American Cancer Society stance

[bwood12043]

I have looked and looked but if it's here I can't find it.

Does the American Cancer Society have an "official stance" on vaping?

I attend an annual fund raiser here locally each year and last year my vaping at that function (most of the function is outdoors, but some is inside) and I am trying to decide if I want to go this year, as the tickets are quite expensive but my heart tells me not to contribute to any public organization that has a stance AGAINST vaping or is supported financially by organizations that a stance against it.

I have not been able to get a good answer from the local office so far.

Just wondering if anyone here knows any "official" standing.

If they have no stance, then OK, but if it's against, then I will keep my $350 plus all the $$ donated to the various drawings and other fund raising activities of that event.

Thanks

 

[yvilla]

The ACS, together with the ALA, CFTFK, the AHA and other groups have formally taken the position of wanting to ban electronic cigarettes, starting quite some time ago.

See this blog post of Dr. Siegel's, from July, 2009, as just one example: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary: American Cancer Society Continues Efforts to Ban Electronic Cigarettes, While Giving the OK to Conventional Ones

And they all joined in an amicus brief in support of the FDA's position in its appeal from Judge Leon's ruling: http://www.casaa.org/files/ALA_brief_ct._app..pdf

CASAA has put out both a petition and position statements specifically to counter the lies and misinformation about ecigs being disseminated widely by these groups, in media interviews, in the political lobbying they do in the attempt to get both sales and use bans enacted legislatively, and in their own formal published position papers.

For example, here is the ACS so-called fact sheet on ecigs: http://www.acscan.org/content/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/e-cigarette.pdf

And here is CASAA's rebutting position paper: http://www.casaa.org/files/CASAA Position Statement.pdf

Here is the ACS memo in support of Rosenthal's bill to ban the sale of ecigs in NY state: http://www.acscan.org/ovc_images/file/action/states/ny/A1468_Memo.pdf

And its website page in support of the ban: Restrict the Sale of Electronic Cigarettes

I could go on and on, but I think you can get the picture from the above.

 

[bwood12043]

yvilla, thank you so much, I just knew I had seen that info somewhere, but I just couldn't find it, me bad bad.

I think this info gives me what I need to justify NOT supporting the ACS at this time. Money is really tight, but several of my clients are oncology groups and they always urge me to attend. They were so supportive last year when I showed them my PV, but I suppose they might not be aware of the "official" stance or maybe they just don't care.

I have also done some research on where the majority of the large corporation donations come from on a national basis and it appears to me that ACS cares more about maintaining large coffers than preventing cancer. Now treatment and screening, those are another matter, but natural since their board members are for the most part CEO's and/or officers of large pharma and screening device corporations.

Thanks again for the info, I hope to be able to be more monetarily supportive of the you all do in the near future. Business is really bad right now with most of our work being sent to India (medical transcription), even a huge amount of the military's medical documentation is going offshore, what a shame and a security risk.

 

[yvilla]

Thanks for being concerned enough to look into this before you donate, bwood.

It is precisely ACS's ties with, and huge amounts of funding from, big pharma, that drives its official policy against ecigs (and the other groups too). They all actively push NRT use, and big pharma stands to lose the most, even more than big tobacco, from the proliferation of ecig use. For ecigs are truly NRT products' biggest competitior, and big pharma sees its profits from NRT sales dwindling away with the growth of ecig sales.

 

[Papa Lazarou]

Just an idea. If you are listed as a donor (not sure if that's how it works?) would it be worth dropping a note to the organisation saying something like "I would have donated over $350, but have decided I can no longer support you because of your unethical stance against electronic cigarettes. My money will be going to an alternative charity."? Although I imagine personal donations are a drop in the ocean compared to the big money from big pharma, hitting their bottom line even in a very small way will give them a message, I would have thought.

 

[swedishfish]

Just an idea. If you are listed as a donor (not sure if that's how it works?) would it be worth dropping a note to the organisation saying something like "I would have donated over $350, but have decided I can no longer support you because of your unethical stance against electronic cigarettes. My money will be going to an alternative charity."? Although I imagine personal donations are a drop in the ocean compared to the big money from big pharma, hitting their bottom line even in a very small way will give them a message, I would have thought.

I've done that. I'm hoping my sister will do the same once she starts vaping because she has an automatic payroll deduction for charities . She's almost there. And she works with a bunch of smokers.

 

[Vapor Pete]

I did it too. Last company I worked for picked a charity every month to donate to. I had just hit my (then) one year mark of beig tobacco free by using the e-cig. I also knew the ACS's statements about it.
Wasnt it just about that time, that the company chose the ACS to be the chairty of the month. I made sure everyone around me knew about my vaping, as well as the ACS's stance.
Unfortunatly, this wasnt a "Thank you ACS, here's my donation", it was the company who would donate a sum at the end of the month based our sales. Bottom line is, I wasnt working as hard to acheive the goal. So I didnt get to hit 'em where it hurts by actually denying them my personal donation.
All was not lost though. I got the chance to shake hands with the nicely dressed women who came to represent the ACS and accept the donation check. When my hand touched hers to shake, I said, "I have not smoked a cigarette in over a year." She smiled and congratulated me and said she - as well as the ACS - is so happy. I then asked her, "Wanna know how I did it?". Her reply was, "Yes!". I said, "I've been using an electronic cigarette, you know... vaping." Well, she was still happy and gave the standard, "lol, whatever it takes!". I asked, "Do you know your organiztions position on the e-cig?". No, she said. I replied, "Your organization does not want me to have it. Your organization will never see a dime of my own money."

I let go of her hand and left for the day...

-VP

 

[ID510]

I attend a church group that has a lot of working poor some of whom smoke.
I gave a starter kit away to a lady who wanted to try it....she just couldn't afford it..

I'd rather do that before these organizations see one dime of my money.

 

[bwood12043]

Just an idea. If you are listed as a donor (not sure if that's how it works?) would it be worth dropping a note to the organisation saying something like "I would have donated over $350, but have decided I can no longer support you because of your unethical stance against electronic cigarettes. My money will be going to an alternative charity."?

I have already sent such a letter to the local office and to the national. But better than that, I expressed my feelings to several of the local organizers who donate so much time, equipment, skill and money to this event each year. Two of the committee chairmen are poker buddies of ours and neighbors and we talked at length the other night and after I gave them the info given to me via those links, their concerns grew and they say they are going to bring it up at the next local meeting. I was not ugly to them as they think they are doing good work for a good charity but they are beginning to get the drift.

bw

 

[rolygate]

The American Society for Cancer have taken a firm stance against electronic cigarettes because their good friends, the pharma industry, have told them to. You may also be interested to know that a fair proportion of charitable donations to these types of groups goes toward paying the unbelievable, obscene salaries their senior staff are paid. Vocalek, I believe, listed some of them in a post, and they looked like oil sheikh's earnings.

Because the direct result of their activities will be more cancer instead of less, some of us have taken to playfully rearranging their name...

 

[emus]

The American Society for Cancer have taken a firm stance against electronic cigarettes because their good friends, the pharma industry, have told them to. You may also be interested to know that a fair proportion of charitable donations to these types of groups goes toward paying the unbelievable, obscene salaries their senior staff are paid. Vocalek, I believe, listed some of them in a post, and they looked like oil sheikh's earnings.

Because the direct result of their activities will be more cancer instead of less, some of us have taken to playfully rearranging their name...

So sad..........sounds like conspiracy theory.......but actions speak louder than words.

 

[wrigleyvillain]

Oh I'm sure the pharma industry has their hands in it. Plus it looks like smoking and we actually *gasp* enjoy it so thus vaping is terrible too and must be banned. Sigh.

 

[Vocalek]

Yes. Our vaping disrupts their plan to "denormalize" smoking. If you ask me, the denormaled ones are the antis.