This Week Down Under

Food flavours could be tailored for vaping to help reduce obesity

By RJ Whitehead

- Last updated on GMT

©Vaping360
©Vaping360

Related tags Food Woolworths Obesity

Electronic cigarettes with flavoured liquids could help with weight control, according to a commentary co-authored by New Zealand researchers. 

Though further research will be necessary to establish a link, the researchers found that current scientific knowledge supported the idea that flavoured vaping might help people eat less. 

With obesity set to overtake smoking as the leading preventable cause of disease, the authors say there could be significant gains if flavoured vaping helped even a small proportion of people reduce their risk of diabetes and other related diseases. 

Published in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco​, the study supports the idea that flavoured vaping may help with dieting, though research is still in its early stages, said Marewa Glover of Massey University’s school of public health.

Vaping’s use of e-liquids with food flavours, along with the mouth-feel and aroma of the vapour and the hand-to-mouth actions of vaping, could play a role in helping people eat less​,” she said.

The angle is likely to become part of ongoing research by Dr Glover and her co-authors, Bernhard Breier, Massey’s chair in human nutrition and, and Linda Bauld of Stirling University. 

Prof. Breier believes the role of taste perception and aroma as sensory triggers of satiety mechanisms shows considerable promise. 

Research investigating how taste and aroma enhance satiation will support the development of flavours that induce or increase the feeling of satiation while reducing food intake​,” he said. 

Because healthcare systems are struggling to cope with caring for people with chronic conditions caused by obesity, medical bosses should explore new approaches, such as scientifically flavoured vaping.

Such approaches will advance knowledge about enhanced sensory attributes generated through the smell, taste, colour, temperature and mouth-feel of particular vapours,​” added Dr Glover. 

If there is a chance that flavoured vaping could help even a small proportion of people reduce the diabetes, cardiovascular and cancer risks associated with excess weight, the population health gains would be significant​,” said Dr Glover. 

The appetite-suppressing effects of nicotine are well known, as implied some decades ago in an advert for a popular American brand of cigarettes: “Reach for a Lucky instead of a Sweet​.”

This and Dr Glover’s reasons why vaping with food-flavoured e-liquids might help ex-smokers avoid weight gain, said Theresa Marteau, director of the behaviour and health research unit at the University of Cambridge.

“Vaping could be ‘The New Weapon in the Battle of the Bulge’ and the many dangers of obesity mean it’s worth examining, but we must also make sure that e-cigarettes don’t become a kind of snake oil, distracting ex-smokers from other established and effective weight-loss interventions,” she said. 

Also of concern is the attraction of non-smoking girls and young women to food-flavoured e-cigarettes in the hope of weight control. 

E-cigarettes might have potential to reduce obesity in some, but they are not a panacea for the population and we will need much more detailed research to know if they can ever be used effectively and safely​,” Prof. Marteau added.

In the absence of direct evidence about the impact on weight of vaping with food-flavoured e-liquids, caution is warranted over any suggestions of their weight loss properties. Studies are now needed to assess their potential for harm as well as good​." 

More stories from Down Under…

Excellent year for Aldi as Woolworths sheds $1bn in sales

Australian grocery buyers have spent almost A$1bn less at Woolworths over the past year, and took the savings to Coles and Aldi, market research has found.

Shares of the $89.8billion spent at Supermarkets in 12 months to September 2016
Shares of the $89.8billion spent at Supermarkets in 12 months to September 2016

The latest quarterly Supermarket Currency report by Roy Morgan Research shows Australia’s grocery buyers spent A$89.8bn (US$68.5bn) at supermarkets in the last year.

This represents 87% of the overall A$103bn spent on groceries annually in Australia. Every percentage point change in market share is equal to nearly a billion dollars lost or gained.     

The study estimates that Australians spent A$32.6bn at Woolworths over the period—36.3% of all supermarket expenditure nationally. This, however, is down A$825m compared to the previous year, representing a decline in market share of 1.4 percentage points. 

This is the second consecutive year that Woolworths’ sales and market share have has declined since they reached a peak of A$34.4bn in 2014, 40% of that year’s market share. 

It’s a very different story for Coles, where grocery shoppers spent A$1.1bn more than they did in 2015, and which gained 0.9 percentage points in market share with A$29.8bn in revenues.

Woolworths’ loss was not solely Coles’ gain: Aldi claimed 0.5 percentage points in increased market share after a good year. The German discount supermarket hit a new high as its checkout staff took in 12.5% of Australia’s supermarket dollars.  

IGA gained 0.3 percentage points of market share year-on-year to 9.8% (A$8.8bn), while the share for all other supermarkets combined fell by the same amount, down to 8.1% ($7.3billion). 

Price wars between Coles and Woolworths, and the rise of discount chain Aldi, appear to have stalled growth in the overall market​,” said Michele Levine, chief executive of Roy Morgan Research. 

Between 2008 and 2014, the total national spend at supermarkets grew an average 4% annually, adding around A$3bn a year to the tills. 

Then from 2014 to 2015, supermarket spend grew by only 1.8%, and by only 1.2% from 2015 to now—or only a billion dollars more than last year​,” Levine said. 

As overall expenditure slows, market share is more important than ever for supermarkets: getting more grocery buyers into the stores, and claiming a larger share of their grocery budgets​.” 

New Zealand seeks opinions on new Food Act

New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries has called on food businesses, academics and the public to have their say on changes to the country’s rules governing food safety.

Law

The rules are part of the new Food Act, which came into effect in March this year and introduces a risk-based approach to managing food safety. This includes setting different rules for higher- and lower-risk businesses, and putting more emphasis on what people do to keep food safe.

Fiona Duncan, director of food and regulatory policy at MPI, said: “As the new law is rolled out, we monitor and evaluate how things are going and listen to feedback from businesses and others. These proposals make improvements where needed, to make sure the new law works as intended​.”

Duncan’s team has proposed reducing requirements for some lower-risk businesses, meaning fewer records to keep and fewer procedures to follow.

Another proposal makes it easier for businesses to organise their first food safety check, known as a verification.

We have also reviewed some old food safety laws that are still in effect, and are revoking those that are no longer necessary and keeping the parts we still need​,” said Duncan.

The consultation includes a number of other minor changes aimed to help the new law work more smoothly. Businesses can find full details on the MPI website, along with several ways they can have their say, from filling in a quick survey to making a formal submission.

MPI is also working with councils around the country to run free workshops on the Food Act. Workshops give businesses a chance to ask questions about the new law, as well as to give feedback on anything they think could be improved.

Main picture courtesy of:Vaping360

Related products

show more

Great taste remains with sodium & sugar reduction

Great taste remains with sodium & sugar reduction

Content provided by Lycored | 06-Oct-2023 | White Paper

Consumers want healthier labels with less sodium and sugar but aren’t willing to compromise the full sodium and sugar tastes they love. So what are you...

Related suppliers

1 comment

Weight Loss

Posted by Burak,

"52 Ways To Lose A Pound A Week" you can read the article. http://bit.ly/2flkR0R

Report abuse

Follow us

Products

View more

Webinars