Yes... Pfffffff!, indeed !!
1) There are NO studies that show clearly that 'youngsters are starting with e-cigs, and then moving to tobacco cigarettes'. To say that, you would need to ask
specifically in the (non-existant) study: "Are you currently using tobacco cigarettes?" and "Are you using, or have you used in the past, electronic cigarettes?"
2) Tobacco use among youngsters is actually
decreasing :
The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary: Despite Drastic Increase in Electronic Cigarette Experimentation from 2011-2012, CDC Survey Finds Decline in Cigarette Smoking Among Youth
The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary: If Electronic Cigarettes are a Gateway to Smoking, then Why Were Youth Smoking Rates at an All-Time Low in 2013?
3) The
fact that 'e-cig use is raising among youth', paired with thee
fact that 'tobacco use is decreasing among youth' can have a logical explanation: youngsters are being sucessful in quitting cigarettes - just as their not-so-young counterparts... how can that be seen as a negative thing? OK, I know, minors were not supposed to be using the e-cig... well, guess what?
They were not supposed to be smoking either... I can speak for myself: I started when I was fifteen. That is the
real world out there...
4) "For the sake of completeness we would like to ask for clarification whether the scientists that have signed the mail have undertaken research, provided consulting or received funding/travel support from electronic cigarettes companies"
Really...? Dr Siegel's blog is full of entries about 'pseudo-scientists' who always 'forget' to state their own conflicts of interest with BP... I'm not saying those conflicts are not a problem... they are. But why are they given any significance only when it comes to the e-cig?
