Vaping advocates protest PMTA bill in Utah. Another study finds vaping is safer than smoking. Reporter scaremongers in Georgia. CASAA gets quoted. Questionable study about menthol bans. Multiple Calls to Action and much more!
Scroll to the bottom of this post for a link to the audio/video versions of this post!
CALLS TO ACTION
WYOMING
There was already a hearing on Wednesday, Feb. 21st!
SF 107 would put independent vape shops out of business, hundreds of workers out of jobs, and thousands of people at risk of returning to smoking, or delaying attempts at quitting!
TAKE ACTION: Wyoming: Stop a Big Tobacco Protection Bill!
MISSISSIPPI
SB 2441 would put independent vape shops out of business, hundreds of workers out of jobs, and thousands of people at risk of returning to smoking, or delaying attempts at quitting.
TAKE ACTION: Mississippi: Stop a Big Tobacco Protection Bill!
IOWA
SB 3101 (a PMTA bill) already had a hearing on Wednesday, February 21st!
Please take a minute to send an email to or call your state senator urging them to oppose SB 3101!
TAKE ACTION: Iowa: Stop a Big Tobacco Protection Bill!
IDAHO
S.1366 would put independent vape shops out of business, hundreds of workers out of jobs, and thousands of people at risk of returning to smoking, or delaying attempts at quitting.
Please urge your lawmakers to oppose S.1366!
TAKE ACTION: Idaho: Stop a Big Tobacco Protection Bill!
FLORIDA
⚠️URGENT⚠️ There is a HEARING on Tuesday, February 27, 2024 at 9:00 AM!
We strongly encourage Florida vapers to SIGN UP TO SPEAK at this hearing. This could be your LAST CHANCE to stop the loss of access to thousands of vape products!
TAKE ACTION: Florida: Stop a Big Tobacco Protection Bill!
GEORGIA
⚠️URGENT⚠️ There is a HEARING scheduled for Monday, February 26 at 2:00 PM!
HB 1260 would put independent vape shops out of business and severely reduce access to thousands of vape products people depend on!
TAKE ACTION: Georgia: Stop a Big Tobacco Protection Bill!
VIRGINIA
⚠️URGENT⚠️ There is a Senate HEARING SCHEDULED for SB 550/HB 1069 on Monday, February 26th at 15 minutes after adjournment!
Unless you want to only have access to Big Tobacco vapes in your state, take action NOW!
TAKE ACTION: Virginia: Stop the Joe Camel Protection Act!
RESEARCH
Asking “WHY Are Youth Vaping?” Is Important
This study finds that adolescents and young adults who experience major depressive episodes or have cognitive disabilities are at higher risk of vaping.
In other words, they’re “self-medicating.” So if safer-than-smoking vapor products are banned then what will they use?
Bans only address the what instead of the far more important why. If we address the why (youth mental health crisis) instead of only addressing the what (by banning products shown to reduce health risks for adults who would otherwise be smoking) that will be win-win for public health! Youth would get the mental health treatments they so desperately need instead of turning to increasingly more dangerous substances, and millions of adults who smoke will continue to have access to low risk alternatives and avoid smoking-related diseases and death.
Study underscores critical link between youth mental health & vaping risk. Let's review the SFOA to understand vaping's impact on youth & smokers. A roundtable for effective strategies to reduce access & support harm reduction! @fordnation @DocsVsTobacco https://t.co/iLTrS3ueIS
— Darryl Tempest (@tempyy) February 20, 2024
Study Claims Menthol Bans Help People Quit Smoking
A co-author of this study told readers, “Contrary to claims by the tobacco industry, we did not see an increase in the use of illicit products.
However, the review also states that 25% of people “found a way to continue smoking menthols.” What “way” did they find, exactly? Possibly the illicit market?
On another note, only the abstract was available at the time of this blog post, which makes no mention of the racial breakdown of the 25% who quit. This is interesting because one of the main arguments given for a menthol ban is “racial disparity.”
Also an important question: Do the people who continue to expose themselves to deadly smoke because they don’t quit until “after a year or two” actually stay quit after that? Most people make several attempts at quitting, but fewer than 8% succeed. Of those, many relapse months and even years later.
How many seconds will the menthol ban take to completely fail? bout .48 seconds. https://t.co/NWBvf485WH
— JerryReed (@jerryreedjr) May 9, 2022
READ MORE: A quarter of smokers quit within a year or two of menthol bans, researchers find
Another Study Finds Vaping Is Safer
A new study has “significant” observation “suggesting that e-cigarettes might present a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes.”
The authors express concern about possible adverse effects from PG/VG (ie. “solvents”) and certain flavors, seemingly with the unrealistic goal of making vaping 100% safe. However, these concerns really should be weighed against the far more serious adverse effects of people continuing to smoke.
Nobody says that vaping is risk-free. What’s important is to compare the risks of vaping with the risks of smoking, and the consensus among scientists who study both is that vaping is at least 95% safer than smoking, and the most effective smoking cessation tool yet invented.
— Les (@LesterJMilton) April 3, 2023
CASAA IN ACTION
CASAA Live Short
CASAA Vice President Logan Evans on Senator Chuck Schumer’s baseless attempt to start a new “war” on nicotine pouches.
CASAA Gets quoted in Oklahoma
Alex Clark, CEO of the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association, is following PMTA registry or vapor product directory bills in more than a dozen states, including Oklahoma. He said the Sooner State’s situation is similar to Alabama, where a vapor product directory exists, but there’s no funding for enforcement and the agency tasked to oversee it hasn’t effectively done their job.
“It’s going to be leaving it up to the discretion of the state’s attorney general, as to who they’re going to go after,” Clark said. “Which, you know, if that’s a handshake agreement that the legislature wants to sign the citizens up for, by all means, but I don’t think that’s the most effective way to ensure that we are reducing the harm of combustible tobacco.”
According to the CASAA website, HB 3971 would put independent vape shops out of business and render hundreds of workers jobless.”
READ MORE: Vaping industry worries about oversight from Oklahoma AG’s office
TAKE ACTION: Oklahoma: Stop a Big Tobacco Protection Bill!
IN THE NEWS
Scaremongering and Misinformation
The author first highlights scary “vaping” stories apparently involving illicit THC vapes that have nothing to do with the flavored NICOTINE vapes she seemingly wants banned. But that’s not all.”
She then claims that flavored vapes “make up the most common category of substance use among middle and high school students across the state – more than alcohol, leaf tobacco or other drugs.”
However, the 2023 GA Student Survey shows 6.4% of the respondents consumed alcohol in the past 30 days vs 6.2% of them vaping. It’s possible she mistook the % of students who vape who use flavors as the % of ALL students? That would be an alarming mistake for a professional journalist.
Then, based primarily on the alarming stories of illicit THC vapes, she calls for FDA “to step up its review of e-cigarettes coming to market and its efforts to remove illegal and unauthorized products that are already on the market.”
But how would FDA actions against flavored NICOTINE e-cigarettes have ANY effect on the illicit THC vape market that is causing the actual harm to youth? FDA doesn’t regulate THC, let alone illicit THC vapes.
Make it make sense.
Finally, she sneers at opponents to the recently introduced “PMTA bill” who correctly state that it would “put independent vape shops out of business, force people to return to combustible cigarettes or prevent cigarette smokers from quitting.”
That, she says, “sounds like they’re just blowing smoke.” (As if we haven’t heard that play on words before.)
But has she spoken to any vapers or vape shop owners?
Is she aware that these PMTA bills are being pushed by big tobacco companies and they would benefit most from them?
Apparently not.
Reyes article makes it clearer he's referencing school VIOLATIONS, meaning they are caught IN SCHOOL with vapes more than alcohol, etc.
However Rhone's article is very poorly reworded to sound like vaping is the most common substance USE among all middle & high school students. pic.twitter.com/CnbTl7BT0B
— Kristin Noll-Marsh (@Noll_Marsh) February 23, 2024
READ MORE: Efforts to stem youth vaping are going up in smoke
ADVOCACY
Vaping Advocates Protest PMTA Bill in Utah
Dozens of vaping advocates showed up at the Utah capitol to protest SB 61 (a “Big Tobacco Protection” bill.)
Dave Davis, president of the Utah Retail Merchants Association claimed, “It basically just levels the playing field between your general retailers and your tobacco specialty shops. Everyone will be selling the same product. If you have a business model that’s built on Captain Crunch and bubblegum, then maybe you have to reevaluate the business model.”
No, sir, it “basically just” eliminates your competition, because the fact that convenience stores sell a lot of products other than e-cigarettes means they can easily survive a dramatic reduction in vapor product inventory.
Unfortunately, the prohibitionist committee approved the bill to move forward.
— Smoke Vape Utah (@smokevapeutah) February 22, 2024
READ MORE: ‘We vape, we vote’: Vape shops ask lawmakers not to ban sale of flavored vapes
TAKE ACTION: UTAH: Stop a Big Tobacco Protection Bill!
INDUSTRY
Will FDA Authorize These Flavors?
Altria is finalizing submissions to FDA “to sell NJOY vape products in blueberry and watermelon flavors” and “plans to employ a Bluetooth technology that will prevent underage use.”
Altria is trying to eliminate flavored vape products thru its FDA Registry bills.
Why? Because cigarette sales are crashing and…..
"The tobacco giant is finalizing submissions to the US FDA to sell NJOY vape products in blueberry and watermelon flavors,"https://t.co/9zM0Y6xH0n— Lance Churchill (@LanceChurchill) February 22, 2024
ADVOCACY
Adult Vaper Survey
Q. I don’t have a lot of time or money, but how can I still advocate for #vaping and tobacco harm reduction? 🤔
A. One QUICK and FREE way to advocate right now is to complete this survey! 👇👇👇
Click here: USA – Vape Consumer Survey 2023
CASAA IN ACTION // CASAA Live
This week on CASAA Live, join Alex and Logan as they explain the new controversy surrounding nicotine pouches; the political fall-out and the science behind these harm reduction products!
Catch the next show LIVE Saturday, February 24, 2024 at 4:30PM ET/3:30PM CT!
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 // 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 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: