Meharry Medical College accepts $7.5 million research grant from Juul

I start again to post with this interesting info. I'll try to get more details but here is the link to the press release of the college.

PAUSE

Taking some time off this blog to think more about what's next :) I am still updating the articles posted by JY Nau.

Best stories for the week starting January 7 ending January 12

January 12:  Un article sur l'e-cigarette en Belgique dans le journal Moustique, signalé par Jacques Le Houezec sur Facebook, and an opinion piece in The new York Times, by Kevin Roose, Juul's convenient smokescreen.

January 11: A French Facebook group, Je ne fume plus,  that helped thousands to quit smoking (often by switching to vaping) in Le Télégramme de Brest  

January 10: Why I canceled my membership to the Australian Medical Association, by Colin Mendelsohn

January 9, 2019: Public Health France ED approves of e-cigs as first cessation tool in a radio interview, as reported by JY Nau (in French)
Also positive report (PDF) from the Conseil Economique Social et Environnemental, et la video signalée par vapoteurs . net (merci).

January 8, 2019: Opposite Domi's and Angelica's stories, this article by Joanna for GQ UK about her complete addiction to Juul and the risks for teens.
Juul lanuches its new ad campaign "Make the switch" (source techcrunch)

January 7, 2019: Found via twitter, the blog of Domi Niessen, in French. She was a COPD patient who died in December but vaping helped her to quit and to live several years longer. The blog puts together the monthly text she wrote during the 56 months she vaped.

Public Health France ED approves of e-cigs

Public Health France ED approves of e-cigs as first cessation tool in a radio interview, as reported by JY Nau (in French)

Puis la grande question, celle de la place de la cigarette électronique dans une politique de lutte contre le tabagisme. Où l’on entend, médusé, le directeur de Santé Publique France (hier encore adversaire acharné)  déclarer :

« C’est le moyen le plus utilisé pour arrêter de fumer. C’est important à savoir. Aujourd’hui, il y aurait entre 2,5 à 3 % d’utilisateurs de cigarette électronique. C’est un bon moyen de réduction du risque. Après, elle peut comporter des risques et il faut suivre le comportement des Français afin de s’assurer qu’elle n’est pas détournée, et que ce ne soit pas un objet qui serve les fabricants pour promouvoir les cigarettes ».

An article in GQ UK about Juul

Joanna Della Ragione is seriously addicted to Juul. In her article, she describes her addiction and explains she is concerned for teens in the UK although her examples appear restricted to kids from wealthy families. She says so herself:
With the Juul retailing in the UK at £29.99 and a packet of four pods for £9.99, it’s a cheaper habit than cigarettes but still pricey. Thus it’s the affluent public schools of this country, where kids have access to disposable income, that are proving prime breeding ground for a new generation of Juul-ripping youths.
She does report there are differences of opinion (see below) but her article is essentially a fear story.
Academics are split into two camps: 1) those who believe that vapes are viable nicotine therapy treatment akin to nicotine patches and can ultimately have positive impact on the lives of smokers and 2) those who believe that products such as Juul is creating a new generation of nicotine-addicted youths who would never have smoked. Although both camps concur that e-cigarettes are “less harmful” than their combustible counterparts, opinion is polarised to what extent.

Also this article in The Sun that links at the end to the shocking videos produced by the FDA for their "the real cost" campaign. For a different approach see the excellent 2017 video "What's wrong with E-cigarettes". A more neutral article in Metro.

Le blog de Domi Niessen

Une fois par mois, pendant 56 mois Domi Niessen, atteinte de BronchoPneumopathie Chronique Obstructive (BPCO) convertie à la vape témoigné sur sa page Facebook, textes rassemblés sur ce blog par Zaza Ludivape.

"10 mois d’arrêt…youhouuuuuuuuuu…je suis chaque fois comme une gosse qui voit briller des étoiles dans les châteaux mis à part que je ne suis pas une princesse et que je n’ai pas perdu mon soulier de verre…juste failli y laisser ma vie !!!

Je vape et mes médecins n’ont jamais entendu mes poumons aussi clairs…sans sifflements…si il y a des jeunes qui me lisent…qu’ils fument…arrêtez !!!

Je suis la preuve vivante qu’il y a moyen…merci à tous ceux qui m’accompagnent de près ou de loin dans ce beau voyage…"

Presentations (videos)

Global Forum on Nicotine, June 13-15 2018 in Warsaw

E-Cigarette Summit, USA, April 30, 2018

Selection of presentations at e-cigs summits and other conferences like Global Forum on Nicotine ( once a year since 2014)

My favorite pictures for this week

I have two. I want to select again Rosemary Leonard and Lion Shahab during their experiment comparing smoking with vaping and I chose the picture taken by Angelica de Vito of her father Juuling instead of smoking Marlboros.

They make me wish two things:
1. I'd like for the 'experiment' video to become available in other languages (than English) and be replicated with advocates from other countries. Any takers?
2. One of the first projects I managed when I got involved in tobacco control was the adaptation in French of the 1976 Death in the West documentary by Martin Smith, narrated by Peter Taylor and released in the US by Stanton Glantz. Seeing Casper de Vito who switched from Marlboro to Juul I wonder about a documentary Hope in the West that would show 4 or 5 people (like the cowboys of Death in the West) who have switched. Their testimonies would be complemented by testimonies of their physicians (like in DW).
Any takers?

Best stories for the week ending January 6, 2019

January 5, 2019: "I bought my Dad a Juul e-cigarette to see if he would give up his Marlboros. Here is what happened", by Angelica La Vito for CNBC
January 4, 2019: in The Guardian, article by Suzi Gage and Linda Bauld about E-cigarettes and the differences between the US and the UK
January 3, 2019: Podcast Say Why to drugs by Dr. Suzi Gage about E-cigarettes with Pr. Linda Bauld (41 minutes)
January 2, 2019: Public Health England video Smoking v Vaping with Rosemary leonard and Lion Shahab
January 1, 2019: Article by JY Nau in Slate.fr (In French) about using systematic early sans to detect lung cancer (what about e-cigs as a prevention tool?) Follow his chronicles on his blog Journalisme et santé publique

Le dépistage du cancer du poumon moyen de réduire les risques? et la vape?

Dans chronique du 1er janvier sur Slate.fr,  JY Nau évoque la demande formulée par des experts français en cancérologie thoracique visant à la mise en place d'un dépistage systématique des personnes à risques via un scan associé à une aide au sevrage. Je me deamnde quelle est leur position sur la vape comme outil de réduction des risques et d'aide à l'arrêt?
Le site de l"intergroupe Francophone de Cancérologie Thoracique, IFCT

Taking a break from the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World

As of today, January 2nd, 2019, I have resigned from my position of 'online community manager' with the Foundation for a smoke-Free World.
Why? It's a bit too early for me to explain the mix of internal, external, professional and personal reasons that led me to make such a decision. 
In the short term, I plan to try to publish a few more rendez-vous, write about my experience in the tobacco harm reduction universe on my blog mythrjourney and see if some ideas I care about in this field can become reality. 
My best wishes to all readers for a happy new year.

Philippe 

Les billets/articles de J-Y Nau sur la réduction des risques et le tabagisme

Qui dit/écrit mieux? Voici un début d'index des articles de JY Nau sur e-cigarettes, lutte antitabac, postés sur son blog Journalisme et Santé Publique pour la période la plus récente (début 2019 et quatrième trimestre 2018). Vous pouvez les trier sur son blog en sélectionnant la catégorie 'tabagisme". on devrait en faire un livre.

15 avril 2019: Cigarette électronique contre Champix: voici nos réponses à quelques méchantes critiques

15 avril 2019: E-cigarette contre champix: 1 million d'euros d'argent public vont-ils partir en fumée?

12 avril 2019: La farce et les dindons Français: comment l'Etat pourrait-il en finir un jour avec le tabac?