Adult vaping is up to 6% while smoking is down to 11%. A smooth-talking American Cancer Society director. Attempt to debunk vaping is at least 95% safer than smoking is a big fail. New York governor apparently wants to expand the black market. Calls to Action in Vermont and Louisiana. Heads Up Cook County, IL and more!
Scroll to the bottom of this post for a link to the audio/video versions of this post!
CALL TO ACTION // Vermont Flavor Ban
S.18 would ban the sale of any flavored tobacco or nicotine product regardless of FDA authorization, including products that are allowed to be marketed as less harmful than cigarettes!
S18 has passed the Senate and is moving to hearings in the House.
READ MORE: Vermont – Fight a Flavor ban!
CALL TO ACTION // Louisiana Flavor Ban
HB 179, which bans vapor products in flavors other than “tobacco” and does NOT exempt products authorized by FDA, was passed by the Judiciary Committee and is expected to head to a floor vote in the House!
READ MORE: Louisiana – Stop a Flavor Ban!
HEADS UP! // Cook County, Illinois Flavor Ban!
County leaders claim flavored products “are hooking a generation on nicotine” and are “threatening to remove decades of progress,” but scientific data shows the exact opposite. In fact, flavor bans have been shown to INCREASE smoking.
READ MORE: Cook County introduces ordinance to ban flavored liquid nicotine
TOBACCO CONTROL // Treating Good News as Bad News
The US adult smoking rates have hit an all-time low of 11% in 2022, with 1-in-17 adults (6%) using nicotine vapor products. But the anti-vaping syndicate chooses to ignore all of the obvious health benefits, instead wringing their hands over very low risks. They also go out of their way to credit the smoking drop to their failed tobacco control policies — anything and everything but the fact that adults are increasingly switching to vaping.
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The media just got new marching orders. "US adult cigarette smoking rate hits new all-time low," @AP scribe @MikeStobbe reported this week. But AP, CNN, WaPo and more are scrambling to smother any credit to nicotine vaping for the drop. THREAD 🧵 pic.twitter.com/HLaZs3myOm— American Vapor Manufacturers (@VaporAmerican) April 28, 2023
READ MORE: US adult cigarette smoking rate hits new all-time low
TOBACCO CONTROL // Smooth-Talking Tricks
How clever. This American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) director starts out talking about teens smoking unflavored cigarettes, then smoothly slips into talking about banning flavored “tobacco” products. (Mostly about nicotine products that don’t even contain tobacco.)
In 1999, before even flavored cigarettes were a thing, Vermont’s High School smoking rate was 33%. That’s not a typo–33% of high school teens in Vermont were smoking without ever trying cotton candy or fruit punch-flavored tobacco.
In 2009, the year that flavored cigarettes were banned by Congress, and before flavored vapor products were widely available, the smoking rate was down to 16%.
When teens started discovering vape “flavors” in 2015 it was at 11%. Now it’s at 6.9%. Hmm. It seems nearly 5X more teens smoked cigarettes before flavored “tobacco” existed than they do now. How does ACS CAN explain that?
READ MORE: Cancer advocates to lawmakers: Flavors belong in ice cream, not tobacco
TOBACCO CONTROL // No, You Didn’t Debunk Anything
The author of this article, an Australian tobacco control activist, claims to “debunk” the claim that vaping is at least 95% safer than smoking by using the debunked link between nicotine vaping and EVALI; misrepresenting traces of “toxic” substances as being remotely close to those found in smoke; scaremongering by bringing up extremely rare “burns” typically caused by mishandling lithium batteries; ignoring that the “gateway to smoking” theory has been discredited by real-world, record low smoking rates, and exaggerating transitional dual use. NONE of which proves vaping isn’t STILL at least 95% safer than smoking. In fact, the only two valid risks she mentions–trace levels of some chemicals and the risk of mishandling–are the only reasons why vaping isn’t considered 99.99% safe.
Just as an example of how extremely anti-vaping Dr. Jongenelis’ views are, she once testified before the Australian Parliament that she agreed with the ridiculous statement that “smoking is more harmful than vaping but that does not make vaping harmless – in the same way that being hit by a car on the freeway is less harmful than being hit by a truck but it is not desirable.”
“unlikely to exceed 5% of the harm” -RCPhttps://t.co/tdzPLbVZUK
“‘at least 95% less harmful’ estimate remains broadly accurate” -OHID 2022https://t.co/XVzqg1IWxH
Vaping is still at least 95% lower risk than smoking – debunking a feeble & empty critiquehttps://t.co/geSSzNNf53 pic.twitter.com/fmsGmrKZmi
— James A (@GoBeepUK) April 28, 2023
‘The Conversation’ provides minimal opportunity for #vaping supporters to argue their case but it’s open slather for vaping haters. You’d never know #VapingSavesLives reading this outlet. Author says it’s not 95% safer but provides no estimate of her own. https://t.co/5rSOemWXV9
— Alex Wodak AM (@AlexWodak) April 28, 2023
READ MORE: No, vapes aren’t 95% less harmful than cigarettes. Here’s how this decade-old myth took off
MEDIA MISINFORMATION // Fake News vs. Fake News
The author of this article first makes fun of her childhood friend for believing “fake news,” then proceeds to repeat a lot of fake news about vaping: the teenage vaping “epidemic” (2017-18 data), “high levels of formaldehyde,” “vaping is just as bad, if not worse for you than cigarettes,” vaping leads to smoking (gateway), doesn’t work for smoking cessation, vape flavors are for kids, etc.
READ MORE: If you vape you are going to hell
AROUND THE WORLD // Dutch Flavor Ban
Without a shred of scientific evidence of harm, the Netherlands has just banned low risk, tobacco-free nicotine pouches and smoke-free vaping where smoking is banned. Meanwhile, 1-in-5 Dutch adults still smoke deadly cigarettes.
The Netherlands is banning the sale of one of the safest nicotine products ever invented, but cigarettes are legal. And it's banning the use of them everywhere smoking is banned, even though they emit nothing to affect others. Tobacco policy is insane.https://t.co/SJY7qbdiL6
— Jacob Grier (@jacobgrier) April 23, 2023
READ MORE: Netherlands bans sale of all nicotine pouches
REGULATION // Expanding the Black Market in New York
According to The New York Post, Governor Hochul’s administration is “quietly trying to fire up support for a complete ban on the sale of tobacco products” in New York–a state where already 53.5% of the cigarettes in 2020 were purchased on the black market.
She apparently doesn't know how a black market thrives. In other words, she's not paid much attention to our 'war on drugs' and how that prevented drug use. But then, she's the Governor of New York. We don't expect much anymore. https://t.co/yknBeY8Y4n
— newmanian (@newmanian2) April 23, 2023
READ MORE: https://nypost.com/2023/04/22/kathy-hochul-test-marketing-ban-on-all-ny-tobacco-sales/
REGULATION // The More Deadly the Better?
If you mainly sell products that will save lives in Chesterfield, you must be at least 2,000 ft from schools, other vape shops and tobacco stores AND close by 8 PM. If less than 25% of your sales are deadly cigarettes, then you’re exempt from the rules. Where’s the logic and science here?
READ MORE: New zoning rule could change where you buy vape products in Chesterfield
CASAA TESTIMONIAL PROJECT
Anecdote #13,519:
Tom’s story is an example of why it’s so important that safer alternatives are NOT subjected to taxes to create “parity” with deadly cigarettes. He may never have switched if vaping hadn’t been cheaper than smoking!
Share YOUR story at the link below!
Submit Your Testimonial: CASAA Testimonial Project
CASAA MEDIA // Spotify
CASAA’s podcast is on Spotify! Please give us a follow here:
CASAA IN ACTION // Twitter Spaces
The week we recap the Reagan-Udall sessions with Amanda Wheeler, Tim Andrews and CASAA CEO Alex Clark, who all presented to the panel about FDA’s issues regulating reduced-harm products. What grade would you give FDA? Also available on CASAA’s Spotify channel (above.)
— CASAA (@CASAAmedia) October 26, 2022
CASAA IN ACTION // CASAA Live
CASAA Live is on alternating Saturdays at 4:30 PM ET/3:30 PM CT/2:30 PM MT/1:30 PM PT on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter!
If you missed the last CASAA Live episode you can catch up NOW before the next show!
On this past week’s episode, our guest is Jacob Grier, journalist and author of The New Prohibition: The Dangerous Politics of Tobacco Control. We discuss his new book, the history of tobacco control, and how the new tobacco prohibition trends are impacting vaping, tobacco harm reduction, public health and personal freedoms.
TAKE ACTION // CASAA State Facebook Groups
Have you joined your CASAA State Facebook group yet? Check it out now! Click the link below, click on your state on the map, then click the “Join Now” button to go to your state’s group page. It’s as easy as that to stay updated on local happenings, meet local advocates and never miss a Call to Action in your state!
Don’t forget to also follow our official Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CASAAmedia
FIND YOUR GROUP: CASAA State Locator
CASAA STORE // Apparel and More
Show your support by shopping our store! Our president (and brilliant website/swag designer) Danielle has added some awesome new designs to CASAA’s apparel shop!
VISIT: CASAA Apparel and Swag Store
CASAA MEDIA // Podcast
Catch up on past tobacco harm reduction news with Alex and Logan on the CASAA podcasts on SoundCloud every Monday and now live on YouTube and Facebook every Saturday at 3:30 PM.
SoundCloud: