Another Alarmist Headline Diverting Attention from Risk Reductions and Public Health

From: Reuters

‘Heat-not-burn’ cigarettes still release cancer-causing chemicals
By Lisa Rapaport

(Reuters Health) – – A new type of “heat-not-burn” cigarette releases some of the same cancer-causing chemicals found in traditional cigarette smoke, a recent experiment suggests.

Researchers analyzed the chemical compounds and nicotine in smoke from traditional cigarettes and from the new devices, which are designed to heat disposable tobacco sticks and give users the taste of tobacco without the smoke or ash.

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Why Was Public Release of GAO’s Report on E-cigarette Imports Delayed by a Month?

From: US GAO

Electronic Cigarettes: U.S. Imports in 2016
GAO-17-515R: Published: Apr 24, 2017. Publicly Released: May 24, 2017.

The federal government began collecting data on U.S. imports of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) on January 1, 2016. We analyzed these new data and found that the value of U.S. e-cigarette imports totaled about $342 million in 2016—and brought in about $9 million in tariff revenue.

E-cigarette devices accounted for nearly 60% of the value of these imports, parts for nearly 32%, and liquid for almost 9%. And, although e-cigarettes were imported from 41 countries, China accounted for 91% of imports by value.

Ron Jonhson Asks FDA’s Gottlieb to Reconsider E-Cigarette Regulations

From: Legal Reader

By Ryan J. Farrick

Republican Senator Ron Johnson, of Wisconsin, is petitioning newly-crowned Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb to reconsider Obama-era rules for the manufacturers of e-cigarettes.

“The rules threaten an emerging industry as well as former smokers who have switched to vaping,” said Johnson, who is also the chairman of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee.

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Nature Calls for E-Cigarette Regulations

From: Nature | Editorial

The United States must act quickly to control the use of e-cigarettes
The nation needs to end the long-running battle between regulators, lawmakers and industry.


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In the time it takes you to read this article, at least one cigarette smoker in the United Kingdom will have switched to vaping. As economic uncertainty grips many industries, the use of e-cigarettes is booming. The £6.1-billion (US$7.9-billion) global market for them is now about 20 times what it was in 2010. It is expected to double again in the next three years.

The Corrupting Power of Contraband Tobacco

From: Atlanta Journal Constitution

Sheriff sent to prison for e-cigarette scheme devised with Marietta man

Lois Norder

The get-rich-quick scheme devised by a Marietta man and his nephew seemed like it couldn’t miss. Set up a business to sell e-cigarettes for jail inmates – and use jail employees to distribute them.

How could it fail? The nephew was Sheriff Robert F. Arnold of Rutherford County, Tennessee. He allowed the e-cigs in the jail as non-contraband, and had his jailers help distribute them. To entice other jails to take part, the sheriff, his chief deputy Joe L. Russell and Arnold’s uncle, John Vanderveer of Marietta, Georgia, offered to pay jails $5 for every e-cigarette sold.

FDA regulations against vaping are a vote away from a major showdown

From: Washington Examiner

by Kathy Hoekstra

The Hartland, Wisc., Board of Trustees is poised to make history Monday night when it votes whether to send a resolution to Washington, D.C., that could save the nation’s vaping industry, and lives.

The resolution is the result of three full days of hearings to collect evidence that the Food and Drug Administration broke federal law by implementing its vaping regulation without “coordination.” The FDA is required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1976 to discuss economic and other effects the rules may have on local communities.

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