Category: Science

  • Question of balance

    Question of balance

    A Greek member of the EU Parliament has said that the use of heat-not-burn (HNB) products should not be seen as safer than smoking or vaping.

    ‘The IQOS device, which came out in 2014 and which heats solid tobacco, is no less harmful to cells than smoking and vaping, according to scientists, who said that a new study is a further indication that the new devices – which are now being used in 41 countries – are no safer,’ Lampros Fountoulis said as a preamble to two questions put to the Commission.

    ‘The scientists, who will continue their research into smoke heating appliances, emphasised that “it is already known that the failure of two types of lung cells can destroy the lung tissue and lead to fatal diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and pneumonia, and increase the risk of asthma, so these devices should not be considered a safer option*”.’

    Fountoulis asked the Commission if it could say:

    (1)       ‘What steps will it take to establish homogeneous arrangements in member states?

    (2)       ‘How will it control tobacco products and other related products in order to protect public health, given that more and more young people are addicted to nicotine as a result of this trend?’

    The Commission is due to answer in writing.

    *https://www.in.gr/2019/02/11/health/body/oi-syskeyes-thermansis-kapnou-eksisou-epivlaveis-gia-ton-anthropo-kapnisma-kai-atmisma/?fbclid=IwAR1-VUiRQ2-ZIIDUQjYkzMc8c_S1nkuqC4CnU3reNKqpi8w31owvR5TIdv; and http://scinews.eu/ta-nea-tis-epistimis/1735-oi-syskeves-thermansis-kapnoy-eksisou-epivlaveis-gia-ton-anthropo-me-to-kapnisma-kai-to-atmisma.

  • Plugging into the future

    Plugging into the future

    Plug and Play, a global leader in technology incubators, is partnering with Japan Tobacco International to run Vapetech, a program aimed at bringing together innovators and data experts to develop technology that improves the experience and health benefits of vaping.

    In a note posted on its website, JTI said this global program would operate from Silicon Valley and launch with a first batch of selected start-ups on March 11, 2019.

    “At Plug and Play we are always interested to support innovation in new industries,” Saeed Amidi, the founder and CEO of Plug and Play was quoted as saying. “We believe vaping has the potential to reduce the health risks from smoking. Our goal is to identify the next generation of products and services, and by connecting them with JTI and others, we will continue to push forward innovation in this industry.”

    The JTI note said that, through a global application and sourcing process, Plug and Play, supported by JTI, would each year select about 20 start-ups who would ‘develop ideas and solutions for a more enhanced vaping experience’. ‘Start-ups with new devices or technology applicable to IoT (Internet of Things), Biometrics, Data, and Lifestyle will enter a three-month program to develop their product and services and have access to investment and corporate partnerships,’ the note said.

    Daniel Torras, JTI’s senior vice president, reduced-risk products, said that with the rapid rise of vaping products, the dynamics of innovation in the industry had changed drastically. “In addition to our own R&D, Vapetech will allow us to explore and develop consumer relevant features for the next generation of products and services,” he said. “It will also extend our network to new sets of entrepreneurs offering disruptive ideas to empower a future of choice in the vaping sector.”

  • CORESTA reporting

    CORESTA reporting

    The CORESTA (Co-operation Centre for Scientific Research Relative to Tobacco) Secretariat has given details of the publications it has recently published and the projects it has launched.

    The following documents have been published and can be downloaded from the Documents section of the CORESTA website at www.coresta.org.

    • Guide No. 5 “Technical Guideline for Pesticide Residues Analysis on Tobacco & Tobacco Products (includes Technical Notes)” updated
      (2018-10-17) (AA-099-CTG-05)
    • Technical Note #001 “Maleic Hydrazide” updated
      (2018-10-17) (AA-185-CTN0001)
    • Report “Inter-Laboratory Comparison Test Measuring Total NNAL in Human Urine”
      (2018-11-13) (BMK-092-CTR)
    • Report “Study of the Short-Term Variability of Commercial Cigarettes through Select Cigarette Constituent Testing”
    • (2018-09-19) (CVAR-081-CTR)
    • Report “Study of the Medium-Term Variability of Commercial Cigarettes through Select Cigarette Constituent Testing”
      (2019-01-09) (CVAR-082-CTR)
    • Report “4th Round Robin Test for Air Permeability Calibration Standards”
      (2018-10-08) (PTM-022-CTR)
    • Report “13th Round Robin Test for Multi-Capillary Pressure Drop Calibration Standards (2017/2018)”
      (2019-01-25) (PTM-159-CTR)
    • Report “11th Collaborative Study (2018) for Physical Parameters of Cigarettes and Filters”
      (2018-12-05) (PTM-167-CTR)
    • Guide No. 4 “A User Guideline for the Measurement of Pressure Drop of Cigarettes and Cigarette Filter Rods” updated
      (2019-01-11) (PTM-192-CTG-04)
    • Method No. 53 “Determination of Paper Wrapper Burn Speed” updated
      (2019-01-29) (PTM-201-CRM-53)
    • Method No. 78 “Determination of Selected Phenolic Compounds in Mainstream Cigarette Smoke by HPLC-FLD” updated
      (2018-12-05) (SMA-194-CRM-78)
    • Report “Collaborative Study on the Suitability of Certain Substrates for the Ignition Propensity Test According to ISO12863:2010”
      (2019-01-10) (RAC-106-CTR)
    • Report “2018 Collaborative Study of CORESTA Monitor 8 (CM8) and 9 (CM9) for the Determination of Test Piece Weight, TPM, Water, Nicotine, NFDPM, Carbon Monoxide and Puff Count Obtained under Mainstream ‘ISO’ and ‘Intense’ Smoking Regimes”
      (2019-02-05) (RAC-187-CTR)
    • Method No. 63 “Determination of Tobacco Specific Nitrosamines in Cigarette Mainstream Smoke – GC-TEA Method” updated
      (2019-01-10) (SMA-163-CRM-63)
    • Guide No. 23 “Placement of Data Loggers in Air-cured Barns and Data Logger Maintenance”
      (2019-02-05) (TSNA-034-CTG-23)
    • Report “2018 Collaborative Study for the Determination of Water Activity of Tobacco and Tobacco Products”
      (2019-01-07) (TTPA-172-2-CTR)
    • Method No. 88 “Determination of Nicotine in Tobacco Products by GC/MS”
      (2019-01-07) (TTPA-172-3-CTR)

    NEW PROJECTS
    A full list of active projects is available on the CORESTA website under the
    Study Groups/Active Projects section:

    • Project 190: Consumer Reported Outcome Measures (CROM) Consortium Task Force (approved)
    • Project 196: AA SG – Statement by AA SG related to ISO Resolution No. 94: ISO 4876 – MH analysis (completed)
    • Project 197: PTM SG – 14th Round Robin Test on Pressure Drop Calibration Standards
    • Project 198: SMA SG – 2018 Cigar Collaborative Study: Smoke BaP and TSNAs
    • Project 200: COR – Sustainability Goals and Scientific Methodologies for Impact Assessment
    • Project 201: PTM SG – Editorial revision of CRM 53 (Determination of Paper Wrapper Burn Speed) (completed)
    • Project 202:  COR – Presentation at Next Generation Nicotine Delivery 2018 Conference in London, November 2018 (completed)
    • Project 203: EVAP SG – Presentation at the Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems Conference (ENDS 2019) in London, UK, June 2019
    • Project 204: PTM SG – 12th Collaborative Study on Physical Parameters
    • Project 205: AA SG – 15th FAPAS CPA Analysis Proficiency Test – 2019
    • Project 206: SMA SG – Systematic Review of CRM 83
    • Project 207: RFT SG – Residue Field Trials – 3rd 3-year cycle
    • Project 208: GMO SG – 6th Proficiency Test for Detection of Transgenic Tobacco

    OTHER PUBLICATIONS

    Reference Products: CM9 Use and Conditions
    (2019-02-05)

  • Slaying the ’50’ myth

    Slaying the ’50’ myth

    In introducing a news story concerning untruths that had been told about vaping, TR yesterday made a reference to the X-Files’ mantra: The truth is out there.

    It seems that that reference wasn’t as flippant as it might have appeared to have been. A recent account of misinformation about smokeless tobacco seems to travel deeper into X-Files territory.

    Writing on his tobacco truth blog on February 19, Brad Rodu (pictured), who is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Louisville (UoL) warned that smokeless tobacco users were in for harassment ‘this week’: ‘the 30th iteration of the annual Through With Chew orgy of smokeless tobacco misinformation’. (Rodu’s fully-referenced account is here.)

    Rodu, who holds an endowed chair in tobacco harm reduction research and is a member of the James Graham Brown Cancer Center at UofL, gave as an example a tweet from the US Department of Defense @ucanquit2 account on February 11: “Smokeless tobacco users are 50x more likely to get cheek, gum & mouth cancer than nonusers”.

    Rodu responded to what he referred to as ‘this blatant fabrication’ with a Tweet of his own on February 15: “Your 50 claim is a complete fabrication by a staffer @theNCI…” His Tweet referenced the science behind his claims.

    After his Tweet was liked by 24 people and retweeted by 13, Rodu reported ‘a strange chain of events’. The Twitter accounts of many of the above were suspended.

    The affected individuals pleaded with @TwitterSupport to make amends and, on February 16, Rodu also asked for a correction: “To @TwitterSupport, Pls restore me/others. I am a scientist, 25 years published in this field. My tweet was professional and credible. In 2010 @CarlBialik at @WSJ investigated ‘50’ number and reported it was a fabrication used by @AmericanCancer, others http://tinyurl.com/y6a7ox8a”.

    Rodu said that the Twitter-account suspensions were likely to have resulted from a complaint by an authoritative anti-tobacco figure or agency.

    Finally, on February 22, Rodu said, Jacob Sullum authored an article on the Reason Hit and Run Blog, ‘Did Twitter Punish Criticism of Government Propaganda About Smokeless Tobacco’ and, a few hours later, affected users reported that their accounts were returned to normal functioning.

    The truth is out there. But so are lies.

  • Covering all the bases

    Covering all the bases

    Philip Morris last night held a UK launch party for its latest range of IQOS heated tobacco and vaping products.

    The launch was held in the basement of the ME on the Strand, London, and the party at the hotel’s Radio Rooftop Bar.

    Participants were given the opportunity of listening to a presentation by Dr. Moira Gilchrist, PhD, vice president of scientific and public communications at Philip Morris International about harm reduction and the part that PMI was playing in it by developing products that were underpinned by robust science and research.

    IQOS products were displayed and there were static presentations explaining, for instance, the timeline of product development from Accord to IQOS, and why it was that health problems stemmed from the inhalation of the products of tobacco combustion. One such presentation was headed, The Smoking Problem.

    In a press note, PM Ltd (UK and Ireland) said that the three new smoke-free IQOS devices were the company’s most advanced to date and had been designed to make it easy for smokers to switch away from cigarettes completely. According to PM Ltd’s MD, Peter Nixon, the new products have been specifically designed to give every one of the UK’s 7.4 million smokers a way to stop “burning tobacco”. “We are confident that our new IQOS range provides the solutions needed to help all UK smokers move away from cigarettes,” he said.

    One of the devices presented at the launch was the IQOS3, which was described as the latest version of the heated tobacco device featuring a longer battery life, faster charging and a more ergonomic design.

    The IQOS MULTI was described as a new, more compact heated tobacco device that had been designed to provide a different experience to PM’s other devices. With IQOS MULTI, consumers could use 10 back-to-back tobacco sticks before needing to charge the device.

    IQOS MESH, for which the UK is its first market, was said to be a premium vaping product that used a replaceable pod containing nicotine liquid. ‘It uses a unique “mesh” rather than the traditional “coil and wick” to offer a more consistent vaping experience,’ PM said. ‘There are seven different flavored pods.’

  • Studies have basic errors

    Studies have basic errors

    A cardiologist and tobacco-harm-reduction researcher has said that widely-reported studies claiming to show that electronic-cigarette use is associated with an increased risk of heart disease are misleading, according to a story by Diane Caruana at vapingpost.com.

    “They do not prove an increased risk and of course they do not prove that no such risk exists,” Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos (pictured) was quoted as saying. “They simply cannot address the question of whether e-cigarettes increase the risk for heart disease or not.”

    Caruana’s story said that a recently-published study and conference abstract released earlier this month had concluded that daily e-cigarette use, adjusted for smoking conventional cigarettes as well as other risk factors, was associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction.

    Media coverage of the conference abstract had stated that E-cigarettes linked to higher risk of stroke, heart attack, diseased arteries.

    But Farsalinos responded to these claims by saying that both conclusions were wrong and constituted epidemiological malpractice and misinformation.

    Farsalinos said the claims were based on cross-sectional studies, which provided information about whether participants had heart disease and if they used e-cigarettes, but no information about whether the participants initiated e-cigarette use before or after the development of the disease, or for how long. So the participants could have started vaping following a heart disease diagnosis in order to quit smoking and improve their health.

    Farsalinos said he was confident that both the authors of the published study and the American Heart Association, which released the press statement for the conference abstract, must be aware that statements about “increased risk” were wrong.

  • Funding needs to be tested

    Funding needs to be tested

    The Malaysia Medical Association (MMA) yesterday warned the federal government against working with groups that were ‘stealthily being funded by tobacco companies,’ according to a story by Danial Dzulkifly for The Malay Mail.

    In a press statement, MMA said it stood with the World Health Organization (WHO) in urging governments around the world to reject working with the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW), which is funded by Phillip Morris International.

    The MMA’s president, Dr. Mohamed Namazie Ibrahim, said his organization was calling on the Malaysian government and researchers to reject funding from entities funded by the tobacco industry, such as the FSFW.

    “We join the WHO in calling on governments and research institutions to shun any prospect of receiving support or research funding from the tobacco industry as well as from those furthering its interests.

    “FSFW is entirely funded by PMI which continues to earn billions at the expense of those who fall prey to tobacco addiction. Our concern is that FSFW effectively operationalizes PMI’s corporate affairs strategy to further PMI’s business interests, which include the promotion of its heated tobacco products, a market which PMI seeks to dominate.”

  • Gateway appears blocked

    Gateway appears blocked

    A US health expert says that despite widespread claims that vaping is a gateway to smoking initiation among young people, the most definitive study to date of this issue has failed to provide any evidence to support that contention.

    Providing ‘The Rest of the Story’ on his tobacco analysis blog, Dr. Michael Siegel, Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences, Boston University of Public Health, said: ‘If anything, it provides evidence suggesting that vaping acts as a kind of diversion that can keep some youth away from cigarette smoking’.

    Siegel was commenting on a landmark study, published on January 25 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. This was the largest, longitudinal study of youth smoking initiation – the PATH (Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health) study – and included two waves of observations on nearly 12,000 young people in the US.

    The main reported finding of the study was that ever use of e-cigarettes at baseline was a risk factor for ever use of cigarettes at follow-up, said Siegel. This was consistent with the findings of several other studies.

    ‘Buried deep within the article is the rather startling, but most critically relevant finding of the entire study: The investigators were unable to report a single youth out of the 12,000 in the sample who was a cigarette naive, regular vaper at baseline who progressed to become a smoker at follow-up,’ he said. ‘Why? Because the number of these youth was so small that it was impossible to accurately quantify this number.’

    Siegel said that it was necessary to await the results from future waves of the PATH study to have a clearer idea of the trajectory of youth vaping and smoking.

  • Dynamic change foretold

    Dynamic change foretold

    Gemma Webb, British American Tobacco UK’s GM, said yesterday that the tobacco industry was entering the most dynamic period of change it had ever encountered.

    “We are experiencing an extraordinary, once-in-a-generation coming-together of societal change, public health awareness and, crucially, access to technological innovation in the nicotine category,” she said.

    “This convergence of factors has created a unique opportunity for the industry and our business: the opportunity to make a substantial leap forward in our ambition to provide our consumers with a choice of potentially reduced risk tobacco and nicotine products.”

    Webb was speaking at a BAT launch party for the newest iterations of its Vype electronic cigarettes, Vype iSwitch and iSwitch Maxx.

    The party, which was held against the background of the London skyline as seen from the top of the ‘Gherkin’ building, attracted about 60 people from the vaping and creative industries, along with journalists and influencers.

    During the formal part of the evening, guests were addressed by Webb and Marina Trani, new categories group R&D director.

    Guests were taken through the innovative devices and technologies that BAT had introduced since 2014: innovative devices such as the ePen3 and new e-liquid technologies that brought nicotine salts into the equation.

    The iSwitch devices, meanwhile, include BAT’s Puretech blade, which replaces the coil and wick system. Trani said the Puretech system incorporated an ultra-slim, stainless steel blade that heated the e-liquid to create vapor. The blade, which was about the thickness of a human hair, had a surface area 10 times larger than a traditional coil and wick heating system. It provided a much more precise and measured way to heat the e-liquid, increasing consumer taste satisfaction by ensuring a smoother, richer and more consistent vape, with no off-notes.

    The Maxx version was said to be BAT’s most interactive and connected vapor device. Bluetooth enabled, it connects with the MyVype app through which consumers can tailor their device’s power setting; remotely lock the device to ensure that nobody else can use it; monitor puff count, battery level and device performance to track their usage; and access tips and news.

    Brief mention was made at Tuesday night’s event of the Monday announcement by BAT that it had entered into a new global partnership with McLaren that was ‘rooted in advanced technology and innovation’.

    ‘The multi-year partnership is focused on accelerating its transforming tobacco agenda, at the heart of which is its commitment to providing a portfolio of potentially reduced-risk products (PRRPs), which can deliver a “better tomorrow” for its consumers,’ BAT said in a press note.

    ‘As part of the agreement, BAT will work closely with McLaren Applied Technologies, collaborating and sharing technology expertise; including batteries, advanced materials and design. The two companies will share best practice, processes, innovation, know-how and mutual experience.’

  • HNB scientific workshop

    HNB scientific workshop

    A one-day workshop on heated-tobacco products is due to be hosted by CORESTA (Co-operation Centre for Scientific Research Relative to Tobacco) in Paris, France, on March 26.

    The workshop will discuss a range of issues related to these products and set up a road map for further CORESTA activities in this area.

    A press note announcing the workshop said the interest in new nicotine delivery products had increased significantly during the past decade.

    ‘Recently, among these products, those using heated-tobacco technologies have come to the forefront of discussions within the scientific, health and regulatory communities,’ the note said. ‘Studies have been published, but there are still different scientific opinions, based on different approaches. Therefore, further work remains to be conducted to provide better understanding of all issues, and robust data produced to assist to make science-based decisions in terms of devices, components and product use patterns.

    ‘Regarding heated-tobacco products (HTP), also known as tobacco-heated, heat-not-burn or non-combusted tobacco products, an interest from many CORESTA members and non-members is growing to embrace these new alternatives to conventional cigarettes. This is why CORESTA, six years after a similar situation with electronic cigarettes, which eventually led to the first vaping industry international standard, considered that it should capitalize on its global scientific expertise in helping with the understanding and characterization of these products, in co-operation with all interested and relevant stakeholders.

    ‘After an open-discussion held on the topic during the CORESTA Congress in Kunming, China, October 2018, a one-day workshop will be convened on March 26, 2019, in Paris, France, to discuss a range of issues related to these products and to set up a road map for further CORESTA activities in this regard.’

    Registration is open to all interested parties.

    More information is available on the CORESTA website.