A rundown of the latest vape-related stories and
research making the news around the world.
Better for health
& wealth
Smokers who switch to vaping will save an average of £346 per year,
according to a study; which equates to an annual saving of £1.1 billion
for the combined 3.2 million vapers in the UK.
The study was commissioned by the UK Vaping Industry Association
(UKVIA) ahead of the launch of VApril, a month-long vaping awareness
and education campaign.
The campaign was spearheaded by TV doctor, Christian Jessen,
who has been vocal about the lack of e-cigarette endorsement in the
healthcare sector. The UKVIA study was the widest to date that explored
the health, financial, and social benefits of vaping.
E-cigarettes do
not ‘re-normalise’
smoking
A study led by Cardiff University has found
e-cigarettes do not ‘re-normalise’ smoking.
Researchers used data collected from a
number of national surveys that logged 13 and
15-year olds’ responses to questions about
their smoking habits.
The results found that, during the 2010/2011
period when e-cigarette popularity
skyrocketed, there was “no significant change”
in the pre-existing trend for smoking among
this age group. A secondary finding suggests
that positive perceptions of smoking cigarettes
declined at a faster rate during e-cigarette
proliferation, suggesting that the emergence
of e-cigarettes do not encourage a favourable
view of conventional cigarettes.
30 | VAPER EXPO SHOWGUIDE
New
ground
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has awarded funding
to a Colorado university to test the safety of e-cigarettes on a micro-
engineered human lung.
The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus has received
$3.4 million to create a first-of-its-kind multi-cellular 3D living structure
of a human lung, which will contain the same cells that naturally line
human airways. Research will determine the toxicity and cancer-causing
potential of e-cigarettes, providing a better understanding of their impact
on human genes, proteins, pathways, and cell/organ function.
Wrapped in
controversy
British motor racing team McLaren has garnered
criticism for its choice of sponsorship at this year’s
Indy500 racing event. The famed Formula One
constructor will have a paint scheme featuring British
American Tobacco (BAT) Vuse e-cigarette branding,
at the Indianapolis racing event later this month.
McLaren signed a multi-year deal with the brand in
February, for a partnership that will focus solely on
BAT’s ‘reduced risk products.’
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called on
the International Automobile Federation (FIA) to ban
tobacco company sponsorships, even for those that
don’t intend to promote tobacco products.
The FIA’s Formula One event has had a tobacco
advertising ban in place for well over a decade, but
BAT’s e-cigarette branding has been accepted as it
does not advertise tobacco.