Vaping causes accidental quitting. More junk science from the anti-vaping syndicate. Congressional Tobacco Harm Reduction Caucus. Explaining the prohibitionist mindset. Quebec follows bad US ideas. 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 // Vermont Flavor Ban
S.18 would ban the sale of any flavored tobacco or nicotine product regardless of FDA authorization, including products that are allowed to be marketed as less harmful than cigarettes!
S18 has passed the Senate and is moving to hearings in the House.
READ MORE: Vermont – Fight a Flavor ban!
CALL TO ACTION UPDATE! // Oregon Flavor ban
HB 3090 would ban nicotine and tobacco products in flavors other than tobacco. This bill is moving to a meeting in the Joint Ways and Means Committee. We will update when a hearing date is announced!
READ MORE: Oregon – Stop a Flavor Ban!
CALL TO ACTION // New York Flavor Ban
Governor Kathy Hochuk is proposing to ban flavors even for the few, far safer tobacco and nicotine alternatives to smoking that are still legally available for sale in NY. This isn’t just a ban on menthol cigarettes! She’s also proposing another tax hike!
TAKE ACTION: New York – Stop a Flavor Ban!
CALL TO ACTION // Minnesota Flavor Ban
SF2123 was ultimately passed and referred to the Senate State and Local Government and Veterans Committee. The House companion bill, HF 2177 (Rep. Ethan Cha, DFL-Woodbury) has yet to be scheduled for a hearing.
TAKE ACTION: Minnesota – Stop a Flavor Ban!
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
RESEARCH // Vaping Causes Accidental Quitting
Researchers found that switching to heat-not-burn (HnB) or vaping products “elicited a marked reduction in cigarette consumption among people who smoke and do not intend to quit.” High quit rates of 39.1% & 30.8% observed for HnB & vaping, respectively.
211 participants .. High quit rates .. continuous abstinence rate 39.1% & 30.8% for heated tobacco product & vaping. .. At week 12, 7-day point prevalence of smoking abstinence values for .. were 54.5% & 41.1%
Very impressive! https://t.co/YIEe7Dn6Jf— Alex Wodak AM (@AlexWodak) April 21, 2023
RESEARCH // More Gateway Garbage
Anti-vaping researchers keep trying to link youth vaping with future smoking, but there’s a “chicken or the egg” factor here they refuse to consider: youth who are already at the greatest risk of smoking are also highly likely to try vaping at some point.
RESEARCH // No, Vaping Doesn’t Cause Strokes
Another bad study attempts to attribute adverse effects to vaping using cross-sectional data that considers an e-cigarette “user” to be someone who ever vaped even once, does not adjust for past smoking or know if the subject even vaped before or after the stroke.
TOBACCO HARM REDUCTION // Congressional Caucus
“Having a caucus dedicated to protecting vape and nicotine consumer and industry interests could be a valuable tool to push back on the dominant congressional position, which has been shaped by anti-vaping and -tobacco groups like the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and its allies. Those groups have spent millions to influence the debate, and promote prohibition-leaning policy directions.”
Report by CASAA Director Jim McDonald for Vaping360.
What Is the Congressional Tobacco Harm Reduction Caucus?
By Jim McDonaldhttps://t.co/dcDZb91qju— Vaping360 (@Vaping360) April 19, 2023
READ MORE: What Is the Congressional Tobacco Harm Reduction Caucus?
CASAA IN ACTION // CASAA Live Clip
Guest Jacob Grier explains how the alarmist tactics used in the debate over secondhand smoke are now being used in the war on tobacco harm reduction and vaping.
If you missed the latest episode of CASAA Live, catch the replay now!
WATCH FULL EPISODE: CASAA Live | Vaping and The New Prohibition with Jacob Grier
IN THE MEDIA // Pot Meet Kettle
It’s pretty hypocritical to call out a small non-profit’s “industry” donations (the majority of which come from small businesses owned by vapers) when you not only accept funding from the pharmaceutical industry – which sells nicotine/cessation products that directly compete with the vape industry’s products – you were actually the TOP RECIPIENT of pharma industry dollars.
READ MORE: The truth about WebMD, a hypochondriac’s nightmare and Big Pharma’s dream
TOBACCO CONTROL // Explaining the Prohibitionist Mentality
A brilliant Twitter thread by Dr. Julian Buchanan that succinctly explains the seemingly unexplainable mindset of prohibitionists.
One great example:
“The prohibitionist refuses to see alcohol, caffeine, nicotine or sugar as drugs.”
THREAD:
Are you struggling to understand why drug laws and drug policies have no interest in evidence and seem almost impossible to change?— Julian Buchanan, PhD (@julianbuchanan) April 9, 2023
TOBACCO CONTROL // Yes, Snus Is Safer
Misinformation from Harvard Health! 30+ yrs of research found NO increased risk of ANY diseases linked to Swedish snus, and even if there is still increased risk with US snus, it’s TINY compared to smoking. That means snus IS really SAFER than smoking!
Tobacco control researcher here. Snus is one of the best studied reduced risk tobacco products out there. There is barely any elevated risk of death or cancer for users compared to non-use and it is demonstrably less harmful than smoking. This article's framing is just weird… https://t.co/7QNIFO3HMi
— Alex Liber 🇺🇦 (@AlexCLiber) March 30, 2023
READ MORE: CASAA | What is Smokeless, or Oral Tobacco?
TOBACCO CONTROL // Even Good Guys Can Get It Wrong
While the UK gets a lot right in its vape policies, it still has a way to go in understanding adult consumers. Nicotine & tank limits had no scientific basis. The strong illicit market in the UK shows regulators failed to consider what people actually need/want.
"Because of very tight regulations on vaping (especially the arbitrary 20mg/mL #nicotine limit), an explosion of stronger vapes are now on the black market which does not age check, so the UK is facing a child vaping epidemic."#FTFY https://t.co/9sr4xzuN0F
— Andrew Thompson (@vaper_the) July 24, 2022
TOBACCO CONTROL // Lying For Personal Gain
Truth Initiative executive and the founder of the Puff Counter app lie to the public, falsely claiming that nicotine is “very, very damaging to young brains,” that it “primes the brain for addiction” and that 5% nicotine is “an insane amount.” (A pack of cigarettes has about 240 mg, while a Juul pod, intended to replace a pack of cigarettes, contains 59 mg.)
READ MORE: ‘A Perfect Storm’: Why Young People Vape and the Consequences Associated With It
AROUND THE WORLD // Quebec’s Circular Logic
Quebec is following the circular logic of the US anti-vaping syndicate: Teens don’t like tobacco flavor, so we must ban pleasantly flavored vapes that taste nothing like tobacco but will still cause teens to smoke cigarettes, which taste like…tobacco. 🥴
Vaping Group Blasts Quebec Flavor Ban Proposal – https://t.co/9sCLQss1jA pic.twitter.com/HIOBumLIdw
— Tobacco Reporter (@tobaccoreporter) April 21, 2023
READ MORE: Quebec government moves to ban flavoured vape products, limit nicotine content
CASAA TESTIMONIAL PROJECT
Anecdote #13,519:
Tom’s story is an example of why it’s so important that safer alternatives are NOT subjected to taxes to create “parity” with deadly cigarettes. He may never have switched if vaping hadn’t been cheaper than smoking!
Share YOUR story at the link below!
Submit Your Testimonial: 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
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 past week’s episode, our guest is Jacob Grier, journalist and author of The New Prohibition: The Dangerous Politics of Tobacco Control. We discuss his new book, the history of tobacco control, and how the new tobacco prohibition trends are impacting vaping, tobacco harm reduction, public health and personal freedoms.
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: