Marc Gunther on Stanton Glantz’s unscientific crusade against vaping. Call to Action update in Windsor, CA. Re-evaluation debunks Glantz’s vaping link to heart attacks. Bloomberg orgs called out for misinformation and more!
Scroll to the bottom of this post for a link to the audio/video versions of this post!
CALL TO ACTION UPDATE // Windsor, CA
On August 4th, the city council voted to approve an ordinance amending Chapter 11 of Title III of the Town of Windsor Code, regulating the sale of tobacco products and paraphernalia and requiring a tobacco retail license. This amendment would completely prohibit the sale of any nicotine vapor products. It also bans the sale of flavored tobacco products. This was the first reading with the second reading likely to happen at the next meeting. City officials seem unable or unwilling to see the harm in banning adult access to low risk alternatives to smoking, while deadly cigarettes remain freely sold in the city.
Massachusetts' STUPID e-cigarette ban: “During the time that this ban was in effect, cigarette consumption actually increased,” Siegel said. “A lot of ex-smokers… actually went back to smoking.”
NOTE: In 2019, about 10,000 Massachusetts citizens died from smoking. https://t.co/01Sye1MT6Z
— Charles A. Gardner, PhD (@ChaunceyGardner) January 9, 2020
READ MORE: Call to Action – Stop a Total Vaping Sales Ban
Do MORE: If you live in California, join the CASAA California Facebook Group
RESEARCH // Countering Vaping Heart Attack Link
A new study by Drs. Clayton R. Critcher, PhD and Michael Siegel, MD, MPH, published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, finds “no reliable evidence that e-cigarette use is associated with ever having had a myocardial infarction among never smokers. Contrary to concerns that the harms associated with e-cigarettes are only now emerging after more years of possible product use, the only evidence of time-dependent variation in the association between e-cigarette use and myocardial infarction ran counter to this possibility.” The authors call for the scientific community to “engage in accurate public communication of peer-reviewed findings.”
Our new study published today refutes the claim that e-cigarettes cause heart attacks by reanalyzing the data upon which such a claim was based. https://t.co/rliGyOJnUS.
— Michael Siegel (@mbsiegel) August 3, 2021
READ MORE: Re-examining the Association Between E-Cigarette Use and Myocardial Infarction: A Cautionary Tale
OPINION // Misinformation Threatens Tobacco Harm Reduction Efforts
Dr. Michael Madden calls out Bloomberg-funded organizations for their “well-intentioned but misguided and unscientific beliefs” in this Newsweek opinion piece.
Accessibility and acceptability (through flavors, cost, or other means) of alternative, safer tobacco products are key to tobacco harm reduction. Yet many government regulators and elected officials have allowed misinformed and misguided activists who refuse to discuss the science behind tobacco harm reduction to take the reins on this vital public health issue, while in other countries (Great Britain and New Zealand, for example), governments leverage tobacco harm reduction strategies to save lives.”
~Dr. Michael Madden
READ MORE: Misinformation Threatens Efforts to Reduce Tobacco Harm
PUBLIC HEALTH // Anti-Vaping Zealot Stanton Glantz
Marc Gunther writes about Stanton Glantz’s crusade against vaping, which has critics & former allies questioning his research. Mr. Gunther then followed that up with an article in Medium about the more controversial things about Glantz that editors left out of the 5,000-word Undark article.
“Glantz and his powerful allies in the anti-tobacco movement — nonprofit advocacy organizations the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the Truth Initiative, as well as the American Lung Association, the American Heart Association, and the American Cancer Society — have mounted a campaign against e-cigarettes funded with $160 million from Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Instead of inviting smokers to switch to vaping, Glantz and the nonprofits have promoted more traditional quitting strategies, including those involving the use of FDA-approved medications, while simultaneously working to ban e-cigarettes, tax them, prohibit the sale of flavored e-cigarettes, outlaw their use in smoke-free zones, and generally do whatever they can to stop both adults and children from vaping.“
Misinformation put forward by Prof. Glantz and his allies in the anti-vaping movement has kept many people smoking. That's tragic. | my latest for @Medium#vaping #tobacco #philanthropyhttps://t.co/D7tDUUWDzJ
— MarcGunther (@MarcGunther) August 6, 2021
READ MORE: Here Comes Trouble: An Anti-Tobacco Hero’s Complicated Legacy
READ EVEN MORE: The tainted science of Stanton Glantz
PUBLIC HEALTH // Tobacco Control Out of Control
Anti-vaping zealot pushes a law to guarantee that train companies can never allow vaping anywhere–even if it’s proven beyond a doubt to be a benefit to public health and despite lacking any evidence of risk to bystanders.
Passengers shouldn't even think about pulling out a vape on their next Amtrak ride.
Tucked away in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is a ban on the use of electronic cigarettes on the nation’s government-owned rail service.https://t.co/Ms1rc1Xs5N
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) August 4, 2021
READ MORE: Infrastructure Bill Bans Vaping on Amtrak
CASAA IN ACTION:
In response to a letter signed by CASAA and numerous other advocacy and industry organizations, Senator Rand Paul has written to the USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. Click the link to read the both letters.
I am also in rural America. Any shipping restriction hurts me. Supplies in this area are very limited. Keep pushing for the American adults that are in need of this help. Vaping saves lives and more, improves quality of life for many. Much appreciation!
— Lorraine Ballard (@loryballard) August 7, 2021
READ MORE: E-cigarette use among kids dropped in 2020; Advocates worry it could go back up
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 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.