Heads up Illinois! CASAA board of directors news. Good news in vaping research. Bad public health policies. Vape Mail Ban webinar. Human rights and vaping. Tobacco Truth and more!
Scroll to the bottom of this post for a link to the audio/video versions of this post!
CASAA NEWS // Board of Directors
We hope you will all join us in welcoming Logan Evans to our Board of Directors, wishing Danielle Jones well in her new role as President, and in thanking past president, Bruce Nye, for his service!
READ MORE: CASAA Board of Directors News
CALL TO ACTION UPDATE // Illinois Public Vaping Ban Hearing
Human Services Committee – March 23, 2021 at 3:00PM in Virtual Room 2.
Public vaping bans are NOT SCIENCE-BASED & MISLEAD THE PUBLIC to believe vaping is as harmful as smoking. That mistaken belief creates public support for sales & flavor bans & excessive taxes. Click the “Take Action” link for information on what you can do today!
TAKE ACTION: Illinois – Stop a Public Vaping Ban!
DO MORE: If you live in Illinois, join the CASAA Illinois Facebook Group
CALL TO ACTION // National “Vape Mail Ban”
Comment period is still open! Step 1) Submit your VAPE MAIL BAN comment to USPS then Step 2) Message Congress! CASAA not only made it easy, but also included FAQs about the law. Please SHARE this with your friends AND favorite vape retailers/manufacturers to share with their customers! (See new note above Action #2.)
TAKE ACTION: USPS – Vape Mail Ban Comment Period Is Open
DO MORE: The more official members CASAA has, the stronger we are together. If you haven’t yet officially joined CASAA, click here to Join Now for free!
CASAA IN ACTION // Vape Mail Ban Webinar
Last week, we teamed up with the American Vaping Association (AVA) to present a webinar on how and why both consumers and businesses should respond to the USPS vape mail regulations.
With the Monday, March 22nd deadline fast approaching, AVA has posted the full video and a sample business comment. Scroll up or click here for CASAA’s Call to Action for commenting!
READ MORE & WATCH: Commenting On The USPS Vape Mail Regulations
COMMENTARY // Overreactions and Tunnel Vision
Americans should think twice about vape flavor bans
It was not nicotine patches or gum that led the United States to see its all-time lowest adult smoking rate. It was vaping and the uptake use of e-cigarettes that allowed for massive increases in the one-year quit rate. And a major component of vaping’s success can be attributed to its wide variety of flavors. Most people don’t leave traditional smoking just to switch over to an electronic machine that emits the same tobacco flavor. Polls strongly indicate that most vapers love flavors other than tobacco and enjoy the variety.”
~ Tanner Aliff, Young Voices
READ MORE: Overreactions and Tunnel Vision – Americans should think twice about vape flavor bans
PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY // Human Rights
CASAA supports The International Network of Nicotine Consumer Organizations (INNCO)
science-based position paper confronting Bloomberg-backed orgs pushing to ban tobacco harm reduction products in the low- and middle-income countries that need them most!
1/ The International Network of Nicotine Consumer Organisations (INNCO) is pleased to announce the global release of our detailed report in response to the Union's call for a blanket ban of E-Cigarettes/HTP's in Low- and Middle Income Countries. https://t.co/XaT4k3GHXw
— INNCOorg (@INNCOorg) March 16, 2021
“Individuals deserve to have awareness about, and access to, all options available to them," @samrat told @Alex_Norcia.
“‘Quit or die’ cannot be the only alternatives we offer them.”https://t.co/v0fcr4K0yC
— Filter (@Filtermag_org) March 16, 2021
Also watch this brilliant video from INNCO, released in conjunction with its paper denouncing calls to ban harm reduction products in low- and middle-income countries, while leaving cigarettes for available.
PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY // Exposing Anti-Vaping Bias & “Spin”
Anti-vaping radio personality, Dr. Zorba Paster, again misleads his listeners by citing a study that suggests vaping while still smoking is as bad as smoking alone, then gives his “spin” that it somehow means “Vaping is dangerous, too.”
After reading that article, we came across an earlier article about Dr. Zorba, in which he says he believes adults have a right to choose how to control their pain, but his anti-vaping rhetoric suggests he believes they don’t have a right to choose how they reduce their risks from smoking.
BAD PUBLIC HEALTH: Anti-vaping radio personality, Dr. Zorba Paster, again misleads his listeners by citing a study that suggests vaping WHILE STILL SMOKING is as bad as smoking alone then warning them with his "spin" that "Vaping is dangerous, too."https://t.co/SVxGurcv9M
— CASAA (@CASAAmedia) March 18, 2021
READ MORE: Dr. Zorba Paster: Vaping is becoming more prevalent, and it’s not safe
READ MORE: Dr. Zorba Paster: Patients should have a right to medical marijuana to control pain
PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY // Exposing Anti-Vaping Lies
PAVe co-founder exaggerates teen “addiction” and says “We have a nation of nicotine-addicted kids.” But 12th grade daily nicotine vaping (daily vaping is more of an indicator of “addiction” rather than “experimentation”) declined to 8.6% (2020) from 11.6%, while alcohol, marijuana & smoking cigarettes all increased. Youth smoking had continued to decline to all-time lows until anti-vaping propaganda convinced them that vaping was as harmful (or even more harmful) than cigarette smoking!
Correlation doesn't mean causation, BUT it's almost like some teens WERE choosing low risk nicotine vaping INSTEAD of alcohol, pot and cigarettes, but the anti-vaping propaganda misled them to NOW believe alcohol, pot and cigarettes are safer than nicotine vaping. Hmmm… pic.twitter.com/ZLFiNw1Ics
— Kristin Noll-Marsh (@Noll_Marsh) March 19, 2021
IN THE NEWS // Tobacco Truth
Latest post in Dr. Brad Rodu’s “a-must-read-for-every-THR-advocate” blog, Tobacco Truth, takes down a Bloomberg hit piece that is unsurprisingly misrepresenting the public perception and risks of nicotine and smoke-free products.
Bloomberg misrepresents tobacco and nicotine facts in reporting an Altria letter to the FDA https://t.co/WJo7CBZYlT pic.twitter.com/FeTJ5VgelM
— Brad Rodu (@BradRodu) March 16, 2021
READ MORE: Bloomberg Tobacco Article Misleads on Nicotine Effects
IN THE NEWS // Twisting Facts
“The potential dangers of vaping nicotine and black market THC have already been studied.”
According to vaping opponents, “we don’t have enough research” on vaping…except to claim it’s “dangerous?” The fact twisting is that so-called “EVALI” was not linked to nicotine vaping any more than legal THC was.
The “potential dangers of vaping nicotine,” in regard to EVALI, was studied and the CDC ultimately concluded EVALI was most likely caused by the use of vitamin E acetate in illicit THC vaping products. Vitamin E acetate is not used in legal THC vapes. In fact, the ingredient was used to thicken and dilute the oil to deceive customers into believing the liquid was undiluted. This ingredient would have absolutely no purpose in nicotine vapor products.
The potential dangers of vaping nicotine and black market THC have already been studied. With vaping medical marijuana, the jury is out for some. https://t.co/nlHo2crZF8
— FOX4 News (@fox4kc) March 19, 2021
READ MORE: First Missouri medical marijuana dispensaries to start selling vape products Friday
RESEARCH // Vaping & Schizophrenia
Professor Riccardo Polosa, Professor of Internal Medicine, Director of the University Polyclinic of Catania and scientific director of LIAF – Italian Anti-Smoking League, shared a new study by the Center of Excellence for the acceleration of Harm Reduction (CoEHAR), which he writes, “demonstrates that switching to high-strength nicotine e-cigarettes is a feasible highly effective smoking cessation method for smokers who have schizophrenia. And it improves their quality of life too!”
New study by @CoeharUnict demonstrates that switching to high-strength nicotine e-cigarettes is a feasible highly effective smoking cessation method for smokers who have schizophrenia. And it improves their quality of life too!https://t.co/Y8gikjwK6A
— Riccardo Polosa (@RiccardoPolosa) March 16, 2021
READ MORE: Electronic cigarettes help smokers with schizophrenia quit
RESEARCH // Gateway Myth
Study finds youth vaping “gateway” to smoking is rare and likely due to a predisposition to risky behavior. Finds no evidence vaping LEADS to smoking, agrees vaping is a low risk alternative to smoking, effective for adult smoking cessation and disagrees with sales bans for adults. (However, they still recommend marketing/ad bans that make it difficult for adults to learn about the products.) Overall, a logical and compelling argument against “gateway” claims, though!
READ MORE: The “gateway” effect of e-cigarettes may be explained by a genetic liability to risk-taking
CASAA MEDIA // Podcast
Catch up on past tobacco harm reduction news with Alex and Logan on the CASAA podcasts on SoundCloud and now on YouTube. Watch for new episodes every Monday!
SoundCloud:
YouTube:
Facebook Live Link:
https://www.facebook.com/CASAAmedia/videos/1094235547721535/