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American Council on Science and Health lists vaping junk science and More! Tobacco Harm Reduction News

February 25, 2022 Tobacco Harm Reduction News

American Council on Science and Health lists vaping junk science. EU parliament endorses tobacco harm reduction. Calls to Action in Hawaii, Colorado and Maine. Commentary on Bloomberg worsening a health crisis. What’s happening with tobacco settlement money and more!

Scroll to the bottom of this post for a link to the audio/video versions of this post!

CALL to ACTION // Hawai’i

SB 3118, which would ban the sale of flavored vapor products, had a hearing on
Tuesday, February 22. Please take a moment to register your opposition to this bill. You can keep your comments as simple as “I oppose this bill,” or upload larger comments.

TAKE ACTION: Hawai’i – Stop a Flavor Ban SB 3118!

CALL TO ACTION // Hawai’i #2

HB 1570, a third (but not final) bill that would ban sales of safer nicotine products in flavors other than tobacco had a hearing on Thursday, February 24. Please take a moment to register your opposition to this bill. You can keep your comments as simple as “I oppose this bill,” or upload larger comments.

TAKE ACTION: Stop a Flavor Ban HB 1570!

CALL TO ACTION // Colorado

HB 22-1064 (or just HB 1064 for short) would ban the sale of flavored nicotine and tobacco products in Colorado. This bill is scheduled for a hearing on Wednesday, March 9, 2022 at 1:30 PM.

TAKE ACTION: Colorado – Stop a Flavor Ban!

CALL TO ACTION // Maine

LD 1693, a bill aspiring to advance health equity, also contains a ban on sales of any flavored tobacco and vapor products–many of which are helping adults quit smoking!

TAKE ACTION: Maine – Stop a Flavor Ban!

CALL TO ACTION // Brunswick, Maine

The City of Brunswick is moving forward with an ordinance to ban the sale of flavored vapor products. This is on the heels of Portland and Bangor adopting their own flavor bans under pressure from anti-smoking activists who are not only ignoring the benefits of switching to smoke-free products, but racing to build support for state legislation that will take safer nicotine products away from all Maine cities and towns.

TAKE ACTION: Brunswick, Maine – Fight a Flavor Ban!

TOBACCO HARM REDUCTION // EU Parliament

The EU Parliament has become the world’s first elected chamber to endorse THR, according to a statement from the Independent European Vape Association (IEVA), who also warned against the possible flavor ban mentioned in the report because “many vapers return to smoking as a result [of a ban].”

READ MORE:  EU Parliament Endorses Tobacco Harm Reduction

TOBACCO HARM REDUCTION // Advocacy

The International Network of Nicotine Consumer Organisations (INNCO) is hosting a webinar on Advocacy Burnout on March 3rd, at 19:00 GMT. The webinar will discuss strategies to address burnout in the fields of tobacco harm reduction, drug harm reduction, and human rights advocacy!

COMMENTARY // Bloomberg Bloopers

Bloomberg isn’t just pushing the wrong policies, his messaging to the public perpetuates the falsehood that e-cigarettes are as harmful or perhaps more harmful as regular cigarettes.”

~ Steve Pociask

READ MORE: The Health Crisis Michael Bloomberg is Making Worse; No, Not That One

COMMENTARY // Nicotine Brain Damage

According to groups like Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, PAVe & Truth Initiative, these men were all “brain damaged” by nicotine use. Meanwhile, scientists are finding that nicotine therapy can help people with neurological diseases, brain damage and ulcerative colitis.

TOBACCO CONTROL // Australian Vaping Regulation ‘Model’

Australian officials make it difficult and expensive for adults who smoke to switch to nicotine vapor products by requiring a prescription (cigarettes can easily be purchased over the counter) then issue a $5,328 fine essentially for quitting smoking.

READ MORE: Melbourne-based individual fined $5,328 for alleged unlawful importation of nicotine vaping products

TOBACCO CONTROL // Facts About Smoke-free Tobacco

“Through With Chew” week promotions are ENDANGERING THE PUBLIC with misleading statements like “Smokeless tobacco is a significant health risk and is not a safe substitute for smoking cigarettes.” (Snus has no known health risks and smoke-free tobacco is MUCH SAFER than smoking on all counts – including oral cancers!)

TOBACCO CONTROL // Missing the Obvious

Survey finds college-age women are more likely to use low risk vapor products (3.2%) instead of smoking (1.9%). To celebrate this major public health win, Taiwanese health officials encourage banning vapor products (while leaving cigarettes for sale.)

READ MORE: HPA survey finds e-cigarette use in colleges doubles

TOBACCO CONTROL // Where’s the Money?

In 2020, NC received $455 million from tobacco settlement payments and taxes. The state allocated just $2.2 million on tobacco prevention efforts.

When the settlement was signed in 1998, states made promises about how this money would be used to reduce tobacco use and offset the costs of treating people for smoking-related illnesses. Only a few have actually done so. Most of the money goes into general funds, used for everything BUT tobacco prevention and medical costs.

North Carolina used 75% of its initial settlement funds for tobacco production. Some of the money went to private tobacco producers, covering tobacco-curing equipment, a tobacco auction hall, video production for a tobacco museum and plumbing for a tobacco processing plant.

In 2021, NC won $40 million from JUUL. Many of the other states who earlier misused the tobacco settlement payments jumped on the JUUL payout bandwagon, now claiming the funds would be used for vaping treatment/prevention.

Riiight.🤔

READ MORE: Should North Carolina spend settlement money on efforts to prevent tobacco use?

RESEARCH // Doubtful Diagnosis

Dr. Mendelsohn explains why a 71-year-old Australian man’s recent death–which his doctors are blaming on vaping–was much more likely to have been from advanced lung damage from decades of smoking.

READ MORE: Man’s death from heavy smoking, not EVALI

RESEARCH // JUNK SCIENCE

“The past year has seen the publication of many studies alleging that e-cigarette use (vaping) carries very serious health consequences, everything from depression to erectile dysfunction and higher stroke risk. Each paper generated widespread media coverage, usually one news outlet duplicating the uncritical coverage of the last, giving consumers the false impression that vaping poses a greater health threat than it actually does. When we examined these studies in more detail, we identified their serious flaws…”

READ MORE: Lousy Vaping Studies: A Master List Of Junk Science

CASAA IN ACTION // CASAA Live

If you missed the CASAA Live show this past weekend, check out the replay now! CASAA Live is on Saturdays at 4:30 PM ET/3:30 PM CT/2:30 PM MT/1:30 PM PT on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter!

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, plus there are still Black Friday deals on all items!

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: