FDA What is the deal with this "The United States Vapers' Survey"?

[Katya]

One member that I know of has taken the above fact to the extreme and has suggested that SJ is being paid by BT

Oh dear...

 

[classwife]

Some people really make me just shake my head in disbelief...

seriously...

smh...

 

[Rickajho]

I have read all the replies to this post and it seems everyone has missed the obvious. As it was stated in this thread, this survey was funded by a tobacco company. Sure the results are supposedly going to be used by some independent group of researchers but please allow me to point out the main objective of this survey.

Anyone completing this survey is helping the anti-vaping legislation because it tricks us into admitting that vaping and smoking are the same thing. That's why they continuously refer to vaping as using E-CIGARETTES!

The tobacco companies know that in order to get their legislation passed they have to equate vaping to cigarette smoking, and this survey, while seeming benign, does exactly that.

Lets wake up here people. This survey is counterproductive our cause and is only going to work against us.

Furthermore, this entire site (e-cigarette-forum) is brainwashing us into making the association between smoking and vaping.

Smoking and vaping are not the same thing. If we keep referring to vape equipment and the act of vaping as smoking (e) cigarettes we're going to push the vaping industry right into the hands of the tobacco companies.

This is my first and only post on this vaping = smoking site. Hopefully it will help open some eyes as to what's really going on with the anti-vaping legislation.

Wow oh wow. So many big thoughts here my head is exploding. Or perhaps if you read even a few thousand of the 16,902,342 posts here you would find this "e-cigarette" thing to be... very old and very tired and very pointless territory.

Thanks for trying anyway. If you come up with the magic name for e-cigarettes that would have made all the deeming legislation never happen do get back in touch.

 

[retired1]

It's sure nice to see that my stock in Alcoa is safe and sound.

 

[ddirtyvapes]

I answered everything. Forget about self-incrimination. If the powers that be somehow gain access to this and want to hunt me down for continuing to figure out a way to vape no matter what happens, let them. As of now, it will not be illegal to use or possess or technically even purchase as far as I can tell. It is only sales that are intended to regulated, at least at this moment. A fine distinction, but important regardless.

I would be happy if someone from the FDA were to see my scathing comments in the survey about their ineptitude, frankly. Not that they will.

 

[Oliver]

Ok, I know the paranoia is strong right now, but please...

Dr Russell is doing some quality research on vape. He has funding from Fontem but has absolute academic freedom (as made clear by CASAA). If we want to see good research, we have to accept it must be paid for.

FYI, Chris also presented his findings at the Capitol last week - so this important data is getting heard by the right people

Other than that, it's absolutely up to you whether or not you wish to participate.

And no. I'm not being paid by anyone, FFS.

The reason I put the banner at the top of the page is because I believe in Chris's research, I know and like and trust Chris, and I'd like him to reach a good number of vapers.

 

[Oliver]

Why this survey in the highlight box?

The United States Vapers’ Survey: Home | My CMS

Isn't this the same survey we were asked to fill out just prior to the regulations having been released? The questions sound verbatim similar.

And what qualifies this one as "the most important survey in vaping yet"? It just seems to be collecting more demographics that have already been collected - which to date appears to have not helped at all.

Genuinely lost as to what the point of this one really is.

OK, fair enough. I BELIEVE It's important because it's a good survey, the sample size being aimed for will give it statistical power across many measures, and it's being run by a serious researcher who's going to do serious analysis and publish.

As you know, I've been doing similar research for the last 4 years. It's been very helpful in allowing me to communicate the topology of vape to policy makers, and some others have been able to use the data similarly. But I've not been successful at getting academics to use it for publications, largely (I suspect) of the paranoia inherent in this world, but also because there's just so much data there that it's hard to analyse without being accused of going on a fishing expedition.

Chris is doing research which is broadly similar, but also supersedes what I've been doing in many ways. He needs a large sample for validity reasons on some of the measures. I'm hoping that by putting it prominently on the top of ECF I can help.

Please, do it if you feel comfortable. If you don't, just ignore. There's nothing nefarious here, I promise.

 

[Rickajho]

Never thought or said it was nefarious myself, just seemed oddly redundant as you got into the first five pages of the survey.

 

[Oliver]

Never thought or said it was nefarious myself, just seemed oddly redundant as you got into the first five pages of the survey.

Yeah, sorry - not aimed at you. Just fed up with the paranoia and lashing out a bit.

Hope my explanation makes sense. Needs more responses - simple as that.

 

[DaveP]

The part that was strange was when they asked something like When you smoked did you smoke at least 3 cigarettes in a month or day. Three, three.?? Jeez if I smoked 3 cigarettes in a month I wouldn't be writing everyone to save vaping. How about three cigarettes in a minute. I was a SMOKER, I didn't dabble in it. Jeez. At 30 cigarettes a day for 46 years that is 500,700 cigarettes.

It's amazing how many cigarettes we smoked when we do the math.

 

[nomore stinkies]

Oliver, I don't think anyone minded filling out the questionnaire. I would have thought that the question would have been aimed at the hard core, couldn't get off, tried everything, hopeless, stuck in the mud smoker. I just wanted them to know that I WAS a hopeless, depressed "I'm never going to get off these smoker" by telling them the truth about how much I smoked. And to make a point about how much these made a difference in my once hopeless pursuit of being smoke free. I think we would do just about anything to save our life saver. Thank you for all you do.

 

[DaveP]

^^^^^^
This, the post #71 above is the key to getting our message across.

I've been following the pink link at the top of the page and filling out the surveys. The more supportive data we report, the more effective we CAN be. I think that average vaper is truthful in their replies to these surveys. There's no reason to pad the comments.

We all struggled to get off the smokes and most of us failed on the first try cold turkey. I was able immediately cut my 2PAD habit down to 5 or 6 cigs in the first week and quit completely before the end of the first year. I actually could have given up those last 5 or 6 a day in the first month or two, I just didn't know how easy it was to vape and not smoke.

Vaping is an effective quitting tool and a reasonably safe way to continue the hand to mouth habit much more safely than smoking. Many of miss the actions of smoking and vaping satisfied that and allowed us to forget about tobacco cigarettes.

We need to tell that story over and over.