The Livery Newsletter and Gazette Issue 30 Spring 2019 | Page 20

New Nicotine Alliance
Livery members will know that reduced harm
nicotine products are growing rapidly in popularity,
especially vaping - the use of e-cigarettes. Indeed,
some Livery members work in this new industry. All
the major tobacco companies now sell or produce
various types of reduced harm products, as do
many specialist manufacturers, and ‘vape shops’ are
becoming a feature of the landscape on UK high
streets. Recently Altria, owners of Philip Morris
USA, paid $12.8 billion for a 35% stake in Juul Labs,
a highly successful e-cigarette manufacturer.
In the UK, 3.2 million people now
vape, a number that’s growing. You
may think these consumers could
do with a campaigning body to
stick up for their interests, and the
good news is they have one - the
New Nicotine Alliance (NNA). Founded in 2014,
the NNA’s aim is to speak up for consumers of safer
nicotine products, campaign for better regulation of
these products and promote understanding of what
‘tobacco harm reduction’ means.
The NNA has become the ‘go to’ organisation of its
type, frequently in demand to talk about reduced
harm products such as e-cigarettes on the media, and
is listened to by Public Health England and medical
experts involved in encouraging tobacco harm
reduction - the idea that you can quit smoking but
still enjoy nicotine.
NNA aims
Martin Cullip, who recently attended a
Livery dinner, is an NNA Trustee who
has been involved in its work from the
start, and is active in promoting the
NNA’s messages on discussion panels
and the media.
Says Martin: “We didn’t invent the term ‘tobacco
harm reduction’ - it’s used by major UK bodies like
the Department of Health, Public Health England
and NICE (the National Institute for Health and
Care Excellence), to describe ways of reducing harm
from cigarette smoking without necessarily giving
The
lunch was We
deliciously
by Mark Grove
up nicotine.
aim to get catered
wider acceptance
and
and
his regulation
team at Cook
& Butler and
we cracked
better
of e-cigarettes,
products
like ‘heat
along
at a , and
goodly
pace. snus.
Our guests
were we
admirably
not burn’
Swedish
Basically,
want to
introduced
by
Liveryman
Fran
Morrison
and can
our quit
see a wider choice of products so that people
Principal
Tim Wonnacott
a generous
smoking if Guest,
they choose
to, but still gave
enjoy
nicotine.” and
very humorous reply to which I responded initially
Nicotine
is not
the Tim
risk in a glass of water - he was
by
drenching
poor
very kind about it (sorry Tim!). I was very pleased
The key point here - backed up by hundreds of
to show off the newly found Livery Grant of Arms
studies - is that while there’s little or no doubt that
and Letters Patent which have been missing for many
smoking causes cancer, nicotine is not the culprit.
years - our Clerk tenaciously sought them out, and
The harm from smoking is not caused by nicotine,
the new Immediate Past Master, Chris Allen, and his
but by toxins in the smoke from burning tobacco. In
IPM, Mark Gower-Smith have funded a beautiful re-
an e-cigarette for example, these harmful toxins are
presentation and they are now resplendent in frames
either absent in the aerosol the user inhales, or at
carved with tobacco leaves (or close to); Sandra also
most, present in tiny amounts far below levels known
located a huge banner not seen since 1985 and Angus
to cause harm to humans.
Menzies, Clerk to the Master Mariners and never shy
of
a challenge
saw
to it Society
that it was
on the
Indeed
the UK’s
Royal
for displayed
Public Health
has
Quarterdeck.
stated that nicotine is “no more harmful than coffee”,
and Public Health England has not only said that
Whilst all this was going on, apparently biblical-
vaping is “at least 95% less harmful than smoking”,
style downpours were being had all over London
but is now spending £500,000 on a marketing
- oblivious to all that drama we ended our lunch
campaign to get that message across to smokers and
and trooped back to the quarterdeck where Coffee,
encourage them to switch.
Cigars, and Cognac awaited us (I did mention that
our
Livery
enjoyed dining
the High
C’s..) and
What
are e-cigarettes
and on
Swedish
snus?
which seemed to hit the mark – Liveryman Jemma
E-cigarettes
really cigars
cigarettes
Freeman had kindly
provided are
the not
torpedo
at placed
all. They
don’t contain
and had had them
in souvenir
tubes tobacco
with our
and
are
not
smoked.
Instead,
Crest emblazoned on it. Several of us also
sported
is suspended
in a solution
a limited edition nicotine
Livery Smoking
hat - originally
of
glycerine
or
propylene
glycol,
conceived as a sort of shooting hat, it serves
its
water,
and
usually
flavourings.
purpose so well as a “team” hat, that of the twenty
The solution
is heated
to form
a vapour
that
ordered,
but one
remained
by the
close of
the the
day!
‘vaper’
inhales,
which
is
massively
less
harmful
Thank you to the Master Mariners for allowing than
us the
inhaling
tobacco
smoke.
In
short,
a
vaper
can
enjoy
use of the venue, to Tim for being a perfect Principal
nicotine
without
the risks attending
from smoking.
Guest,
and
for everyone
and giving my
year
such snus
a special
start.
Swedish
is a pasteurised,
moist, powdered
tobacco, either loose or packaged in a tiny sachet like
a miniscule tea-bag. Again, it isn’t smoked; the user
The Master
pops it between lip and gum, and can unobtrusively
absorb nicotine along with enjoyable flavours. It’s
been used in Sweden for decades, and studies show
that this has been accompanied by a big fall in both
smoking and lung cancer rates.
20
3