Vaping “Mail Ban,” Alaska and Bridgeport, Connecticut Calls to Action. Heads up Vermont! Have a voice and get a t-shirt. Mitt Romney’s dangerous anti-flavor crusade. Public Health England’s latest report on vaping is both good and bad news. Minnesota anti-vaping groups lying about teen vaping. Learn the truth about smoke-free tobacco and more!
Prefer to listen to your vaping news and updates? Check out this post’s podcast!
CALL TO ACTION // National “Vape Mail Ban”
Step 1) Submit your VAPE MAIL BAN comment to USPS then Step 2) Message Congress! CASAA not only made it easy, but also included FAQs about the law. Please SHARE this with your friends AND favorite vape retailers/manufacturers to share with their customers!
TAKE ACTION: USPS – Vape Mail Ban Comment Period Is Open
DO MORE: The more official members CASAA has, the stronger we are together. If you haven’t yet officially joined CASAA, click here to Join Now for free!
CALL TO ACTION // Bridgeport, Connecticut
The flavor ban resolution is scheduled for a public teleconference hearing on Monday, March 1st!
It is imperative that lawmakers hear testimony from adult consumers that these bans are also harming public health, and that opposition to flavor bans is not just the businesses that lawmakers mistakenly think are “big tobacco addicting kids.” Take action now!
TAKE ACTION: Bridgeport, Connecticut – Stop the Flavor Ban!
DO MORE: If you live in Connecticut, join the CASAA Connecticut Facebook Group
CALL TO ACTION UPDATE // Alaska
A second virtual hearing is scheduled for Monday, March 1 @ 1:30 PM to discuss SB 45, which would impose a 75% wholesale tax on vapor products (devices and liquids) and ban online sales to consumers. Click link for more info!
TAKE ACTION: Alaska – Stop the Flavor and Online Sales Ban!
DO MORE: If you live in Alaska, join the CASAA Alaska Facebook Group
HEADS UP! // Vermont
Rep. Ann Pugh calls low risk vaping “insidious,” and Gov. Phil Scott says he supports banning vape flavors (not menthol cigarettes.) However, banning menthol cigs or vapor flavors will only increase people smoking “regular” cigs.
Someone should remind our legislators what freedom and individual responsibility is. Is anything legal anymore?
— Gertch from VT (@GertchVt) February 25, 2021
READ MORE: Vermont considers banning flavored e-cigarettes and menthol
DO MORE: If you live in Vermont, join the CASAA Vermont Facebook Group
PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY // Exposing Anti-Vaping Bias
Public health and media continue teen nicotine vaping “epidemic” & “health crisis” myth while they ignore own facts–65% actually vaping THC & high school smoking down to 3%. Teens were experimenting, but NOT “getting hooked” on nicotine!
No one who vapes THC calls their device an "e-cigarette." Similarly, no one who smokes pot calls joints "cigarettes." You create confusion if you call THC vapes "e-cigarettes."
Here is what's happening: Anti-ecig messages have scared teens away from nicotine, toward THC.
— Clovis Sangrail (@ClovisSangrail4) February 24, 2021
READ MORE: More Minnesota students are vaping marijuana despite increasing campaigns against e-cigarettes
PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY// Political Anti-Vaping Bias
Del. Jazz Lewis (Maryland) reasonably wants to see marijuana decriminalized to reduce social inequity, protect adult consumers by reducing black market products, help small businesses, create jobs and increase tax revenue.
And yet, he is sponsoring a bill banning menthol cigarettes and flavored vapor products, which will increase social inequity, push consumers to unsafe black market or back to smoking, and kill small businesses and jobs. The only thing the ban on nicotine flavors will accomplish is more “regular” flavor cigarette tax revenue, at the expense of public health!
Not many Marylanders support this. Large “health” lobbying virtue signaling corporations support this.
In addition to government overreach, this also stomps out a product that helps adults quit smoking cigarettes. #VapingSavesLives— Candice.Nicole (@candiceHBIC) January 14, 2021
READ MORE: Sen. Washington & Del. Jazz Lewis: Time to End the Sale of Flavored Tobacco in Maryland
RESEARCH // Consequences of Anti-Vaping Propaganda
In its most recent report on vaping, Public Health England (akin to the CDC in the US) says the evidence shows that vaping is better than nicotine replacement therapy and youth vaping is still very low in the UK–mostly smoking youth who switched to vaping–but for adults, “thousands more could have quit except for unfounded safety fears about e-cigarettes.”
In addition:
– 38% of smokers in 2020 believed that vaping is as harmful as smoking and 15% believed that vaping is more harmful
– using vaping product as part of quit attempt in local cessation services had some of highest success rates – between 59.7% and 74% in 2019 and 2020— Cliff Douglas (@cdoug) February 25, 2021
READ MORE: Vaping better than nicotine replacement therapy for stopping smoking, evidence suggests
OPINION // Science Over Fiction
During his campaign, President Biden promised to “choose science over fiction.” If that is true, his new administration should embrace tobacco harm-reduction, especially vaping. Another great article by Michelle Minton at CEI!
Another great article from @michelleminton
"But, unless his commitment to science was just an empty slogan, Biden’s team should adopt tobacco harm reduction….."https://t.co/FfC4iYetvQ— Freedom of Choice (@LanceChurchill) February 22, 2021
READ MORE: Biden Should Choose Science over Politics and Embrace Tobacco Harm Reduction
OPINION // Menthol Flavor Ban
I cannot underscore enough that smoking is bad; but the future created by this legislation will have an irreversible impact on our communities. This legislation is not in the best interest of my church, my community, nor Maryland at-large.”
~ J.L. Carter, pastor of the Ark Church in Baltimore and president of the Ministers Conference of Baltimore and Vicinity
READ MORE: Baltimore pastor: Bill to ban menthol sets up Black Marylanders for more interactions with police
TOBACCO HARM REDUCTION // The More You Know
During “The Great American Spit Out” campaigns you will see articles talking about the risks of “tobacco,” omitting the fact that nearly all “tobacco” risks are from smoke. Smoking actually has a higher risk for oral cancers!
"Well-intentioned" campaigns like #GreatAmericanSpitOut can do MORE harm misleading people by conflating "smoking" with "tobacco." (As they also do with nicotine.) Ask almost anyone "Which is more likely to cause oral cancer?" and they'll INCORRECTLY say "smokeless tobacco." https://t.co/vykB8H8JZX
— Kristin Noll-Marsh (@Noll_Marsh) February 25, 2021
Snus Saves Lives! This week is #ThroughWithChewWeek and today is the #GreatAmericanSpitOut. Let’s not demonize tobacco and embrace “Quit or Die”. Let’s embrace harm reduction!
My thoughts: https://t.co/ckv47alz9C— Snubie (@SnubieDotCom) February 25, 2021
READ MORE: The Truth About Smoke-free Tobacco and Harm Reduction
ADVOCACY // Taking Action
Don’t keep it a secret! Millions of lives depend on CONSUMERS letting policy makers know vaping has IMPROVED their lives. Advocacy is only as strong as it’s membership is vocal. Add your voice today by joining CASAA and then tell the world!
JOIN CASAA: CASAA.org – Join CASAA
SHOP CASAA: CASAA.org – Shop Our Store
IN THE NEWS // Mitt Romney’s Flavor Ban Crusade
Utah Sen. Mitt Romney is once again pushing for flavored vaping products to be pulled from shelves–endangering the lives of millions of American legal adults–based on grossly exaggerated reports of wildly inaccurate estimates of teen vaping.
There are lies, and then there are lies. pic.twitter.com/Yt0OwAQsqg
— VapingIT, SPE, EEI (@Vapingit) February 26, 2021
READ MORE: Romney again pushes for stop to sale of flavored vaping products