Has everyone seen this discussion at John Hopkins University about 'Nicotine Regulation'? (Occurred yesterday, Thursday October 19, 2017 at 12:44 pm)
Yes, they have stopped calling it tobacco regulation perse, and are now calling it Nicotine regulation. I recommend everyone sit and see the whole thing, speaking begins after 17 minutes of nothing, so be aware of that.
Gottlieb speaks first, gives a speech.
A couple things here: he agrees that e cigarettes are a gateway drug to smoking for teens and young adults, from what I gathered.
Also, they are calling all smokers drug addicts and grouping smokers in with opiod addicts, basically. My husband took umbrage with being called a drug addict because he smokes cigarettes. (he dual uses, as I am sure everyone knows as I have mentioned it before)
Anyway, one big point in the speech does concern tobacco users and cigarette smokers, as the FDA wants to greatly reduce nicotine levels in cigarettes and somehow make them non addictive, and are trying to figure out how to do that without opening up a huge black market. (My husband literally laughed at the thought and is now planning on planting his very own tobacco patch.. lol)
So, all the other points were pretty much heard before from Gottlieb, but feel free to hear them again concerning deeming and all the main talking points about e cigarettes.
That said, now on to the 36 minute point concerning teens and
vaping, there is a HUGE ad campaign going out demonizing
vaping, put out BY the FDA, beginning next week on all venues where teens go, such as YouTube etc etc.
Feel free to see the ad campaign beginning at the 36 minute mark, and hit a couple minutes earlier than that to hear Gotteib speak on why they are putting out the ad campaign. It is very much anti
vaping, anti nicotine in general.
Fun Fun.
Now, onto the panel of speakers, a couple anti tobacco people, Zeller, and a Professor Ken Warner from the University of Michigan (Lifelong anti tobacco personality).
Some points made, one, that it is combustible forms of nicotine delivery which is what is deadly. Everyone agrees on this point.
Speaking on the correlation between the rise of e cigarette use in teens and young adults and the lower levels of use of combustible cigarette use in teens and young adults - FDA believes the correlation is true. less cigarette use is equaling rise in e cigarette use, hence anti vaping ad campaign. Everyone happy.
Trying to keep another generation from ever trying any form of nicotine delivery.
Couple big points made. Zeller:
1) They are trying to determine what additional rules they want to pack into the deeming regulations.
2) They are not addressing nicotine levels in non-combustible delivery systems by design. (might speak to those additional rules they are thinking of piling on - don't know, FDA wont say)
3) FDA is planning on making certain that the final rules cannot be litigated, and if they are, that they cannot be won.
Zeller kept talking about the "Rules of the Road" concerning regulation, to which my husband said, "the rules of the road are "Stay the hell out of my tobacco patch" ." (Just thought that was funny..)
They are saying the final rulings on flavors still have to be determined because its a dual issue, one of teen use and one of flavored e cigarettes being helpful to people getting off combustible tobacco. But lots of talk about flavors.
Concerning nicotine levels, congress has said the FDA cannot take nicotine levels down to zero, but the FDA can regulate nicotine other than that, and determine any level they choose. Everyone happy about that.
Concern about long term use of HNB delivery systems.. some talk there. Spoke also that society may have to accept and discuss the fact that some people will need to use alternative nicotine delivery systems for life..
Hoping for a full switch from combustible tobacco to alternative nicotine delivery systems in the future, and a combustible tobacco free society in the future of the US.
BIG point made at the 1 hour and 40 minute mark, about how having a concentrated amount of large companies instead of many small companies is a good thing because it lowers competition in the marketplace and keeps prices artificially high - which makes them think it keeps use lower. The bad they see in that is the lobbying power of the larger companies because of their concentrated wealth. Hoping for a happy medium there I guess to avoid lobbying power?
Ken Warner said the hobbyist market in e cigarette community would be more difficult to sustain in a concentrated market, but from my understanding he sees that as a good thing? Not sure there if I was understanding him correctly on that point, but he did say he didn't know where that was headed (ie: the hobbyist market)
They mentioned on cigarettes that if all they end up with is another light cigarette then the regulations will have failed. Said Cornerstone of the regulations was pre market review of any claims, cant comply with regulations = cant sell products. Then spoke on enforcement of regulations etc. etc.
Ken Warner did mention the next couple years will determine e cigarette use among teens, says we need more data over next couple years and it might not be as bad as we think.
Okay, so that is some of what the video is about. Please watch the whole thing for your own take on it, I just hit a couple points here to explain whats on the video for those who cannot watch right now.
And I am off here to purchase more nicotine for my and my families future, and my husband is going to plant a bunch of tobacco. I hope all of you have a nice day.
