Oregon judge slaps down county vaping and tobacco flavor ban. Three new studies substantiate vaping advocates’ warnings against knee-jerk laws. Sen. Dick Durbin continues misinformation war against vaping. CASAA Live is back from summer hiatus. Juul sues FDA. Calls to Action and more!
Scroll to the bottom of this post for a link to the audio/video versions of this post!
CALL TO ACTION // National – Menthol Ban
Starting on May 4, 2022, the FDA is accepting comments on two proposed rules banning the use of flavors other than tobacco in combustible tobacco products.
Whether you’re supporting the rule or opposed, one thing we can all agree on is that people who smoke need safer alternatives to cigarettes — mentholated or not!
While the FDA is moving ahead with banning more tobacco products, it is failing to authorize a meaningful variety of e-liquids and devices that are responsible for recent accelerated declines in smoking.
In addition to sharing your views on banning menthol cigarettes and other flavored combustible products, take this opportunity to urge FDA to ensure that people have access to safer forms of nicotine delivery that are enjoyable and affordable–like vaping, nicotine pouches, and smokeless tobacco products.
TAKE ACTION: FDA Menthol Ban – Submit Your Comments
CALL TO ACTION // MULTNOMAH,OR
Multnomah County Board of Commissioners is asking for public input on a potential ban on sales of flavored tobacco and nicotine products! County Board directs the Health Dept to return with recommendations in September.
TAKE ACTION: Flavor Ban Comments Needed!
CALL TO ACTION // TEMPE, AZ!
City may be moving forward with a ban on the sale of the flavored vapor products helping adults quit smoking. Share your experiences and urge the council members to oppose any plan to ban low-risk alternatives to smoking!
TAKE ACTION: https://casaa.org/call-to-action/arizona-tempe-stop-a-flavor-ban/
CALL TO ACTION UPDATE // Washington County, Oregon Flavor Ban
A judge in Washington County, Oregon ruled AGAINST the county’s ban on flavored tobacco (the main target really being low risk vapor products that help millions of adults quit smoking,) saying that such bans are a decision of the state, not the counties.
https://twitter.com/HanzPow/status/1572858509422907392
READ MORE: Judge tosses out Washington County ban on flavored tobacco
RESEARCH // Twitter “Misinformation” Study
A recent study complains that vape advocates are winning the Twitter war by spreading truthful information that anti-vaping public health academics really don’t want people to know. A terrific new blog post by @cjsnowdon exposes the ridiculousness of it.
Well blow me down! @cjsnowdon catches tobacco control industry activists lying again. "No amount of evidence will satisfy the authors (one of whom works for the USA's risible Truth Initiative), but to say that there is no evidence at all is just a lie" https://t.co/YdBDobMABc
— Dick Puddlecote (@Dick_Puddlecote) September 12, 2022
READ MORE: ‘Problematic information’ about nicotine and COVID-19
RESEARCH // E-cig Taxes Bad For Public Health
Another study adding to the growing stack of evidence showing that treating low risk nicotine vapor products the same as cigarettes has unintended consequences that are harmful to public health.
https://twitter.com/VapinSquirrel/status/1570585187867840512
READ MORE: UW Oshkosh researcher shows unintended consequences of e-cigarette taxes
RESEARCH // Dangerous Misconceptions
In this newly published study, researchers looked into the public’s misconceptions about vaping and concluded:
“Addressing the growing misperception about ENDS has the potential to contribute to public health by encouraging smokers’ switching to ENDS.”
1/2 Misleading people by exaggerating risks of vaping relative to smoking is lethal because perceptions affect beahviour. Yet only 17.4% of US smokers perceive e-cigarettes to be less harmful than cigarettes (and merely"less harmful" is a very low bar). https://t.co/WyqMuwTDUS
— Clive Bates (@Clive_Bates) September 21, 2022
RESEARCH // Flavor Bans Don’t Reduce Teen Vaping
Despite repeating false anti-vaping claims (eg. promotes dual use, gateway to smoking, using outdated youth use data as justification, etc.,) researchers findings in this study still suggest flavor bans “may fail to significantly reduce e-cigarette use.”
https://twitter.com/AddictionsPMC/status/1573373933348442112
READ MORE: E-cigarette addiction and harm perception: Does initiation flavor choice matter?
COMMENTARY // Prohibition is a Bad Way to Deal with Flavored Tobacco
“Californians should focus on inevitable substitution amongst nicotine sources. Banning flavored vaping liquids will cause some people to revert to the riskier alternative of cigarette smoking. Public health rules should reflect the relative risks…”
"Dr. Michael Pesko at Cornell University studied the effects of age restrictions on purchasing e-cigarettes. He showed that the restrictions didn’t stop students from consuming nicotine—they simply smoked traditional cigarettes instead of e-cigarettes." https://t.co/HNCk0E2DwB
— Martin C (@NannyFreeState) September 13, 2022
READ MORE: Prohibition is a bad way to deal with flavored tobacco
TOBACCO HARM REDUCTION // Healthy Goals Met with Vaping?
Today we’re looking at the Healthy People goals to reduce smoking.
From 1998-2008, adult smoking dropped just 3.5 percentage points to 20.6%. From 2008-2020, smoking dropped a whopping 8.1 points to 12.5% – just shy of the 12% goal.
The high school smoking target was 16%. From 1999-2009, smoking dropped 14.5 points. But between 2009-2013, the decline slowed, dropping only 4.5 points.
Then in 2014, it had dropped a staggering 3.5 points in just one year! By 2021, it was down by another 7.3 points to 1.9%.
Did tired, old tobacco control methods suddenly start working better after 2013? Did they stumble upon a new tactic to keep people from smoking?
Or did people who would have otherwise started smoking instead turn to less harmful nicotine products?
We think we know the answer.
TOBACCO CONTROL // Calling Out Anti-Vaping Lies
In a recent Senate speech, Senator Dick Durbin called nicotine vapor products “deadly” and said companies “…can’t demonstrate a benefit to public health. Vaping, as we know, is dangerous and addictive.”
What would you say to him if you had the opportunity?
One might think @SenatorDurbin would take a moment to appreciate how teen smoking initiation has become all but obsolete, and what a truly monumental achievement that represents. *One might very well think that.https://t.co/GyWyTuqoHf
— Phillip Kirschberg (@RushmoreExt23) September 16, 2022
READ MORE: U.S. Senate: Sen. Durbin on Regulation of E-cigarettes
LEGAL BEAT // Juul Fights Back
Juul has filed a lawsuit against the FDA, accusing the agency of violating the federal Freedom of Information Act by withholding a majority of the “scientific disciplinary reviews” underlying the sales ban.
https://twitter.com/Rob_Abiera/status/1572338266925309952
READ MORE: Juul sues FDA for documents said to justify e-cigarette ban
CASAA MEDIA // CASAA Live Special Guest
Join CASAA Live Saturday, September 24th at 4 PM ET for our conversation with Christopher Snowdon, author of the “Velvet Glove, Iron Fist” book and blog, about his recent Twitter study post, his books on prohibition and the war on tobacco, and his take on the war on vaping!
READ MORE: ‘Problematic information’ about nicotine and COVID-19
CASAA MEDIA // Spotify
CASAA’s podcast is now on Spotify! Please give us a follow here:
CASAA IN ACTION // Twitter Spaces
On this week’s Twitter Space we talk with journalist Alex Norcia about his investigation into the inner workings of FDA and what he’s uncovered so far via FOIA requests. You won’t want to miss this episode – now available on CASAA’s YouTube channel, too!
Join us this Wednesday as we talk with @Alex_Norcia about his investigation into the inner workings of FDA and what he’s uncovered so far via FOIA requests.https://t.co/QyDZpXJ2NI
— CASAA (@CASAAmedia) August 15, 2022
CASAA IN ACTION // CASAA Live
If you missed the most recent CASAA Live show, check out the replay now! 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!
We’re back! On this episode of CASAA Live the CASAA panel had a highlights recap of THR news, research, lies and other rage inducing nonsense, and wins that happened over the summer. Catch up on the important events and information that you may have missed!
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:
Social Media Thumbnail Photo by Elsa Olofsson on Unsplash