Philip Morris Inc (PMI)’s leading iQOS brand.

PMI claims the findings strongly contradict results from studies in Germany, Japan and China, which concluded they were safer than regular cigarettes and said it had thereby encouraged the country’s millions of smokers to stick to their habit.

The company filed

A MASS quit smoking attempt is underway in the UK – with experts suggesting smokers vape instead of going “cold turkey” if they want to quit for good.

Stoptober – a national campaign by Public Health England (PHE) – suggests if participants switch to e-cigarettes or other nicotine-replacement therapies – for 28 days, they are five times more likely to ditch their deadly smoking habit forever.

As the awareness month launched yesterday (October 1st), health bosses warned only four per cent of people who quit with no replacement therapy in place will be able to successfully give up smoking tobacco.

For a better chance of success, Stoptober offers participants an online guide that directs people to e-cigarette sellers in their area and a "Personal Quit Plan" to help find the right support.

Backed by the

A GLOBAL coalition of vaping industry groups has called on the World Health Organisation to change its stance on allowing vaping to be banned.

Advocacy groups from sixteen countries across North America, Europe, Asia and Australasia have joined forces to demand the public health agency reverse its stance, which allows some countries to make vaping illegal.

At present, while WHO recognizes vaping’s potential for reducing smoking rates, the agency’s tobacco control group contradicts it by allowing member states to ban vaping products outright, should they wish to, as part of a tobacco control plan.

Britain’s largest vaping body, the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) is now leading a call to action to change its stance. Along with its fellow signatories, the UKVIA says WHO’s position is at odds with certain member states, such as the UK and New Zealand, who promote e-cigarettes as part of a

Vapers in South Africa will be banned from using e-cigarettes in public if the government’s proposed Tobacco Draft Bill is passed.

The country’s Department of Health is waging war on cigarettes with a set of new laws - and vaping is going to be hit with the same legalities.

The proposed bill sets out stricter laws on the recreational habit including more graphic packaging, banning smoking in public places and the removal of all signage on cigarette packaging.

The CEO of the Vapour Product Association of South Africa (VPA), Zodwa Velleman, has confirmed electronic cigarettes are currently included for the proposed new laws.

The VPA is now urging national government to adjust the bill to treat vapes and tobacco cigarettes as two separate concepts, instead of lumping them into one category.

“The industry is not saying we don’t want regulation, we need regulations as an industry even though we have our own self regulation that ensures we only

POLITICANS in the UK have called on its government to actively support vaping to reduce death and disease from smoking, saying it is far less harmful than cigarettes.

MPs on the Commons Science and Technology Committee have published a report packed with facts, figures and recommendations to relax current vaping laws and make e-cigarettes more attractive to the British public.

The committee noted that about 2.9 million people in the UK are using e-cigarettes, including 470,000 who are trying to stop smoking and vaping could be key in helping the National Health Service (NHS) address the issue.

It also said pubs, employers and train operators should re-think blanket bans on e-cigarette use, with suggestions like vaping carriages on trains or on buses as a way of making it easier for users.

“Concerns that e-cigarettes could be a gateway to conventional smoking, including for young non-smokers, have not materialised,” said Norman Lamb, who chairs the

THE UK is to be hit with a vape tax to raise an extra £40million for the country’s ailing National Health Service.
According to government insiders, e-cigarettes are to be added to the so-called list of “sin taxes”, which are set for increases in this Fall’s budget.
The punitive measure is set to hit the UK’s 2.9million vapers, half of which claim they took up the recreational activity to help quit their deadly habit.
The news comes despite the NHS itself encouraging e-cigarettes as a way of giving up smoking with vaping allowed in many of its hospitals.
One Whitehall insider told Britain’s The Sun newspaper: “Vapers are likely to be hit as they are not taxed at all.”
Users typically spend around £275 a year on vaping fluid. A five per cent tax would cost them £13.75 a year and raise almost £40million.
But last night Chris Snowdon, of think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs, said a vaping tax would harm the nation’s health.
He said:

Philip Morris International (PMI) has been ordered by the British government to stop advertising its iQOS devices.

The UK’s Department of Health has sent a formal warning to the tobacco giant after discovering it had been illegally supplying newsagents and corner stores with posters promoting its “healthier alternative” to the Marlboro cigarettes it has been selling for generations.

The new smokeless cigarette devices, which stand for “I quit original smoking”, have cost $3billion to develop by PMI and while they are less dangerous than smoking, they are not as low risk as vaping, according to reports.

Using an electronic "heat not burn" system, which heats tobacco sticks up to 350°C, around half the temperature of cigarettes, it generates a nicotine-containing vapour and is part of the company's long-term strategy of building a "smoke-free future".

But during an investigation, British newspaper The Telegraph, found the world’s largest tobacco firm

SMOKERS believe more advertising showing the public health and cost benefits of vaping compared to cigarettes is key in helping them quit, new research reveals.
Both smokers and industry experts now want to see a change in advertising rules on TV, radio and print media so information on e-cigarettes can reach those who would benefit most from making the switch.
The study published this week by Consumer Intelligence on behalf of the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) reveals that:

• 68% felt that changing current advertising restrictions imposed by the Advertising Standards Agency to allow public health messages to be promoted by the vaping industry would help more smokers make the switch.

• nearly 2 in every 3 smokers (63%) interviewed felt that information from their GP, pharmacist or a healthcare professional would influence their decision to make the change.

• 61% said that visible information in a healthcare environment would be beneficial.

VAPING has helped to slash smoking numbers by 1.6 million in six years, an official report has revealed.
The impressive new figures show as the number of vape users have risen in Britain, a million and a half tobacco smokers have kicked their deadly habit for good.
Experts believe the drop in smokers and rise in e-cigarette users is also due to the UK having a pro-vaping government with its National Health Service encouraging smokers to make the switch to vaping when offering advice on cessation aids.
According to the report published by the Office of National Statistics this week, 6.1 million, or 15%, of adults in England used tobacco in 2017 – down from 7.7 million, or 20%, in 2011.
And there are now 2.8 million vapers after 5.5% of adults said they used an e-cig in 2017 – up from 3.7% when records started in 2014.
Health officials in the UK have now tentatively confirmed the UK is winning the war on tobacco as more of its population is continuing to

A UK healthcare trust has extended itsno smoking policy to cover vaping - and has threatened disciplinary action against staff who flout its new rules.

The Western Health and Social Care Trust, which is responsible for NHS healthcare in the western half of Northern Ireland, has ignored the latest government guidance and added vapour products to its existing smoking ban.

The move, which bans the use of e-cigarettes on any of the trust’s properties, has already upset medical staff – particularly nurses who are the most likely victims of the harsh new policy.

Anyone caught using an e-cigarette on hospital grounds now faces punishment. Staff are also being encouraged to ask carers and service users who smoke [or vape], to refrain from doing so an hour before any scheduled visit and while they are in the trust’s hospitals and grounds.

Dessie Lowry of the Royal College of Nursing described

THAILAND has been ranked as the worst place in the world for vapers.

Holidaymakers to the country have been warned that flouting its draconian laws which ban the import, export, sale and possession of e-cigarettes could see them end up with big fines or even jail time.

Australia has been ranked the second worst at this year’s Global Forum on Nicotine which saw 500 delegates from 60 countries vote, while India came in third.

Members of the International Network of Nicotine Consumer Organizations were each allowed to nominate up to five countries in the worst category and five in the best from a list of the world’s 100 most populated countries.

From 36 members, an overwhelming 33 nominated Thailand as having the most unreasonable vaping regulations while 18 nominated Australia and 16 chose India.

In Thailand, the strict vaping rules have been in place since November 2014.

Anyone found breaking the law will have their items confiscated

Australian citizens want vaping to be legalised despite its government's refusal, new research shows.

Ex smokers in the country want e-cigarettes to be made available in shops, according to a recent poll, since many are importing e-cigarettes over the internet instead.

Experts say the trend could have major health implications for consumers buying their vape products from little-known merchants overseas and suggest it would be better for the nation's health to buy less harmful products from local stores.

The Australian Retail Association poll, conducted by the Crosby Textor Group, shows 61 per cent of 1,200 adults backed a move towards legalizing e-cigarettes and vapes.

ARA executive director Russell Zimmerman has now called on the government to follow the lead of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand by opening up the market.

He said in a statement this week: "More and more Australians are buying personal