VAPEAST

Campaigners in Oklahoma submitted a petition to legalize marijuana statewide.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Voters in Oklahoma could vote on recreational marijuana legalization in the next year or two, reports local news.

Earlier this month, an organization filed petitions to both legalize recreational marijuana and to update medical marijuana laws in the state to be in line with other states, like nearby Colorado.

The authors of the questions are representatives of the political action committee Oklahomans for Responsible Cannabis Action.

The committee told News 12, a Fox affiliate, that they expect to start collecting signatures for the 2022 election on Thanksgiving.

Vaping Post viewed the petition for legal recreational marijuana.

It shall be lawful for all persons twenty-one (21) years of age and older to grow, purchase, transport, receive, prepare and consume marijuana and marijuana products. It shall be lawful for all persons twenty-one (21) years of age and older to possess up to: twelve (12) marijuana plants and the marijuana harvested therefrom; one (1) ounce of concentrated marijuana; seventy-two (72) ounces of topical marijuana; seventy-two (72) ounces of edible marijuana; eight (8) ounces of suppository marijuana; and eight (8) ounces of commercially sold marijuana. These amounts are cumulative. The legislature is permitted to increase these quantities as well as permit other forms of marijuana.

The petition continues:

It shall be lawful for all persons twenty-one (21) years of age and older to purchase, possess and use marijuana paraphernalia.

Growing or processing amounts in excess of what this section permits for personal possession, or the distribution in any amount with consideration, shall require a business license issued by the agency responsible for regulating marijuana.

According to the same committee, the medical marijuana petition would further clarify state law for medical marijuana to further develop the regulatory framework for the benefit of consumers.

A new State Agency is hereby created called the Oklahoma State Cannabis Commission, which shall assume all administrative, regulatory, and appropriate adjudicative authority over cannabis, hemp, and marijuana plants, the products derived therefrom, and the related services as established in the provisions set forth in this Article.

This story will be included as a part of Vaping Post’s upcoming election coverage.

The 2021 General Election for the United States of America is Tuesday, November 2nd.

Pax today is announcing a new app for its cannabis vaporizers. The service offers access to device controls, cannabis strain information and safety features. The company previously launched an Android and iPhone app with similar features, but Apple later removed the version on the App Store, stripping iPhone users of features and information.

Pax is not coy about the motivations behind this desktop app. “Built in response to Apple’s removal of vaporization-related apps from the App Store,” the press release reads. This desktop app has been in the works for some time. Apple removed vaping apps in late 2019, and Pax representatives told me in January 2020 they had been working toward a new solution.

“We’re thrilled to be able to restore functionality to Apple users,” said Jesse Silver, SVP of Product at PAX Labs. “While we build our devices to work beautifully even without the app, the magic truly happens when you have precision control over things like temperature and dose, not to mention the confidence that comes with this level of information and transparency around what’s in the pod. Because so many of our features are developed through the lens of delivering a predictable, high-quality experience, it was really important to us that all of our customers could access them—regardless of whether they use iPhones or Androids.”

This web app features the same functionality of the smartphone app, but it’s unfortunately tied to a desktop computer. The web app does not work on smartphones. Because of this, some of the magic is lost as users are still unable to fine-tune control of the vapes while away from their desks.

Other companies have made similar moves, most notably, Canopy Growth Corp.’s Storz & Bickel. In March 2020, the vaping device maker launched its web app to bypass Apple’s ban. In its solution, users have to use a specific mobile browser due to Bluetooth. If willing to jump through a few hoops, the web app restores features of Storz & Bickel’s vaporizers for Apple users.

I use the company’s Android app with a Pax Era Pro and enjoy the wealth of information available through the portal. Not sure what’s in a Pax pod? Snap it into the Era Pro to see where the strain was developed and cultivated, as well as the results from testing reports. But as an iPhone user, it would be great to have this information on my primary device.

Pax’s new desktop app requires Chrome for macOS users. For those on Windows, functionality is only available with the Pax Era Pro. After several setup steps, the desktop web app works as advertised and features a slick interface and rich functionality.

Shephard has just tabled a legislation that would create a registry of businesses selling vaping products, as part of the effort to prevent teen vaping. The opposition said the bill will not actually address the problem, but Shephard replied that more restrictions are on the way.

“This is only the first bill that’s being brought forward and this is about regulation and licensing, so there is more to come,” she said.

In November, local health critic Jean-Claude D’Amours introduced a legislation that would ban flavoured e-liquids, yet the bill has remain untouched. He said that he wants to see the flavours issue addressed by the local government. “If you look at many organizations, what they are looking for is really to eliminate the flavours,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey has recently revealed that between 2019 and 2020, there was a 40% drop in smoking rates in this specific age group, from 13.3% to 8%. This figure is encouraging for Health Canada’s smoking prevalence target of 5% for 2035. Moreover the target has already been achieved among those aged 15-19, as the smoking rate is currently no more than 5%.

The media is selective in what it reports

In a letter addressed to Health Minister Patty Hajdu, professor of Economics at Concordia University, and a research fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute, Ian Irvine, said that it is a shame that the media is selective in what it reports. “It is unfortunate that these achievements have been largely ignored by a media that has been, for the most part, fixated on the concept of a vaping epidemic among these age groups.”

Irvine highlighted that while smoking rates had been declining due to Government policy towards tobacco, the real change happened when vaping products arrived on the scene. “By 2013 smoking had declined to 11 percent for those aged 15-19, 18 percent for 20-24 year olds, and about 16 percent for those aged 25 and above…Then a disruptive technology intruded on the scene –vaping.”

Read Further: Global News

Canada’s Proposed Flavour Ban Ignores Mental Health Issues in Youth

In a decision that could shake up the FDA’s premarket review process for vaping products, a federal court has granted a stay to Triton Distribution, preventing FDA enforcement of the agency’s Marketing Denial Order (MDO).

A three-judge panel on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals found that Triton (also known as Wages and White Lion Investments, LLC) is likely to succeed in its MDO appeal, and that the FDA order is “likely arbitrary, capricious or otherwise unlawful.” The decision allows Triton to continue selling its products while the court reviews the FDA denial order.

This is the first stay issued by a court in a legal challenge to the agency’s MDOs, although the FDA itself has stayed enforcement for some companies pursuing internal administrative appeals, and has rescinded marketing denials issued to Turning Point Brands and Fumizer based on “overlooked” evidence, and promised to delay enforcement against them until their reviews are complete.

The court found the FDA moved the goalposts for companies submitting Premarket Tobacco Applications (PMTAs) in the years following its 2016 Deeming Rule. The agency changed the date for submission multiple times, wrote Judge Andrew S. Oldham for the panel, and after explaining that manufacturers could submit PMTAs without long-term scientific evidence, the FDA “changed its mind and required the very thing it said it would not—namely, long-term studies of e-cigarettes.”

In its reasoning for issuing MDOs to companies manufacturing non-tobacco and -menthol vaping products, the FDA cited a new standard of evidence that was not explained in advance. On Aug. 26, the agency explained that manufacturers of flavored products must show “sufficient product-specific scientific evidence to demonstrate enough of a benefit to adult smokers that would overcome the risk posed to youth,” and that the evidence would “likely be in the form of a randomized controlled trial or longitudinal cohort study.”

The court rejected the FDA’s last-minute change of evidentiary standards. “Many e-cigarette companies relied on the FDA’s repeated insistence that it did ‘not expect that applicants will have to conduct long-term studies to support an application’ and did not perform or submit such evidence,” Judge Oldham wrote.

Citing previous decisions, Judge Oldham described the FDA’s actions in rejecting Triton’s PMTA as a “surprise switcheroo.”

The panel found the FDA arguments against a stay deficient on other points too, and also rejected an amicus curiae brief filed in support of the FDA by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and other anti-vaping special interest groups.

Those groups, say the court, “argue that the public interest cuts against a stay because continued sale of flavored e-cigarettes will endanger the youth much more than it might help adults. ‘But our system does not permit agencies to act unlawfully even in pursuit of desirable ends.’”

In its response to Triton’s motion for a stay, the FDA’s Justice Department lawyers argued that the court could not compel the FDA to allow Triton to sell products without enforcement by issuing a stay. But the court has done exactly that, noting that “we reject the FDA’s argument that we lack authority to grant a stay that provides interim relief.”

While the decision applies only to Triton—and only until completion of the company’s MDO appeal—attorneys in other appeals are free to cite the decision, and judges in other courts could adopt the 5th Circuit’s reasoning.

Texas-based Triton Distribution manufactures e-liquid under its own brand names, and under contract for other manufacturers. Among the brands included in Triton’s MDO were Suicide Bunny, Boiler Maker, Vape Hooligan, Chewy Clouds, and Teleos.

One hundred experts urge the World Health Organization to change its position on vaping and e-cigarettes.

GENEVA — One hundred experts in nicotine science, policy, public health, and medical practice have asked the 182 member-states to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control under the World Health Organization to reconsider its position on vaping devices and tobacco harm reduction strategies that include risk-reduced products like snus, tobacco-free nicotine pouches, and others.

Tobacco Reporter reports that the letter pushes back against the World Health Organization’s approach to the “misguided and unscientific drive for prohibition or excessive regulation and taxation of vaping products, heated and smokeless tobacco products, and novel oral nicotine products, such as pouches.”

Clive Bates, a renowned tobacco harm reduction advocate, published the letter to his personal blog, The Counterfactual.

“We believe that it is time for global tobacco policy to draw on the full potential of tobacco harm reduction,” the letter states.

“We hope the public health science, policy, and practitioner communities will converge on a common purpose to meet the [sustainable development goals] and to reduce the global burden of tobacco-related disease and premature mortality as quickly and deeply as possible,” the experts further argue in the letter.

Here’s the entire list of experts that signed the letter:

Manuel Linares Abad, PhD
David B. Abrams, PhD
Karolien Adriaens, PhD
Jasjit S Ahluwalia, MD, MPH, MS
Sanjay Agrawal, MD, MBChB
Philippe Arvers, MD, PhD
Frank Baeyens, PhD
Scott D. Ballin, JD
José Mª García Basterrechea, MD
Clive Bates, MA, MSc
Robert Beaglehole, MD, DSc, FRSNZ
Pavel Bém MD
Ruth Bonita MPH PhD MD (hon)
Ron Borland, PhD
John Britton, MD
Fernando Fernández Bueno, MD
Suzamme Colby, PhD
Sharon Cox, PhD
Kenneth Michael Cummings, PhD
Andrew DaRoza
Lynne Dawkins, PhD
Clifford E. Douglas, JD
Hugo Caballero Durán, MD
Allan C. Erickson
Carmen Escrig, PhD
Jean-François Etter, PhD
Patrick Fafard, PhD
Konstantinos Farsalinos, MD, MPH
Jonathan Foulds, PhD
Abigail S. Friedman, PhD
Thomas J. Glynn, PhD
Eliana Golberstein
Ernest Groman
Miguel de la Guardia PhD
Peter Hajek, PhD
Wayne Hall, PhD
Deborah Hart LLB
Cheryl Healton, MPA, DrPH
Christian Heinrich Henonin MD
Natasha A. Herrera
Maria del Mar Sangüesa Jareño, MD
Martin J Jarvis, DSc OBE
Martin Juneau , MPs, MD, FRCPC
Aparajeet Kar, MD
Imane Kendili
Milton Klun
Dr. Tan Kok Kuan, MD
Lynn T. Kozlowski, PhD
Eva Králíková, MD
George Laking, MD, PhD
Jacques Le Houezec, PhD
Karl E Lund, PhD
Clifford Garfield Mahood, O.C.
Bernhard-Michael Mayer, PhD
Olivia Maynard, PhD
Garrett McGovern, MD
Kiran Melkote, MBBS, MS
Colin Mendelsohn, MB BS
Robin Mermelstein, PhD
Faares Mili, MD
Tom Miller
Marcus Munafò, PhD
José David García Muñiz, MD, PhD
Ethan Nadelmann, PhD, JD
Raymond Niaura, PhD
Caitlin Notley, PhD
David Nutt, DM, FRCP, FRCPsych, FMedSci, DLaws
Tikki Elka Pang, PhD
Young-bum Park, PhD
César Paz y Miño, MD, PhD
Michael Pesko, PhD
Hernán Prat, MD, PhD
Lars M. Ramström, PhD
Vaughan Rees, PhD
Arleen R. Reyes, DMD, ICD, ICCDE
Steven A. Schroeder, MD
John R. Seffrin, PhD
Peter Selby MBBS, CCFP, FCFP, MHSc, dipABAM, DFASAM
Rohan Sequeira
Lion Shahab, PhD
Michael Siegel, MD, MPH
Antonio Sierra, MD, PhD
Francisco Garcia Sierra, MD
Ron Christian G. Sison, MLS(ASCPi), MPH
Andrzej Sobczak, PhD
Roberto A Sussman, PhD
David Sweanor, JD
Enrique Teran, MD, PhD
Umberto Tirelli MD
Josep María Ramón Torrell, MD, PhD
Mark Tyndall MD ScD FRCPC
Angel González Ureña, PhD
Francisco E. Urrestra. MD.
Diego Verrastro MD
Natalie Walker, PhD
Kenneth Warner, PhD
Judith Watt
Robert West PhD
Alex Wodak AM FRACP, FAChAM
Naohito Yamaguchi, MD

Read more at The Counterfactual.

“Compared with using no help, the odds of abstinence were increased by daily use of disposable/cartridge e-cigarettes and daily use of refill/modular.”

Stating the contrary to the above, a recent study by South African researchers said that data indicated the majority of e-cigarette users continued to smoke, and that only a few of them managed to remain abstinent. Yet this research has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal.

“While the tobacco and e-cigarette industry likes to position e-cigarettes as cessation aids, the limited effectiveness of these products for long-term quitting, the health harms associated with usage and the industry’s clear and targeted marketing to youth are facts which are conveniently omitted from their narrative,” said Ayo-Yusuf.

Meanwhile, scientific data from across the globe keep indicating the opposite. Moreover, contrary to the allegations made by Ayo-Yusuf, the majority of these are conducted by public health bodies which are independent from from the vape industry, and even more so, the tobacco industry.

ECs found to facilitate abstinence from smoking

The study titled, “The effectiveness of using e‐cigarettes for quitting smoking compared to other cessation methods among adults in the United Kingdom,” is perhaps the most recent example of an independent peer reviewed study.

The researchers analysed data from a 1155 respondents aged between 18 and 81, from a longitudinal online survey collected between 2012 and 2017. “Compared with using no help, the odds of abstinence were increased by daily use of disposable/cartridge e-cigarettes (ECs) and daily use of refill/modular. Odds were reduced by non‐daily use of disposable/cartridge, and by use of disposable/cartridge ECs to quit and no longer using at follow‐up.Secondary Results were similar to the primary outcome; however, odds of abstinence were also increased by use of smoking cessation medication,” reported the paper.

“When used daily, electronic cigarettes appear to facilitate abstinence from smoking when compared with using no help,” concluded the researchers.

The Relationship Between E-Liquid Flavours And Smoking Cessation