General

I’ve been mulling this over in my head ever since the first vaping bans were imposed by businesses such as Wetherspoons. I kept thinking to myself why? Was it down to simply banning something that “looks like smoking” - after all there is a comprehensive policy in place across the UK in that smoking is not allowed/prohibited/banned in work places, public places (bars/pubs/clubs/public buildings etc), smoking is now prohibited in cars with kids in (not that it’s being enforced - after all, the police have far better things to do). There’s even calls for smoking bans (inclusive of e-cigarettes) in parks - the US, and New York in particular are fond of their smoke-free parks, completely ignoring the fumes from the multitude of internal combustion engines.

Moving on from my previous post in this multi-part series of my coverage of the 3rd Global Forum on Nicotine, the conference proper started with the Michael Russell Oration, presented by Marewa Glover.

Entitled “Pioneering with Compassion” (Marewa’s slides are available from here) Marewa highlighted several key points, the biggest of which:

While there is low overall smoking prevalence, there is large disparity in sub-population groups

A point made early in the presentation with 42% of Mãori women and 34% of men - which when averaged give a total of 38% compared to the overall population of New Zealand total of 15%. Consider how many “sub-cultures” there are in any number of countries, then consider how many of that sub-culture smoke then look at the “overall” prevalence figures. It’s a terrifying disparity, and it is, unfortunately made worse mostly through the actions of tobacco control.

Well, I’m finally back after a hectic few days in Warsaw for the Global Forum on Nicotine 2016. I really wish I had decided to fly out earlier and stay a bit longer as everything felt a little squeezed on my trip. But the bottom line is it was really worthwhile. This will likely be a multi-part blog as there is a lot to cover.

The start of the event just happened to be a screening of Aaron Biebert’s (watch this space for something special in the near future!) documentary film A Billion Lives at the Kinoteka in the Palace of Culture (or as Sarah described it, the big spiky thing). Setting aside the film for just a moment, the architecture of the Palace of Culture is truly fascinating, and I wish I had more time to explore - maybe that is something for GFN 2017 (if they’ll let me go).

To be fair, I’m not your average anything. I have multiple - often conflicting - views on a wide range of subjects, most of which will never end up on this blog. When I switched to vaping almost two years ago (June 11th 2014 in case anyone is interested), I had absolutely zero interest in all the nuances of vaping. At all.

I joined some Farcefook groups, engaged with like-minded folks - gamers, geeks, IT people, doctors, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, bloggers, and folk that do weird things on Twitter - people from all walks of life. Different ages - mostly older than me at the time, though there were a few that were younger. The community was, and still is as wide and as varied as the devices folk choose to use.

There are times when I do get a kick out of receiving e-mail updates from medical journals. The Lancet in particular (it is free, and somewhat annoying at times - especially the “Department of Error” - which doesn’t actually tell you much in the e-mail, you have to click the bloody link - unlike every other link in the mail; sadly none of these are ever about vaping) does give plenty of entertainment value. Their own manifesto is a source of much hilarity, considering its penchant for allowing ridiculous anonymous smear jobs in its esteemed digital pages. The logo itself “The best science is a good start” provokes a minor snort and a Spock eyebrow, but it’s the message underneath that is my source of hilarity (emphasis mine):

First, let me be absolutely, 110% crystal fucking clear. I do not care which method of cessation you choose. I do not care if you are smoke free through one method or another. I do not care if you smoke. I do not care if you vape. Whatever choice you make is yours and yours alone.

I vape, and I do encourage others to do so if I feel they want to. I do not preach.

I do like it when someone poses an intriguing question on Twitter (or anywhere for that matter) that gets the ol’ grey matter churning. Not only does it make me think, it also makes me consider the implications of my own thinking - which is largely based in personal experience and opinion (on particular subjects), with some foundation in fact.

This question, posted by Gillian really got me thinking.

General Q: Where on hypothetical scale of reducing smoking rates wld you rate smoking cessation (by means that include a switch to vaping)?

New EU rules on nicotine strength not a problem for most vapers is the headline of a pretty dire press release from ASH where, once again, they show that they’ve never really been the ‘vapers friend’. With an increasing number of smokers switching to vaping - estimated to be around 2.8 million in 2016 - ASH reckons that the Tobacco Products Directive “need not cause problems for most vapers”.

How on earth do they figure that the TPD “need not cause problems” ? Despite regular discussions with members of the New Nicotine Alliance and the increasing number of public health experts (actual experts mind) in the fields of smoking cessation, respiratory medicine, cancer research and many more - ASH have today announced that they simply do not care about vapers, and in particular a “small” group - roughly 9%, which when stated like that doesn’t mean much, how does 252,000 sound? - use e-liquid that falls foul of the TPD rules.

It’s always nice to put finger to key and put some thoughts out into the virtual world isn’t it? I could, and often have, gone on for quite some length (especially when ranting) about a particular topic, but what good does it actually do? After all, I’m only “speaking” to like-minded folk right? What is commonly referred to as the “echo chamber” - indeed, most of those that read my words are either vapers, smokers or just plain ol’ libertarians who are, to put it mildly, fucked off with state interventions in our lives.

We all know the arguments. Applying restrictions to avoid “potential harms”. Well we’ve seen how ludicrous that is in Wales recently where vaping is to be banned (yes Duckford, it is a ban. You might not think it is you daft old duffer, but it is) everywhere where smoking is currently banned. Ban in workplaces to protect the health of non-smokers & colleagues, ban in public places to, erm protect the health of workers and non-smokers. Ban in playgrounds, erm for the Cheeldren™.