I had the pleasure of attending a reception in Parliament yesterday organised by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for E-cigarettes. The purpose of the reception was to formally launch the APPG's new report, 'State of the Vaping Nation'. 

Andrew Allison, Head of Campaigns at The Freedom Association, discussed the new 'Freedom to Vape' report on the vaping policies of UK councils with Andy Comfort on BBC Radio Humberside last week. Click on the image below to listen to it. 

In an excellent new report published today, Chris Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), has called for the damaging regulations imposed on vapers and the vaping industry in the European Union's Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) to be scrapped post-Brexit. Click HERE to read the report. 

On 15 August I published a Freedom of Information request I sent to the British Transport Police regarding the number of people interviewed under caution for vaping on trains and in railway stations. We received a reply this week. 

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REPLY

I understand why the request was refused, however, the additional information provided shows that vaping on trains and in railway stations is not a criminal offence. You may be breaking a condition of carriage, but vaping in an enclosed space is a perfectly legal activity which is not covered by railway byelaws.

Many cities in the United States are raising the age to purchase tobacco products to 21 years. Some of the rhetoric coming out of the groups campaigning for draconian legislation would be at home in a totalitarian state. It's not what you would expect (or shouldn't expect) from a country that likes to think that it leads the free world. 

Detroit Lakes is one of those US cities contemplating raising the age, and supporters don't want to stop there. They are also "discussing exceeding state law in defining vaping as smoking, banning vaping where smoking is banned and removing the business owners right to choose, banning smoking/vaping patios, etc."

There really isn't any evidence to prove that e-cigarettes encourage teenagers to smoke, and even this new research from the university of Leeds doesn't prove it. Even the researchers, according to Reuters, "urged caution in interpreting its results, noting that while e-cigarette use has increased in Britain, rates of smoking have continued to fall". 

Despite this, once again the Daily Mail latches on to the story in order to spread more misinformation. I know the British Medical Journal (BMJ) press release didn't help by saying that e-cigarettes may be prompting UK teens to try smoking. But even the BMJ covered itself by saying "may". 

After it was revealed last week that London Midland (which has just lost its franchise to run trains) is threatening to send vapers to court for using e-cigarettes on trains, The Freedom Association's Freedom to Vape campaign sent the following Freedom of Information request to the British Transport Police. 

In response to this article in the Daily Mail on 2 August, I wrote the following letter to the newspaper last week. 

Dear Sir, 

I refer to your article entitled "Warning on passive vaping in bars: Second-hand smoke from devices contain toxic chemicals that can irritate your eyes and skin" (Daily Mail 2nd August). 

I has an appointment at Castle Hill Hospital in East Yorkshire on Tuesday afternoon. As I was putting my £2 into the parking meter, I noticed this sign above it. 

Although I oppose banning smoking in the great outdoors - there's no reason for it other than to beat-up smokers for being smokers - I thought that at least the hospital has realised the difference between smoking and vaping. After reading the sign again, I realised that staff were not included. 

Our Freedom to Vape campaign published its 2017 Annual Review today. Click on the link below to take a look at what we have achieved in the past year, and what our aims are for the next twelve months.