Ecigs threaten a trillion dollar plus mini-economy that can be referred to as the smoking economy. Everybody stands to lose if/when vaping replaces smoking, as vast revenue channels will be switched off. There will be a big hole in city, State and federal budgets; several major industries will be significantly harmed; and the staff of various health-related fake charities and the like will be out of a job (not a factor to quickly dismiss since the CEO of such operations often gets a million-dollar plus salary, and they are hardly likely to enjoy seeing it vapourise).
The smoking economy is everywhere and has a strong influence on health policy, difficult as that may be to comprehend. Whenever you hear a voice raised in opposition to ecigs, you're listening to the smoking economy at work. It's all about the money, has only ever been about the money, and always will be. Health is irrelevant.
To improve public health, if you were in charge of it, you'd make ecigs tax-free. You'd set up campaign groups to take them out on the streets, to workplaces, even to schools (in the UK they go to schools and give NRTs to children over 12, free, and encourage them to use the products). You'd offer basic products in all federal and State offices as a walk-by pickup, for free. You would ensure they are available wherever cigarettes are and you'd probably introduce a law that says no one can sell cigarettes unless they also have ecigs displayed for sale as well. You'd sack all the corrupt liars working for pharma within the government who shill for pharma products and try to block ecigs. You'd create a federal offence to lie about ecigs, punishable by a 1-year term of imprisonment with no early parole. You would create laws that prohibit any organisation lying about ecigs, the penalty being a $1 billion fine payable within 1 month or the CEO goes to jail for 5 years. You'd have federal programs with free advertising for ecigs. There would be giant billboards saying something like, "Smoker? Wise up and vape. Smoking for another 3 months will harm you far more than a lifetime of vaping!" You would have public health messages on the TV encouraging vaping. You'd have a regular competition for youth with prizes for the best ideas to encourage smokers to switch. You'd have federally-funded State programs to give a free ecig to any smoker who asks, at the tobacco store. You'd give out free lottery tickets with any ecig purchased within a promotion, and have a million-dollar winner each time. You would ensure that all federal and State smoking cessation programs prioritised for ecigs because that obviously gets you the best bang for your buck: more smokers will quit. You'd write off the MSA payments as blood money that is no longer needed. You'd make it a federal offence to offer dangerous psychotropic drugs for smoking cessation in preference to ecigs. You would create a Federal Bureau of Smoking Cessation to enforce strict laws that prevent any commercially-funded lies about ecigs.
Wouldn't you? If not, why not? This *is* about public health, right?
Oh sorry I forgot - it's not about public health at all, it's about keeping that lovely gravy train rolling. My mistake.
