Tag: Britain

  • Panacea to Distribute Fume in Britain

    Panacea to Distribute Fume in Britain

    Image: Panacea Life Sciences Holdings

    Panacea Life Sciences Holdings signed an exclusive licensing and distribution agreement with QR Joy to distribute Fume disposable vape devices across the U.K.

    “The Panacea distribution division is thrilled to be distributing the Fume product line throughout the U.K. as we see a tremendous opportunity to expand our strategy and diversification into the natural plant-based markets,” said Leslie Buttorff, Panacea CEO and founder, in a statement. “Partnering with such a popular brand like Fume enables us to open new markets while driving revenue and shareholder value for our investment community.”

  • Few youngsters vaping

    Few youngsters vaping

    Regular vaping among young people remains low in Britain and has plateaued among adults, according to a press note posted on the gov.uk website citing an independent report led by researchers at King’s College London and commissioned by Public Health England (PHE).

    The report is said to be the first in a new set of three, commissioned by PHE under the Government’s Tobacco Control Plan for England. ‘It looks specifically at the use of e-cigarettes rather than health impacts, which will be the subject of a future report,’ the note said.

    ‘The findings show that while experimentation with e-cigarettes among young people has increased in recent years, regular use remains low. Only 1.7 percent of under-18s use e-cigarettes weekly or more, and the vast majority of those also smoke. Among young people who have never smoked, only 0.2 percent use e-cigarettes regularly.’

    The note went on to say that regular e-cigarette use among adults had plateaued over recent years, and remained largely confined to smokers and ex-smokers, with ‘quitting smoking’ the main motivation for adult vapers.

    Professor John Newton, Health Improvement Director at Public Health England, was quoted as saying that, in contrast to recent media reports in the US, Britain was not seeing a surge in e-cigarette use among young people.

    “While more young people are experimenting with e-cigarettes, the crucial point is that regular use remains low and is very low indeed among those who have never smoked,” he said.

    “We will keep a close watch on young people’s vaping and smoking habits to ensure we stay on track to achieve our ambition of a smoke-free generation.”

    The note said that, despite e-cigarettes now being the most popular quit aid, just over a third of smokers had never tried one. And only four percent of quit attempts through Stop Smoking Services in England were made using e-cigarettes, despite this being an effective approach.

    The report recommended that Stop Smoking Services should do more to encourage smokers that want to quit with the help of an e-cigarette.

  • Quitting with e-cigarettes

    Quitting with e-cigarettes

    For those wanting to quit smoking, switching to electronic cigarettes may offer better odds of success than using nicotine patches, lozenges or gum, according to a HealthDay story by Alan Mozes citing new research.

    This finding reportedly derives from a year-long study that tracked about 120 British smokers enrolled in a National Health Service smoking cessation program. Seventy-nine smokers were enrolled in an ‘e-cig group’ and given a refillable e-cigarette to use. The remaining 44 smokers were given a three-month supply of any approved nicotine replacement product they wanted.

    “In our study, smokers used e-cigarettes much like other nicotine replacement treatments,” said study author Dunja Przulj, PhD, who is a research health psychologist with the Health and Lifestyles Research Unit at Queen Mary University of London. “They were asked to set a ‘quit day,’ and advised to use their e-cigarette regularly throughout the day, and whenever they felt they needed it. Everyone was encouraged to try and avoid smoking any normal cigarettes.”

    The researchers found that while nearly 10 percent of the nicotine replacement group were not smoking traditional cigarettes a year later, that figure was 18 percent among those using e-cigarettes.

    The report was published online on January 30 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

    The study was funded by the National Institute for Health Research and Cancer Research UK.

    A Reuters story by Kate Kelland that seems to be based on the same study, or perhaps a related study, was carried out with 886 participants.

  • Merger clears hurdle

    The waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 relating to British American Tobacco’s proposed acquisition of Reynolds American Inc. has expired without a request for additional information by the U.S. Department of Justice or the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

    The expiration of the Act’s waiting period satisfies the transaction closing condition related to U.S. antitrust approval.

    The transaction still requires approval by RAI and BAT shareholders and regulatory clearance from Japan, and is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the other closing conditions specified in the merger agreement.

    The companies expect the transaction to close in the third quarter of 2017.

  • Tobacco giants sue Britain over plain-packaging

    Philip Morris International (PMI) and British American Tobacco (BAT) have sued the British government over plain-packaging legislation passed in March. The law, which would take effect from May 2016, requires cigarettes to be sold in packages of uniform shape and size that feature only the brand name and contain prominent graphic health warnings. England is the third and most populous country to introduce plain-packaging laws, following Australia and Ireland.

    PMI argues that England’s plain-packaging regulations “unlawfully deprive PMI of its trademarks” and should therefore be overturned, according to an article in The New York Times. London-based BAT stated that the British government had left the company “with no other choice” and released a statement saying that “any business that has property taken away from it by the state would inevitably want to challenge and seek compensation.” Japan Tobacco International has also indicated it would challenge England’s legislation. The tobacco companies are seeking unspecified damages, which could total billions of dollars if granted.

    A statement released by the English Department of Health said it would “not allow public health policy to be held to ransom by the tobacco industry” and that it “would not have gone ahead with standardized packaging unless we had considered it to be defensible in the courts.”