Basuki Feels ‘Ashamed’ of City’s No-Smoking Awards

Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama said on Wednesday that he felt “ashamed” after receiving four awards from the Environment Ministry for no-smoking policies in city buildings. “The awards made me ashamed, because we have to admit we are still so far behind on environmental issues,” Basuki said. “But if we start today to do the right things to create the new Jakarta, I believe in just one or two decades the environmentally friendly Jakarta is no longer a dream.”

Objective Study Finds ‘No Justification’ for Banning E-Cigarettes Indoors, in Public Places

Good news for the vaping community! A new study, produced by the environmental health consulting firm CHANGE LLC, claims that the secondhand risks from e-cigarette vapors are minuscule, and we should all just be chill about co-workers using them in the office.

Study abstract:
Comparisons of pollutant concentrations were made between e-cigarette vapor and tobacco smoke samples. Pollutants included VOCs, carbonyls, PAHs, nicotine, TSNAs, and glycols. From these results, risk analyses were conducted based on dilution into a 40 m3 room and standard toxicological data. Non-cancer risk analysis revealed “No Significant Risk” of harm to human health for vapor samples from e-liquids (A-D).
Before we get too excited, the study was contracted for $100,000 by the National Vapers Club from solicited donations at Vaping Expos. And “non-cancer risk analysis” is sort of a shady term: does that mean that checking for the risk of cancer in secondhand vapors wasn’t a factor in the study?