Study concludes vaping should be recommended for cessation. Claiming vaping outside is “unsafe.” Politics of vaping. Quit Victoria tweets lies then blocks dozens of people. Public Health shows entitlement. Fentanyl a new scare tactic. 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 // Nebraska Vapor Tax
LB 584, a 5c/mL tax on e-liquid scheduled for a hearing on Tuesday, was pulled from the agenda, potentially for changes that may include a 20% wholesale tax which could mean a price increase from the original 5c/mL.
TAKE ACTION: Nebraska – Stop a Vapor Tax
CALL TO ACTION // Maryland Flavor Ban
SB 259 requires low risk, smoke-free alternatives–products used by millions of adults to quit/avoid smoking–to be flavored like tobacco, prohibiting even FDA-authorized flavors.
A hearing was held on Thursday, February 16, 2023 at 1 PM.
TAKE ACTION: Stop the Maryland Flavor Ban
CALL TO ACTION // Hawai’i Vape Tax
HB 537 would subject vapor products to the state’s 70% tobacco tax.
Hawai’ians are encouraged to TAKE ACTION NOW!
TAKE ACTION: Stop the Hawai’i Vape Tax
CALL TO ACTION UPDATE // Hawai’i Flavor Ban
HB 551 will dangerously take away all non-tobacco flavors (including 0 mg vapes) from legal adults–many who use flavored low risk products to avoid relapsing to smoking!
TAKE ACTION: Stop the Hawai’i Flavor Ban
CALL TO ACTION // Connecticut Flavor Ban
HB 6488 would force adults who have switched to pleasant-tasting, low risk alternatives to smoking to go back to products that taste like tobacco or menthol. This bill already had one hearing on February 1st, 2023.
TAKE ACTION: Stop the Connecticut Flavor Ban
CALL TO ACTION // New Mexico Flavor Ban
HB 94 had a hearing in the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee. If you live in New Mexico, please click the link below and TAKE ACTION NOW!
TAKE ACTION: Stop the New Mexico Flavor Ban
CALL TO ACTION // Oregon Flavor Ban
HB 3090 would ban the sale of nicotine and tobacco products in flavors other than fake “tobacco.” This prohibition would include everything from smoke-free nicotine pouches to vapor products and menthol cigarettes.
TAKE ACTION: Stop the Oregon Flavor Ban
HEADS UP! // Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Misleading rhetoric, baseless health risk claims and outdated teen use data is being used to justify this moratorium–possibly laying the groundwork for a flavor or sales ban!
READ MORE: Milwaukee lawmakers look to ban new vape shops for a limited time
TOBACCO LAWS // Misinformation to Justify Outdoor Use Ban
Prohibiting vaping inside might be justified to prevent a potential future nuisance, but there is no justification for prohibiting vaping outside. Worse, proponents falsely claim there are studies that demonstrate that e-cigs contain “unsafe levels of nicotine, chemicals and heavy metals.” This is extremely misleading, because the word “unsafe” is meaningless when it isn’t quantified. Nothing is 100% safe and nicotine products have a continuum of risk, with vapor product having very low risk and cigarettes having the greatest risk. It is extremely disingenuous to call the nicotine levels, “chemicals” and metals in e-cigarettes “unsafe” when nicotine isn’t what causes smoking-related diseases, and cigarettes contain over 60 known carcinogens, particulates, toxins and heavy metals at far, far greater levels.
Democrats ban smoking in vaping on parks where they have grills you use charcoal in. The only logic in what they do is they ban things they hate but incrementally
— Steven (@MaVASteve) January 12, 2023
READ MORE: Waukesha County could ban e-cigarettes, vaping on county grounds
CASAA IN ACTION // The Politics of Vaping
Check out CASAA CEO Alex Clark, this week’s guest on the Coup Save America podcast with Sean St. Heart, in a discussion about “The Politics of Vaping.”
RESEARCH // Vaping Should Be Recommended For Cessation
Researchers looked at vaping in countries that promote it for smoking cessation vs countries that don’t promote vaping and found vaping should be recommended more as smoking cessation aids, because there’s “abundant evidence” they can help some individuals quit smoking.
UM study: E-cigarettes should be recommended more for smoking cessation https://t.co/YX9aC4tDbV
— Cliff Douglas (@cdoug) February 22, 2023
READ MORE: UM study: E-cigarettes should be recommended more for smoking cessation
COMMENTARY // Time to Rethink the FCTC
Academic and industry researchers “need to engage in scientific debate. Yet opportunities to do so have diminished as journals and conferences have banned scientists funded directly or indirectly by industry. This is leading to a serious bias with implications for public policy. How can we expect to make fundamental change without involving those who hold such a major stake in potential changes? In no other sector—energy, food, pharma—is this tolerated.” ~ Derek Yach
Time for a Rethink @swimdaily
"During Keller and Heckman’s recent E-Vapor and Tobacco Law Symposium in California, public health expert Derek Yach, who was instrumental in the creation of the FCTC, argued that it is time to update the treaty and bring its https://t.co/1KiDBHYQC1… https://t.co/NdRe8iKkNm— Allison (@alli_vapes) February 20, 2023
READ MORE: Time to Rethink the FCTC
TOBACCO CONTROL // Mistrusting Big Tobacco Eclipses Everything Else
“If [tobacco companies] truly want to reduce harm, they have the unique power and savvy to do so. They can stop opposing proven tobacco control measures, set a date to stop marketing deadly combustible cigarettes, and support the pending FDA regulations.”
Except flavor bans and nearly nicotine-free cigarettes are not “proven” tobacco control measures. Such actions are more likely to create more social justice issues between law enforcement and poor communities, while simultaneously perpetuating harms from smoking by removing the most appealing alternatives to smoking from the market.
Despite how much you want BT to shut up, be the go-to villain, and just keep making cigarettes. They are about to evolve rapidly. Tobacco control needs to do the same instead of denying safer nicotine to smokers while getting cuts of Bloomberg's $420,000,000 injection. Its gross.
— Matt Ketner (@GingerSOU_THR) February 21, 2023
READ MORE: Tobacco companies pledge ‘harm reduction’ but are doing the opposite
TOBACCO CONTROL // Free Smoke-free Alternatives From EU Bans
“If deadly cigarettes are permitted throughout the internal market, then a lower risk equivalent like snus should be as well.”
The unscientific and harmful EU bans on products proven to be very low risk alternatives to smoking needs to end. Period.
The EU ban on snus (Swedish oral tobacco) can be repealed. Sweden has the lowest male smoking prevalence in the developed world and the lowest smoking associated cancer rates in Europe. Take a look at the CRUK website. Why did the EU ever ban it? Some sort of corruption, I guess
— Jonathan Bagley (@JonathanBagley4) December 31, 2020
READ MORE: EU Lawmaker Urges Snus Legalization
TOBACCO CONTROL // “Trusted” Organization Can’t Be Trusted
False claims are disproven with real world FACTS. Australian anti-smoking and vaping organization, Quit Victoria (which is funded in part by the government) first falsely claims that the Cochrane group is funded by a tobacco company, then tweets an “apology” with yet another blatant lie. They then proceed to block every person who corrected their mistake.
The fact is, people who are already at risk of smoking are now more likely to try vaping before trying smoking, which is where the “three times more likely to smoke” claim originates. Meaning, without the availability of vaping products, they’d likely have started smoking. Of course, they don’t want to acknowledge that vaping has also very likely prevented millions of people from ever trying deadly cigarettes.
We tweeted in error that Cochrane review of vaping was funded by British American Tobacco. We understand the review is impartial from a respected journal. We also know that people who vape are three times more likely to go on to smoke: https://t.co/VqRAUqRVfS
— Quit (@quitvic) February 22, 2023
TOBACCO CONTROL // Public Health Shows Entitlement
Hawai’i Public Health representatives absurdly complain that an article about the adverse consequences of a parity tax for e-cigs included pro-vaping voices, but didn’t also seek the opinion of their anti-vaping orgs. This is a ridiculous complaint when 99% of articles about vaping are already skewed in their anti-vaping favor and almost never seek input from the true stakeholders in vaping: adult vapers, vaping advocates and the vaping industry.
READ MORE: Reporting On E-Cigarettes Should Include Health And Policy Experts
FDA // Targeting Adult Products
Under pressure from the anti-vaping syndicate to take action against the imported disposable vapor products popular with the few teens who still vape, FDA finally sends out warning letters to…tiny US businesses making non-disposable, open-system products preferred by adults.
FDA Seeks $19,000 Penalties Against Four Small Vape Companies.
By Jim McDonaldhttps://t.co/5p41rvm9tl— Vaping360 (@Vaping360) February 24, 2023
READ MORE: FDA Seeks $19,000 Penalties Against Four Small Vape Companies
COMMENTARY // Another Misguided Scare Tactic
As is typical of these communications, the message from the Plano, Texas, Independent School District (ISD) mixes sensible advice with alarmist rhetoric and misinformation. That is a risky combination, because skeptical students and parents who recognize the anti-drug nonsense may be inclined to dismiss all of the warnings, including those that have a basis in fact.” ~ Jacob Sullum
READ MORE: My Daughter’s School District Warns That Nicotine Vapers Could Be Unknowingly Inhaling Fentanyl
TESTIMONIAL // Anecdote # 13,502
JP made an informed decision to NOT start smoking again to cope with his stress and ADHD. Instead, he chose to manage his well-being with very low risk alternatives.
What’s YOUR real story? Submit your testimonial today!
SUBMIT YOUR STORY: 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
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!
If you missed the last CASAA Live episode you can catch up NOW before the next show!
On this episode, CASAA vice president Logan Evans and Member Coordinator Kristin Noll-Marsh sit down with special guest, Gregory Conley, Director of Legislative & External Affairs for the American Vapor Manufacturers (AVM) and board president of the American Vaping Association. He and AVM are remarkable examples about how everyday consumers can become strong advocates not only for a life-saving product, but for the disruptive industry those consumers rely upon!
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