Britain's efforts to reduce smoking are becoming a cash cow for big tobacco

First paragraph: It all began so well. A decade ago a heartfelt concern about the addictiveness of nicotine, and the enormous difficulties this presented for would-be quitters, led to an unprecedented investment in intensive smoking cessation services. Beyond Smoking Kills proudly proclaimed year-on-year increases in funding for stop-smoking services and the establishment of centres throughout the country. Access this article on The Conversation website: https://theconversation.com/britains-efforts-to-reduce-smoking-are-becoming-a-cash-cow-for-big-tobacco-2533

Tobacco Harm Reduction and Nicotine Containing Products: Research Priorities and Policy Directions

Developments in tobacco harm reduction (HR) and the proliferation of nicotine containing products (NCPs) have important implications for tobaco control (TC). This report sets out a research agenda which will help map and examine these implications

The marketing of e-cigarettes: a quick snapshot

First paragraph: The electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) was launched as a new consumer product in the UK eight years ago.ii Sales now exceed half a million per year and analysts predict the e-cigarette industry, which is worth £150 million in the UK,iii will continue to grow as usage among smokers has more than doubled in two years.iv At present, they are not classed as tobacco products or medicines in the UK and are therefore only regulated under Trading Standards legislation. The situation may change if the health regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), enforces tighter regulations - a decision on whether e-cigarettes require marketing authorisation to prove safety and efficacy is imminent

Promotion of electronic cigarettes: tobacco marketing reinvented?

Electronic cigarettes are not subject to the same marketing controls as tobacco products. Marisa de Andrade, Gerard Hastings, and Kathryn Angus argue that their advertising is likely to appeal to young people and undermine tobacco control policy

Tobacco harm reduction: the devil is in the deployment

First paragraph: The idea of tobacco harm reduction -- that smokers who cannot wean themselves off nicotine should be encouraged to adopt less harmful ways of consuming it -- has much to recommend it. It avoids the trap of making the excellent (complete cessation) the enemy of the good (reduced harm) and provides a way forward where otherwise there is only a cruel impasse. It also provides a clear focus on disease and premature death -- rather than tobacco addiction or corporate power -- and this enemy, like so many medical problems before it, will be defeated with rigorous evidence, effective medicines, and skilled treatment

Hostage to fortune: an empirical study of the tobacco industry’s business strategies since the advent of e-cigarettes

The tobacco market has been transformed by the arrival of e-cigarettes and array of alternative nicotine delivery systems (ANDS). Public health has struggled to cope with these changes and clear divisions are apparent, but less is known about the tobacco industry (TI) response. This first empirical study to examine TI and independent ANDS companies’ business strategies fills this gap. Primary data were collected through 28 elite interviews with senior/influential TI and independent stakeholders, triangulated with a documentary analysis of company reports, investor analyses, market research, and consultation responses (1022 documents). A deliberately emic analysis shows that tobacco multinationals were initially disconcerted by ANDS, but logic provided by the fiduciary imperative is enabling them to turn a potential threat into profitable opportunities. Interviewees argue market changes played to their strengths: customer links, expertise in nicotine, and enormous financial resources. This enabled portfolio diversification in which combustible and ANDS coexist; providing potential to develop robust scientific and regulatory positions and hope of retrieving corporate reputations. The principal threat for major tobacco players comes from the independent sector, which is prepared and able to satisfy bespoke consumer needs. Multinationals by contrast need to turn ANDS into a genuinely mass-market product appealing to its global customers. They are making progress. Given the continued buoyancy of the combustibles market, they have extensive resources to continue their efforts. Disruptive innovations are not unique to tobacco control. Equivalent technological solutions – with concomitant business opportunities − are emerging in obesity and alcohol fields with implications for public health

The Marketing of Electronic Cigarettes in the UK

First paragraph: Tobacco harm reduction has long been a public private partnership (PPP), with all the potential conflicts of interest between the two sectors that such arrangements bring. Until recently, however, this was a relatively simple PPP, between tobacco control and one private partner: the pharmaceutical industry. Now a combination of technical innovation and an energised debate about harm reduction has opened the territory to two new private sector operators: electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) companies and tobacco companies, which has stimulated a dramatic increase in commercial activity. This study was commissioned to examine these developments, and map out both current activity and likely future trends. It covered the period from May 2012 to June 2013, and comprised a systematic audit of all forms of e-cigarette marketing, as well as the related public relations and editorial comment in tobacco industry and retail trade press. Traditional and digital / social networking outlets were included. In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted with marketing experts to help make sense of what was a very extensive data set: 991 discrete items (editorial, images, online posts and advertising) were identified

DDR1 and Its Ligand, Collagen IV, Are Involved in In Vitro Oligodendrocyte Maturation

Discoidin domain receptor 1 (DDR1) is a tyrosine kinase receptor expressed in epithelial cells from different tissues in which collagen binding activates pleiotropic functions. In the brain, DDR1 is mainly expressed in oligodendrocytes (OLs), the function of which is unclear. Whether collagen can activate DDR1 in OLs has not been studied. Here, we assessed the expression of DDR1 during in vitro OL differentiation, including collagen IV incubation, and the capability of collagen IV to induce DDR1 phosphorylation. Experiments were performed using two in vitro models of OL differentiation: OLs derived from adult rat neural stem cells (NSCs) and the HOG16 human oligodendroglial cell line. Immunocytofluorescence, western blotting, and ELISA were performed to analyze these questions. The differentiation of OLs from NSCs was addressed using oligodendrocyte transcription factor 2 (Olig2) and myelin basic protein (MBP). In HOG16 OLs, collagen IV induced DDR1 phosphorylation through slow and sustained kinetics. In NSC-derived OLs, DDR1 was found in a high proportion of differentiating cells (MBP+/Olig2+), but its protein expression was decreased in later stages. The addition of collagen IV did not change the number of DDR1+/MBP+ cells but did accelerate OL branching. Here, we provide the first demonstration that collagen IV mediates the phosphorylation of DDR1 in HOG16 cells and that the in vitro co-expression of DDR1 and MBP is associated with accelerated branching during the differentiation of primary OLs

DDR1 and Its Ligand, Collagen IV, Are Involved in In Vitro Oligodendrocyte Maturation

Discoidin domain receptor 1 (DDR1) is a tyrosine kinase receptor expressed in epithelial cells from different tissues in which collagen binding activates pleiotropic functions. In the brain, DDR1 is mainly expressed in oligodendrocytes (OLs), the function of which is unclear. Whether collagen can activate DDR1 in OLs has not been studied. Here, we assessed the expression of DDR1 during in vitro OL differentiation, including collagen IV incubation, and the capability of collagen IV to induce DDR1 phosphorylation. Experiments were performed using two in vitro models of OL differentiation: OLs derived from adult rat neural stem cells (NSCs) and the HOG16 human oligodendroglial cell line. Immunocytofluorescence, western blotting, and ELISA were performed to analyze these questions. The differentiation of OLs from NSCs was addressed using oligodendrocyte transcription factor 2 (Olig2) and myelin basic protein (MBP). In HOG16 OLs, collagen IV induced DDR1 phosphorylation through slow and sustained kinetics. In NSC-derived OLs, DDR1 was found in a high proportion of differentiating cells (MBP+/Olig2+), but its protein expression was decreased in later stages. The addition of collagen IV did not change the number of DDR1+/MBP+ cells but did accelerate OL branching. Here, we provide the first demonstration that collagen IV mediates the phosphorylation of DDR1 in HOG16 cells and that the in vitro co-expression of DDR1 and MBP is associated with accelerated branching during the differentiation of primary OLs