There's so much to unpack with the outlandish claims, history revision and misinformation in this op-ed by Dr. Joanna Cohen (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,) so buckle in!
1) You wouldn't trust a thief to sell you an alarm system, so we can't trust the tobacco industry to sell harm reduction.*
*By this logic, we can't trust the auto industry to sell environmentally-friendly cars.
2) Big Tobacco is "co-opting" harm reduction with a "dangerous narrative" that nicotine vapor products are "the be-all, end-all of smoking cessation."*
*Categorically false. No US tobacco company has ever claimed their vapor products are for smoking cessation.
3) "Legitimate" tobacco harm reduction is Tobacco Control policies, such as advertising restrictions, taxes and public use bans.*
*Who is REALLY "co-opting harm reduction" here? Traditional Tobacco Control policies have goals of PREVENTION and ABSTINENCE, not harm reduction!
4) Tobacco Control policies have been "so successful that they’ve left tobacco giants scrambling to retain customers."*
*Smoking cessation rates had slowed down considerably before vaping came into the picture. It was the independent vape industry that got the tobacco industry scrambling!
5) "No company in the U.S. has sought out FDA authorization to market these products as approved cessation devices."*
*Because these products are NOT intended to treat nicotine addiction. They are HARM REDUCTION - safer alternatives for people who cannot or will not quit.
6) Tobacco industry is "lobbying against every evidence-based tobacco control measure introduced."*
*The "evidence" shows the policies do little to nothing to reduce harm. Youth were still starting to smoke and adults weren't quitting. Your policies just punished them for it.
7) "Tobacco companies are co-opting genuine concerns about over-policing in the Black community" regarding menthol.*
*Tobacco Control policies have already caused over-policing in black communities. Just ask Eric Garner's mother. She is genuinely concerned about a menthol ban.
8) Tobacco industry "allies baselessly" position e-cigarettes & HnB products as the only viable harm reduction method for people who want to quit. They discount existing FDA-approved cessation methods entirely."*
*Not "baseless." Numerous studies have shown vaping IS more effective than FDA-approved cessation methods, which fail 93% of the time!
9) "E-cigarettes are newer to the market, there is not yet this same breadth and depth of evidence."*
*So just ignore how all of that evidence from cigarette research shows us that what caused the harm is NOT found in e-cigs AND that e-cigs have been sold for 20 years now?
10) "E-cigarette liquids contain toxins such as formaldehyde, a known carcinogen."*
*False. E-liquids do NOT "contain" formaldehyde. It can be CREATED in high levels but only when e-cigs are tested under very UNREALISTIC CONDITIONS that would taste horrible to a consumer.
11) "Evidence shows that e-cigarette use is associated with an increased risk of lung injury, cardiovascular damage, poisoning..."*
*This is speculation. No medical case of lung injury, cardiovascular damage or poisoning has been causally linked to just vaping nicotine.
12) "They are potentially cultivating a whole new generation of consumers, including children and young people enticed by appealing flavors..."*
*Who would have likely started SMOKING if e-cigs weren't available -- and surveys show ADULTS overwhelmingly prefer those flavors.
This article is shockingly bad but it's not surprising. As Dr. Cohen says, "this playbook isn’t new" for Tobacco Control, either — especially coming from those associated with institutions and organizations funded by the rabidly anti-vaping Bloomberg Philanthropies.
www.nbcsandiego.com
