FDA CDC survey finds record annual decline, record low teen smoking; so CDC & FDA attack e-cigs again

[Bill Godshall]

CDC NYTS finds record 28% annual decline in, and record low “past 30 day” cigarette smoking among high school students from 2013 to 2014 (from 12.7% to 9.2%), and record low smoking rate among middle school students (declining from 2.9% to 2.5%); but CDC falsely classifies all e-cigs and hookah as “tobacco products” (as many e-cig and shisha products contain no nicotine) to exaggerate use of nicotine containing e-cigs and hookah, to falsely claim tobacco use increased, and to lobby for FDA deeming reg (that would ban >99.9% of e-cigs).
Tobacco Use Among Middle and High School Students — United States, 2011–2014

CDC press release ignores historic decline in smoking, instead touts increase in e-cig and hookah use to confuse, scare and lobby for FDA deeming reg (to ban >99.9% of e-cigs), repeats false claims that all e-cigs and hookah are tobacco products.
E-cigarette use triples among middle and high school students in just one year | CDC Online Newsroom | CDC

FDA touts and expounds upon CDC’s false claims that all e-cigs and hookah are “tobacco products”, hypes increase in teen e-cig and hookah use, buries record low teen cigarette smoking findings (chart on bottom right).
Youth Tobacco Use: Results from the 2014 National Youth Tobacco Survey

The only e-cig survey that inquired about the content of e-cigs used found that 96% of never smokers who used an e-cig had used a NO-NICOTINE e-cig
The Forum Poll™ - One in seven use electronic cigarettes
http://poll.forumresearch.com/data/Federal E-Cig News Release (2014 12 11) Forum Research.pdf

Among all students, NTYS found:

“Past 30 day” cig smoking among all middle school students (6^th – 9^th grade)
2011 - 4.3%
2012 - 3.5%
2013 - 2.9%
2014 – 2.5%

“Past 30 day” e-cig use among all middle school students (6^th – 9^th grade)
2011 - .6%
2012 - 1.1%
2013 - 1.1%
2014 - 3.9%

“Past 30 day” cigarette smoking among all high school students (9^th-12^th grade)
2011 - 15.8%
2012 - 14.0%
2013 - 12.7%
2014 - 9.5%

“Past 30 day” e-cig use among all high school students (9^th – 12^th grade)
2011 - 1.5%
2012 - 2.8%
2013 - 4.5%
2014 - 13.4%

 

[Bill Godshall]

Mike Siegel: New CDC Report on E-Cigarettes Shatters Gateway Myth, Suggests Shift from Hazardous Smoking to Much Safer Vaping among Youth
http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/04/new-cdc-report-on-e-cigarettes-shatters.html

AVA: NYTS again finds dramatic declines in youth smoking as vaping increases
NYTS Again Finds Dramatic Declines in Youth Smoking as Vaping Increases - The American Vaping Association

 

[Bill Godshall]

The ANTZ have also responded to CDC's latest e-cig spin to lobby for FDA's deeming reg (that would ban >99.9% of e-cigs)
From CTFK
Government Survey Shows Youth E-Cigarette Use Tripled in One Year and Exceeds Use of Regular Cigaret - Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids
From Legacy
Two Distinct Stories Emerge from CDC Survey on Youth Tobacco Use - American Legacy Foundation
Rapid Changes in Hookah Use Found in Legacy Study of 18-24 Year-Olds - Tracks With CDC Survey of Youth Use - American Legacy Foundation

 

[Bill Godshall]

The NY Times headline hyped the increase in e-cig use, quotes CDC's Frieden as saying the huge decline in smoking is "a really bad thing".
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/17/h...t_tnt_20150416&nlid=60534081&tntemail0=y&_r=0

“This is a really bad thing,” said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the director of the C.D.C., who noted that research had found that nicotine harms the developing brain. “This is another generation being hooked by the tobacco industry. It makes me angry.”

 

[Bill Godshall]

Notice how CDC's Tom Frieden and FDA's Mitch Zeller both falsely insinuated (once again) that e-cigs are gateways to cigarettes and use of other tobacco products, while Frieden conflated far less hazardous e-cigs, hookah and cigars with lethal cigarettes.
E-cigarette use triples among middle and high school students in just one year | CDC Online Newsroom | CDC

From CDC's Tom Frieden

“We want parents to know that nicotine is dangerous for kids at any age, whether it’s an e-cigarette, hookah, cigarette or cigar,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “Adolescence is a critical time for brain development. Nicotine exposure at a young age may cause lasting harm to brain development, promote addiction, and lead to sustained tobacco use.”

From FDA's Mitch Zeller

“In today’s rapidly evolving tobacco marketplace, the surge in youth use of novel products like e-cigarettes forces us to confront the reality that the progress we have made in reducing youth cigarette smoking rates is being threatened,” said Mitch Zeller, J.D., director of FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. “These staggering increases in such a short time underscore why FDA intends to regulate these additional products to protect public health.”

 

[Nick N]

I thought it was funny that from what I read they were afraid of teens switching to conventional cigarettes. Right...

Big tobacco would see it as a win either way. Ecigs on the rise with their heavy influence or ban them altogether so everyone (in theory) would switch to regular cigarettes.

... And no mention of outlawing nicotine patches or gum.

 

[Bill Godshall]

USA Today article repeats and further hypes CDC’s false fear mongering claims about e-cigs, former AP reporter Michael Felberbaum (who wrote many stories misrepresenting the evidence on e-cigs and advocating FDA’s proposed deeming reg) now works as FDA spokesman.
Teen e-cigarette use tripled in the past year

 

[Bill Godshall]

Correction: My initial posting on this thread inaccurately stated that only one e-cig survey inquired if the e-cigs used had contained nicotine.

But an international survey found that 53% and 52% of e-cig users had used a no-nicotine e-cig during their first and most recent e-cig use respectively.
IJERPH | Free Full-Text | Characteristics, Perceived Side Effects and Benefits of Electronic Cigarette Use: A Worldwide Survey of More than 19,000 Consumers | HTML

This further documents why it is inaccurate for CDC, FDA and other e-cig opponents to claim that all e-cigs contain nicotine, and are thus “tobacco products”.

 

[pennysmalls]

In regards to the nicotine being so bad for children developmentally, why haven't we heard anything, ever, in all these years of tobacco smoking in regards to all the developmental problems adults are having due to starting smoking when they were children? Cancer from tobacco, yea lots of info on that but these claims about the developmental risks of nicotine should be something that's been documented up the wazoo hundreds of times over. I have never once heard of an adult suffering from neurological problems due to childhood nicotine consumption.

 

[Signmaker]

I enjoy their little reports, that claim to be all about nicotine use in teens...and never bother to asses nicotine consumption. It's like if I was trying to document unhealthy diets, but only counted calories consumed, not lifestyles or what foods those calories come from.

Since theres no real "low nic" option for analogs, they're all consuming that 8-12mg per cig. Since they never bothered to track the amount used per day, that could be 8mg/day, or 200mg/day. Same for vapor, it could be 0mg/day, or 200mg/day.

My guess would be if they actually tracked these values, they would see that not only is analog use on the decline, but per diem nicotine consumption is plummetting. Now I like to keep correlation and causation as seperate as I can, but I'm pretty sure if you charted the drop in nicotine use, and charted the numbers for vape sales, they would look pretty similar, and would hold enough in common to tell me vaping is actually creating a decrease in teen nicotine use. I'm sure public awareness campaigns are doing their part too, but I dont think they match up in trend quite as sharply.

So if you're primary concern is reducing the nictoine exposure of teens, you should love vaping.
If you're primary concern is demonizing the thing that's cutting up the revenue stream for big tobacco and it's tax revenue...you should sound just like the CDC.

 

[Kent C]

Reason Sullum

Smoking and Vaping Keep Moving in Opposite Directions Among Teenagers - Hit & Run : Reason.com

 

[antiemp]

I'm upset that they didn't include whether teens were vaping nicotine or zero nicotine. Do we have results form the ECF survey regarding nicotine vs zero nicotine usage? I would like to know the trend on that.

 

[plumeguy]

Banning PV's is functionally like banning condoms or sex education during a HIV
epidemic. Abstinence only is an extremist ideology I didn't think we would have
to put up with again.

Good to know that the fanatics in my party are as despicable and destructive as
the extremists on the right.

 

[nomore stinkies]

In regards to the nicotine being so bad for children developmentally, why haven't we heard anything, ever, in all these years of tobacco smoking in regards to all the developmental problems adults are having due to starting smoking when they were children? Cancer from tobacco, yea lots of info on that but these claims about the developmental risks of nicotine should be something that's been documented up the wazoo hundreds of times over. I have never once heard of an adult suffering from neurological problems due to childhood nicotine consumption.

I, like you, have NEVER heard that line either. HHMMM so, if I was so developmentally challenged how does one explain my 4.0 in college? I started smoking when I was 12. Went back to take some classes at age 54 and got a 4.0. All that nicotine and still good grades? Oh my, why was I saved from the perils of nicotine?Think I'll give Tom a call and ask him.
When the 18 year old stated that vaping was cheaper I could just see our legislatures eyes turn green......Expect a huge increase in taxes as some States are already doing. Someone has to save the children. Funny, the children are trying to save themselves.

 

[pennysmalls]

nomore stinkies- yep the argument of theirs that nicotine is so bad for young developing brains needs to be challenged at every turn. No more claims without evidence.

 

[Kent C]

nomore stinkies- yep the argument of theirs that nicotine is so bad for young developing brains needs to be challenged at every turn. No more claims without evidence.

There's no easy (or short) way to explain this. It goes to the idea that, in a republic form of gov't that protects rights, for something to be restricted, it must be harmful to others. If it is harmful to only oneself, then it should be no concern of a gov't that exists to protect rights. However, IF a product sold is harmful, even though the person chooses to buy it, then the manufacturer can be held liable. When that is NOT the case, yet gov't still wants to regulate something, they give grants to researchers to find this harm. In this case, it's the 'attack of the not yet formed brain' solution. If you apply enough heat to chicken in a barbeque or to a coil beyond normal use, even sub-ohm vaping, then you'll get formaldehyde as a by product. Aha!! a 'harmful' product! We got 'em now!

 

[pennysmalls]

But the effects they are claiming nicotine has on the development of the young, if it were true, would've been apparent years ago. It should actually be in epidemic proportions, if it were true. So I think because of the time issue they are going to have a really hard time coming up with research to prove it now. They're to late, their strategy can't work because it's something that should have already happened.

 

[Kent C]

But the effects they are claiming nicotine has on the development of the young, if it were true, would've been apparent years ago. It should actually be in epidemic proportions, if it were true. So I think because of the time issue they are going to have a really hard time coming up with research to prove it now. They're to late, their strategy can't work because it's something that should have already happened.

Too late for any sensible person to agree. But they know their audience.

 

[pennysmalls]

I guess that's where we come in. I'll be challenging it each and every time I see it.

 

[choochoogranny]

Presidents Eisenhower, Reagan, both Roosevelts, Truman smoked. Did Einstein smoke? Willie VonBraun? Oppemheimer? Babe Ruth? Cary Grant? Anybody got more?