Category: Technology

  • Quitting technically

    Quitting technically

    Researchers in the US are using wearable sensor technology to develop an automatic alert system to help people quit smoking, according to a story at medicalxpress.com.
    The smart-phone app, initially limited to android-based operating systems, automatically texts 20- to 120-second video messages to smokers when sensors detect specific arm and body motions associated with smoking.
    Recently, the story said, wearable technology had gained popularity in the fight against addiction.
    But, it added, the mobile alert system researchers at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, were testing might be the first that combined:

    • ‘an existing online platform with mindfulness training and a personalized plan for quitting;
    • ‘two armband sensors to detect smoking motions, a technology that demonstrated more than 98-percent accuracy in differentiating “lighting up” from other similar motions. (that compares to 72-percent accuracy in systems using a single armband);
    • ‘and a personalized text-messaging service that reminds the user of either their own plan to quit, or sends video messages that stress the health and financial benefits of quitting.’
  • A holey argument

    A holey argument

    A Netherlands-based anti-tobacco coalition comprising ex-smokers and medical associations is threatening to bring legal action to ban cigarettes that exceed ‘European norms for nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide,’ according to a story in DutchNews.nl relayed by the TMA.
    Tests performed on 100 brands of cigarettes, the results of which were published by the Dutch public health institute RIVM in June, were said to have found that ‘the amount of tar can be up to 26 times the official norm’, while ‘nicotine and carbon monoxide levels were also high’.
    The tests were carried out with the ventilation holes in the cigarette filters covered, whereas the official government test leaves these holes uncovered, which allows more environmental air – and therefore less smoke – to enter the testing machine.
    Both the RIVM and the health and safety watchdog NVWA had previously pulled out of a commission which designed the European measuring method because 10 of the 12 members worked in the tobacco industry.
    Philip Morris and British American Tobacco said their cigarettes complied with European norms and national Dutch legislation regarding tobacco.
    “[T]he European test was never meant to measure “actual exposure” of smokers to tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide,’ said Peter van den Driest, spokesperson for Philip Morris. ‘It was meant to enable to compare brands of cigarettes that are smoked in an identical way.’
    The coalition said that if the safety watchdog NVWA failed to enforce the tobacco legislation, it would go to court.
    This issue has been the subject of at least one question posed to the European Commission. Last month, in answer to one such question, the Commission said that it was aware of the limitations of currently available methods for the measurement of cigarette deliveries of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide.
    It said that this issue was carefully considered during the revision of the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) and that it was concluded there was insufficient evidence that would support the revision of the existing provisions.
    The Commission said the results presented recently by the RIVM were in line with the measurements conducted by Hammond et al. in 2006, which indicated that ‘none of the smoking regimens currently in use adequately “represent” human smoking behaviour and none are significantly associated with measures of nicotine uptake among human participants’.
    ‘As the Commission pointed out in its replies to written questions E-003557/2017 and E-001317/2018, Article 4(3) of TPD empowers the Commission to adopt delegated acts to adapt the measurement methods, based on scientific and technical developments or internationally agreed standards,’ the Commission said. ‘The Commission will report on the application of the TPD by 2021.’

  • Rapid changes needed

    Rapid changes needed

    A proposal in the US to lower the maximum amount of nicotine in legally available cigarettes to non-satisfying and non-addictive levels would cause deadly problems for years to come, according to Jeff Stier, a senior fellow at the Consumer Choice Center and a policy advisor to The Heartland Institute, writing at blog.heartland.org.
    Stier described the Food and Drug Administration proposal as policy candy that provided public health groups with a head-rush, but he said that evidence was scant that it would help smokers quit. And he added that it would be a boon to the already-thriving black market for these highly addictive products.
    Stier was writing on July 27, a day ahead of the one-year anniversary of the FDA’s announcement about what it called a “new comprehensive plan for tobacco and nicotine regulation” that “places nicotine, and the issue of addiction, at the center of the agency’s tobacco regulation efforts”.
    ‘When rolling out the multi-year plan, [FDA] Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said that “the overwhelming amount of death and disease attributable to tobacco is caused by addiction to cigarettes”,’ said Stier ‘Never was a more obvious statement more necessary, given the recent media hysteria over e-cigarettes.’
    In his piece, Stier looks at the agency’s two-pronged approach to reduce smoking, the first of which involved a public dialogue about lowering nicotine levels in combustible cigarettes to non-addictive levels.
    ‘The second part of the plan voiced a commitment to reform regulations to foster innovation for both recreational (e-cigarettes) and medicinal (nicotine replacement therapy) products,’ he said. ‘This component of the plan gave hope to countless former smokers who are smoke-free today because of e-cigarettes.’
    But, Stier said, FDA regulations already in force had put a freeze on innovation within this category. ‘And unless the FDA quickly makes regulatory changes, nearly all currently available e-cigarettes will be removed from the marketplace in just a few years,’ he warned.
    Stier goes on to evaluate what the FDA has achieved one year into its plan.

  • Law change logical

    Law change logical

    In launching last week in Switzerland Logic Pro, a nicotine-containing electronic cigarette, Japan Tobacco International became the first international company to introduce such an e-cigarette, according to a note posted on the company’s website.
    The launch was said to have followed the Federal Administrative Court’s decision on April 24 to lift Switzerland’s ban on the sale of e-cigarettes containing nicotine.
    ‘Logic Pro comes one year after the success of PLOOM TECH, its [JTI’s] tobacco-infused vapor product that heats tobacco at very low temperatures without combustion,’ the company said.
    ‘With Logic Pro, JTI widens its reduced risk products portfolio in Switzerland to satisfy consumer demand for e-cigarettes.
    ‘Logic Pro is a closed-tank electronic vapor device which heats a nicotine-containing liquid to produce an inhalable vapor. Its replaceable capsules come in five flavors – regular, menthol, cherry, berry mint and vanilla – and two different strengths. E-liquids for Logic Pro capsules are made in Europe in line with strict international quality standards, and use food flavoring agents, pharmacopeial nicotine, propylene glycol, and vegetable glycerin. All of this comes together in one sleek, convenient and satisfying vape.’
    “Vapers today are looking for a superior and easy vaping experience,” said John Aurlund, JTI’s GM in Switzerland. “Thanks to the combination of its Europe-made e-liquid and first-class hardware, Logic PRO gives users a quality vapor with an enjoyable taste. With Logic, already the number one e-cigarette in several European countries, we can now meet a growing consumer need in Switzerland. We’re happy the new regulatory environment allows for more consumer choice in the country.”
    Logic is an American brand of electronic cigarettes acquired by JTI in 2015.
    The company said that it was a leading brand in major e-cigarette markets. It was the number one e-vapor brand in Ireland and the number one closed-tank e-vapor device in France, Italy and the UK.
    ‘In the UK, Logic Pro was voted the 2018 E-Cigarette of the Year, recognizing JTI’s dedication to the consumer,’ JTI said. ‘Already the number three global leader in the e-cigarette category, Logic is currently sold in 11 major e-cigarette markets.’
    JTI said that Logic would be made available across Switzerland in independent trade and kiosk stores. The device would retail for CHF19,90, with refill packs of three capsules available for CHF5,90.

  • Fictional deliveries

    Fictional deliveries

    The European Commission has said that it is aware of the limitations of currently available methods for the measurement of cigarette deliveries of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide.
    It said that this issue was carefully considered during the revision of the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) and that it was concluded there was insufficient evidence that would support the revision of the existing provisions.
    The Commission was responding to a question that was based on a study by the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). The RIVM researchers found that the amount of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide delivered was at least twice as high as manufacturers claimed it was.
    The Commission said the results presented recently by the RIVM were in line with the measurements conducted by Hammond et al. in 2006, which indicated that ‘none of the smoking regimens currently in use adequately “represent” human smoking behaviour and none are significantly associated with measures of nicotine uptake among human participants’.
    ‘As the Commission pointed out in its replies to written questions E-003557/2017 and E-001317/2018, Article 4(3) of TPD empowers the Commission to adopt delegated acts to adapt the measurement methods, based on scientific and technical developments or internationally agreed standards,’ the Commission said. ‘The Commission will report on the application of the TPD by 2021.’

  • Harm reduction glows anew

    Harm reduction glows anew

    British American Tobacco Korea on Monday launched in South Korea its second-generation tobacco-heating device, glo, according to a story on pulsenews.co.kr.
    At the launch, BAT Korea said consumers would be able to buy the new edition of glo from July 30 at the brand’s flagship store, nationwide from convenience stores and via the official web site.
    The second-generation glo device, which is being launched about a year after the previous model was launched, will be priced at 90,000 won.
    BAT Korea said that the upgraded version of glo came with enhanced function and design. The all-in-one device was simple to operate, the company said, because users did not need a separate charging device.
    The device could be used up to 30 times on a full charge, it added.
    BAT Korea has unveiled also neo, a new heated-tobacco consumable unit for the new device, which will replace Neostiks, the existing heated tobacco unit.
    Pulse quoted an unnamed official of BAT Korea as saying the company would continue to provide more diverse and satisfying options to Korean smokers seeking potentially reduced-risk, alternative products.
    Despite the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s health warning about vapor products, demand for smokeless tobacco devices has been growing.

  • Time for urgent action

    Time for urgent action

    The US’ National Tobacco Reform Initiative (NTRI) is calling on the Food and Drug Administration actively and expeditiously to pursue the course of action the agency announced in July 2017 ‘with respect to its proposed tobacco and nicotine regulatory framework that would focus on nicotine and support innovations to promote tobacco harm reduction based on the continuum of risk for nicotine-containing products’.
    On July 28, 2017, the NTRI said, the FDA commissioner, Scott Gottlieb, and the director of the agency’s Center for Tobacco Products, Mitch Zeller, announced new policy directions on tobacco and nicotine that called for a ‘comprehensive regulatory plan’ that would accelerate efforts in winning the war against cigarette smoking.
    In a letter to the commissioner on the one-year anniversary of his announcement, the public health leaders who are part of NTRI said that while they had seen progress during the past 50 plus years in respect of declining smoking prevalence, an estimated 32 million US adults still smoked cigarettes. ‘Cigarette smoking remains this nation’s leading cause of preventable disease and death, responsible for about 480,000 deaths each year and costing this country approximately $300 billion in health care costs and lost productivity,’ the NTRI said in a press note. ‘With so many lives on the line each year, there must be an urgency to take bold, visionary actions immediately to reduce the disease burden that smoking addiction inflicts on the health of Americans.
    ‘While the NTRI fully supports the FDA’s announced visionary initiatives, we are concerned that the FDA is/will become mired in overly bureaucratic processes that will delay taking necessary and obvious steps to protect the public’s health. While some attention is being focused on the priority to consider reducing nicotine levels in cigarettes, the other equally important priority to establish a more workable and flexible regulatory framework to regulate all tobacco and nicotine products based on their risks and relative risks (continuum of risk) is nowhere to be seen.’
    “[I]f prudent product standards and reasonable guidelines for making truthful modified risk claims are not available before introducing a product standard for reducing nicotine’s addictiveness in combustible cigarettes, the opportunity to accelerate a mass-migration away from smoked tobacco products, relegating cigarettes to the ashtray of history, will be lost,” veteran tobacco and nicotine researcher and NTRI member, David B. Abrams, PhD, was quoted as saying. Abrams is a professor at the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, NYU College of Global Health, New York University.

  • Century's best initiative

    Century's best initiative

    22nd Century says that it could supply within one growing season enough low-nicotine-tobacco seed to satisfy the needs of the US tobacco industry.
    The company’s claim is contained in a press note outlining its response to the US Food and Drug Administration’s proposed rule that would require all cigarettes sold in the US to contain minimally or non-addictive levels of nicotine.
    ‘In preparation for the prompt implementation of the new FDA rule, 22nd Century is already growing increased amounts of the company’s VLN™ tobacco in order to be able to supply a sufficient quantity of the company’s proprietary VLN™ tobacco seeds to grow enough VLN™ tobacco for the entire US tobacco industry in just one growing season,’ the press note said.
    22nd contrasted its position with that of Reynolds American, which, 22nd said, believed the industry was 20 years away from being able to comply with the FDA’s proposed rule.
    22nd Century said in the press note that it was willing to license the use of its VLN™ technology and VLN™ tobacco seeds/plants to all interested companies.
    ‘The availability of this licensing opportunity from 22nd Century negates any argument by other tobacco companies that contend it is somehow not possible to comply with the planned FDA nicotine reduction mandate,’ the note added.
    “Big tobacco companies now have a choice: Combat, obfuscate and attempt to delay the most important public health initiative of the last 100 years… or demonstrate a genuine commitment to improving the health of their customers,” said Henry Sicignano, III, president and CEO of the 22nd Century Group. “Now that 22nd Century’s VLN™ technology is proven and readily available for licensing, it will be interesting to see which big tobacco companies genuinely care about smokers… and which are determined to keep their customers addicted to the deadliest consumer product available on the market.”

  • Juul launching in UK

    Juul launching in UK

    Juul Labs is launching its vaping device in the UK this week, according to a story by Martinne Geller for Reuters.
    Since launching in the US in 2015, Juul has transformed the market there, where it now accounts for nearly 70 percent of tracked electronic-cigarette sales.
    The Juul device will reportedly be available in 250 vape shops across the UK by the end of this week.
    A starter pack, including the device and four nicotine pods, will cost about £29.99 ($39.66).
    Grant Winterton, Juul Labs’ president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, told Reuters that the UK had been chosen as Juul’s third market after the US and Israel, partly because it had the world’s “most supportive government” when it came to encouraging smokers to vape. Also on the radar are France, Germany and Italy.

  • Smoke-free simulcasting

    Smoke-free simulcasting

    Philip Morris International yesterday issued a call to action for the creative, media and communications communities to embrace its ongoing commitment to creating a smoke-free world.
    ‘As part of this initiative, PMI will offer smoke-free alternatives wherever we can, including heated tobacco products and e-cigarettes, to current smokers in the industry who would otherwise continue to smoke,’ the company said in a press note.
    The initiative was announced during a keynote speech at the PMI Science Lounge at The Cannes Festival of Creativity, where senior vice president of communications Marian Salzman said: “We are asking the creative community to join us in raising awareness of the potential of science, technology and innovation for those who smoke and the people around them”.
    PMI described the move as being part of its vision ‘to lead the charge towards greater innovation and technology in the tobacco industry, all of which is backed by science’.
    Agencies interested in joining the movement can contact Marian Salzman at marian.salzman@pmi.com.
    “People who smoke deserve information about better alternatives,” said COO Jacek Olczak (pictured). “The media industry can play an important role in making this happen, including by championing this initiative.
    “Quitting tobacco and nicotine remains the best option for smokers, but for those who don’t, science-based non-combustible alternatives are a better choice than continuing to use cigarettes.”
    Olczak said PMI wanted a world where all people who would otherwise continue to smoke instead switched to less harmful alternatives. “We started with a bold statement in Cannes: we are looking to create a world where all these smokers switch to better alternatives,” he said. “Now it’s time to make sure people know we are serious. And now, we are following up with concrete actions.”
    The press note said that the Emakina Group, an independent group of communication agencies in Europe, had been the first agency network to declare its commitment to a smoke-free future by pledging support to the initiative across its 13 offices. “A smoke-free future for the whole company? Challenge accepted,” said Brice Le Blévennec, CEO, Emakina Group. “And you know what? Let’s start now!”
    PMI says it is developing and assessing a range of smoke-free alternatives to cigarettes including heated tobacco products, e-cigarettes, and other innovative technologies. ‘The company is conducting extensive research to examine the risk reduction potential of the products compared to continued smoking,’ it said. ‘All evidence to date indicates that PMI’s smoke-free alternatives are a better choice for smokers than cigarettes.’