FDA Smokes E-Cig Market so What Now?

These are crazy times we are living in. Straws are banned and punishable by law in California, FDA is mandating that e-cigs see flavor bans, retailers are banning the e-cig all together in some places, and cigarette smokers have become the “dirtiest” consumers in the market. 

I remember a time when my dad used to stand in his office, with a Glenlivet and soda in one hand and a burning Lucky (unfiltered) in the other, while conducting a meeting.

 I remember grandparents and parents sitting at the dinner table with cigarette’s burning in ashtrays between bites of food. When I was a kid, a cigarette was fashionable, sexy and a status symbol in many ways.  Women elegantly held them from the ends of holders that glistened and sparkled under evening party lights, and men looked strong and masculine and confident. This was the marketing campaign of the 50’s, 60’s and into the 70’s of the cigarette and everyone did it, everywhere all the time. I even remember smoking on planes!  The question then was “why wouldn’t you smoke?”

Ask just about anyone and they will tell you it’s the most horrifying habit next to IV drug use and for those who do smoke, socially it not only speaks to a lack of care for personal health but is a new kind of status symbol. We are not talking enviable or desirable but instead a step down. A smoker is viewed today as filthy, unkempt, and inconsiderate and dangerous.  Once looked up to, smoking is now frowned upon. Gone is the glam however, and in is the social shun.

Today the conversation wraps around E-cigarette flavors and packaging, appeal to minors and the rising health risk of the use by minors.

 The conversation is fitting of lung cancer and carcinogens and preventative care. The campaigns and advertisements in the space are no longer for the purchase of products but the horrifying and deadly health affects and societal impacts of second hand smoke and vaping for minors. And yet, we still smoke. The human condition sadly, prompts many to cope with an oral activity (smoking) and inhalation of chemicals that are supposedly designed to calm.  The leading retailers in the space are now taking a stand and action, in effort to create a healthier future, but what about the addict?

With stores like CVS and Walgreens cutting their cigarette distribution and Rite Aide announcing last week that E-cigarettes will be banned from their program, but they will continue to stock cigarettes seems a bit backwards.  Afterall wasn’t the e-cigarette designed to replace the harmful cigarette?

In a recent press release, the big box retailer, Rite Aid stated, “over the next 90 days, they will remove e-cigs from all 2,469 stores in 18 states because of the "epidemic" of teen use of the devices. COO Bryan Everett said Rite Aid would be removing them even though "many feel these products are beneficial to those of legal age who are trying to quit the use of tobacco."

The FDA has gone to war against the e-cig production companies and tobacco companies because the use by minors from 2017 to 2018 saw an increase of more than 78% among high school aged children, and 48% for middle aged kids.

While this all may be true and factual, the data indicates that teen smoking is at an all time low, since 1991, published by a study from the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research.  The greatest drop seems to have happened in 2017. However, this is when e-cig use saw record highs.

 So, the theory here is that the cigarette was replaced by the e-cig and neither is beneficial to the child, thereby making the healthier alternative of the e-cigarette counter intuitive to the cause.

While there is a legal argument over the specificity of the Rite Aid position, no e-cigs but cigarettes remain on shelf, we lend ourselves to the question of, what is the next best alternative? Many cannot just quit without physical and psychological impact, so what are we to offer?

The hemp cigarette has the potential to be the new model and solution to the smoker need.  Nicotine and tobacco free, looks and feels like a cigarette, but the contents are pure hemp and the benefits lie in the cannabinoids. The idea is that the delivery system is effective, fast and bio available. The model replicates the physical experience of a cigarette, thereby fooling the brain in the activity, delivers the calming cannabinoids, thereby replicating the calming effect of the nicotine product, and should counter the craving for the same effects the nicotine and tobacco-based products provide the user.

Can smoking hemp cause lung cancer risk greater than or equal to tobacco? Probably not. There have been a handful of studies examining the question if smoking cannabis(hemp) plant material can cause an increased risk of lung cancer. Many of these studies expected to find an increased risk, since inhaling the products of combustion alone are associated often with increase lung cancer risk, no matter what substance is combusting. Surprisingly, researchers have generally found no increased cancer risk. This is paradoxical. The current explanation is that because many cannabinoids have anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties, this offset any increase in risk that comes from inhaling the products of combustion.

The truth is, Cannabis has been used for thousands of years, from extractions to smoking the plant from a pipe or paper. So, what are the comparisons?

A 2009 study found marijuana use associated with a decrease in head and neck cancer (Liang).

CBD, cannabidiol, a component of cannabis can encourage the death of tumor cells (Ramer, et al., 2012).

Cannabis components slow the growth of cancer cells in the lab.

Studies find cannabis helpful for neuropathic pain.

Cannabis smoke alone does not seem to lead to COPD or emphysema (Tashkin & Tashkin, 2009).

Cannabis and synthetic THC can increase weight gain in patients with HIV (Haney, et al., 2007).

Reduced lung function from cannabis smoke appears to be less than that of tobacco.

Of over 7,000 chemicals in tobacco, 250 may damage health, 69 are known carcinogens

Smoking tobacco is the top cause of cancer and preventable mortality

Tobacco may increase the risk of leukemia, cancers, and eye cataracts (DrugFacts: Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products, n.d.).

Tobacco is known to be addictive.

Smoking tobacco is also associated with heart disease and many diseases in addition to cancer.

Cigarette and tobacco use are associated with cancers throughout the body.

Cigarette smoking presents a danger to every major organ system in the body.

Smoking cigarettes increase inflammation and damage the immune system, Cannabis, and specifically the cannabinoids in the hemp plant are known and proven to relieve inflammation and strengthen the immune system.

Are Hemp Cigarettes the solution?

Some would say so. The cannabinoids found in the compounds of the extracted plant material continues to be studied, but indicate thus far, that addiction to nicotine can be combated with the introduction and replacement of a hemp derived matter.

In 2014 there was a study done at an Israel University that looked at the impact of CBD on tobacco addiction. The study considered the impact of CBD on nicotine addiction by conducting a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study on 24 smokers who wished to stop smoking. Two groups received either a CBD inhaler or a placebo inhaler. They were told to use the inhaler whenever they felt the urge to smoke, to assess daily cigarette and inhaler use, and to monitor their craving once daily for 1 week. Cravings were measured at baseline and at the end of the week, A 2-week follow-up was organized to assess cigarette use. The results showed a significant reduction in the number of cigarettes smoked (≈40%) in the CBD inhaler group during the week of treatment, with a trend indicating a reduction after follow-up.

By introducing the hemp cigarette model into the smoker’s world, the alternative to harmful tobacco or the e-cigarette model, becomes one that not only impacts the addiction to the poisonous tobacco/nicotine product, but delivers valuable nutrient to the body that is lacking while at the same time offering relief to symptoms and conditions related to tobacco use as well as other health conditions.

The use of a hemp derived cigarette model suggests that the user now goes from a stigmatized dirty inconsiderate smoker to a new and improved ‘for the health of it” smoker.

The hemp cigarette model however is new. And because it is new, we are seeing the quality of the product vary. Wild Hemp Cigarettes for example are reported to have 10mg of CBD per stick, contain nothing but USDA procured cultivated hemp and taste great! Sadly, the reviews online speak to a different story. The Wild Hemp model repeatedly sees a review that focuses on stems and seeds and a bad taste. Who is going to smoke that again? They are super cheap however! It is reported that Wild Hemp uses a combined harvested product which essentially collects all the plant including some of the soil and mills it all together. The product is reported to smell and taste more like hay than cannabis or it’s less pungent counterpart, hemp.  Not only are you inhaling the plant material, but you are also taking in the dirt and whatever was in the dirt too. Cheap and easy, Wild Hemp fits some markets, but not all.

By comparison we are seeing better, healthier, and robust models come to market with enjoyment and experience in mind, as well as robust volumes of milligrams for health.

Colorado Pure Hemp seems to have their finger on the pulse of the best model and biggest bang for your buck!

Not seedy nor stemmy, lush and green, and loaded full of phyto-cannabinoid rich plant material, each of these sticks packs 36mg of cannabinoids and tastes just like some of the best cannabis you have ever tried without any of the psychotropic affects of THC. The hemp grown and cultivated for this product tests as domestic, metal, pesticide and contaminate free, and is chalked full of rich CBD, CBG, CBN and so on, with very little to no THC. While it is not as “affordable” as the Wild Hemp model, the product itself and overall experience makes clear why this is superior. The procurement of quality hemp that has been harvested properly without the combining method, provides a stem free, nearly seed free plant material to start with and the blend with the luxury “smokeable hemp” makes it taste amazing! No hay, no dirt, and lots and lots of CBD. 3 TIMES THAT OF WILD HEMP! 

Colorado Pure Hemp stands to deliver the everyday man’s cigarette for an affordable, if not cost-effective pack and carton price.

If we are on the fence about the legality of it all, how does the cigarette model fit into the big box retailer?

While Hemp is legal federally, having passed this last December, it is still under State’s rights for consumption and growth. CBD remains a classified product under the FDA and continues to be the topic of confusion for the public. The law simply put. If you eat it, you cannot have it. If you apply  it, it rides a fine line, but if you smoke it? There doesn’t seem to be anything that states it is not legal, and it falls under the agriculture of the plant legally, it is not taxable like that of tobacco and nicotine. Not yet anyway.

Inhaling the smoke from a hemp derived cigarette is the fastest way to get it into the body. When the hemp is smoked the compounds are delivered to our lungs and absorbed by the alveoli (tiny air sacs) within our lungs. The aveolis provide a pathway for the cannabinoids to reach our bloodstream and bind to our endocannabinoid receptors.

Because the inside of the lung offers the largest surface area with the fastest absorption rate, it results in the highest amount of CBD absorbed. For those looking for fast relief a hemp cigarette would provide the best results. Inhaled CBD penetrates our cognitive, immune, and nervous system, regulating our processes and maintaining our inner balance.

At this point in research development cannabinoids can be considered only as a preventative tool. That is not to say hemp might not have potential benefits we don’t know about yet; however, we continue to gather enough evidence to label it a cure. While we wait on the formal studies, much done to date continues to illustrate the anti-inflammatory properties alone in smoking hemp can be beneficial for colds, sore throats, and other ailments. This in theory seems strange to connotative, when the experience to date has been cigarette smoking exacerbates such symptoms, however the concept here is that unlike tobacco and nicotine poisons, hemp is in fact delivering the properties and volumes of medicine to address the illness and combat it despite the method of delivery.

Rite Aid doesn't say how much it makes from tobacco sales. Soft tobacco sales caused the pharmacy's front-end sales to fall 1.9% in the fourth quarter while contributing to a $20.8 million decline in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Replaced by Hemp Cigarettes and Rite Aid could potentially make back the loss three-fold with the growing popularity of the CBD products in the market and the educated consumer seeking personal options in delivery methods.

Rite Aid, like that of CVS, and Walgreens are now dipping their toes into the market selling CBD-infused creams, lip balms, and lotions in several hundred stores in Oregon and Washington and California. Rite Aid is the third major drugstore chain to begin selling cannabis-based products without hesitation despite the classification issues or big pharma push back.

With the intense scrutiny of the e-cig market, Rite Aid likely didn't want the hassle. Tobacco still provides a strong, recurring stream of revenue, even if it negatively impacts  front-end sales from time to time, it would appear that a clean, pure, safe, industrial hemp cigarette model that appeals to the general public, like that of Colorado Pure Hemp, would certainly provide the solution monetarily for the retailer and the solution to health and wellness for the consumer.