1/30/14 - C.V. Phillips & Dr. Siegal on new passive vaping study; junky article getting syndication; US states: DE; VA; OH; WI; IA; OK; TX; ID; UT; AZ

[Roger_Lafayette]

Relatively small haul today - all US domestic. Article by Loyola Med. Sch. prof. is getting syndicated in various places - see below. Also C.V. Phillips & Dr. Siegal on new indoor "secondhand vaping" study. Interesting Stanton Glantz quote implies vaping has 20% cessation rate success (see CA story at end).

Coverage: US states - DE; VA; OH; WI; IA; OK; TX; ID; UT; AZ; CA

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(C.V. Phillips' & Dr. Siegal's discussions of indoor vaping study, respec.) Letter re fatal flaws in Schober et al. paper on environmental vapor | Anti-THR Lies and related topics and http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/01/new-study-of-passive-vaping-shows.html

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(From ECFInfoZone) ECF InfoZone - The is the E-cigarette Forum Information Zone, for all your ecig needs [report on Las Vegas expo. from Gary Cox]

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Listed out of US geographical east-to-west sequence due to syndication:

(Loyala U. of Chi. IL US School of Medicine) loyolamedicine . org/newswire/news/e-cigarettes-poor-smoking-cessation-tool-use-19-harmful-chemicals-loyola-doctor-says [one of the most appalling articles I've seen published in an allegedly-reputable context; the factual mistatements are too many to mention - such as PG is a carcinogen: something needs to be done about this IMHO]

www . newswise . com/articles/e-cigarettes-the-known-and-unknown-dangers [is a verbatim copy of the above picked up in a VA general interest site]

www . news-medical . net/news/20140130/19-harmful-chemicals-in-e-cigarettes.aspx [and again, this time in a UK medical news site]

This seems to be popping up everywhere ... look for articles that begin with the following paragraph:

It's no easy task to quit smoking and the lure of an e-cigarette, which claims to mimic the smoking experience without the harmful chemicals, seems a dream come true for many smokers. According Philip McAndrew, MD, Loyola University Health System physician and smoking cessation expert, that dream can quickly turn into a nightmare with no FDA product regulations. The truth is little is known about the chemicals e-cigarette smokers are inhaling. What is known is there is an increase in the number of adolescents smoking them.

Predictions: (1) by tomorrow, we'll be seeing small local papers and local radio/TV sites pick up stuff in this article and it'll be quoted/cited for many months to come; (2) the three ex.s of full-text syndication that I listed are only the beginning of the flood.

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(DE US radio station) www . wdel . com/story.php?id=56468 [minor ban introduced in DE st. leg.; DE has no statewide restrictions - watch for possible "minor morph"; one of the very few articles that I've seen which actually questions the '09 FDA study]

(DE US NBC affiliate) www . newsworks . org/index.php/local/item/64380-delaware-legislation-targets-electronic-cigarettes?linktype=hp_topstory [same as above]

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(Hampton Rds/Norfolk area VA US web site) hamptonroads . com/2014/01/bill-would-ban-va-students-having-ecigarettes [VA considering minor ban; new bill directs school bd . s to adopt policies restricting them in schools]

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(Lorain Co. - Avon/Amherst OH US Morning Jrnl. local paper) www . morningjournal . com/general-news/20140129/lorain-county-business-owners-say-e-cigarettes-are-booming [report on local vaping stores; zero junk]

(Willoughby + Lake Co. OH US News-Herald local paper) www . news-herald . com/general-news/20140130/northeast-ohio-e-cigarette-conversation-hazy [general article; some junk; brief discussion of OH pending minor ban]

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(Sheboygan WI US local paper) www . sheboyganpress . com/article/20140130/SHE06/301300151/Other-Views-Schools-should-develop-policies-e-cigarettes [editorial on minor usage with the usual alarmist junk]

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(Watchdog.org, IA US site) watchdog . org/126175/iowa-e-cigarettes/ [Discussion of the AHA and IA's Pub . Health Assn. to oppose minor bans in st. legis on the grounds that they don't go far enough. See also: C.V. Phillips on IA public health authorities: This is what local public health looks like, Iowa edition | Anti-THR Lies and related topics ]

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(Delaware Co. OK US Grove Sun) m . grandlakenews . com/news/article_ff2ba65e-a7e1-532d-b626-cf9e3d34d1c2.html?mode=jqm [Amazingly junk-free smoking cessation story]

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(Arlington TX US local paper) www . star-telegram . com/2014/01/30/5515107/are-e-cigarettes-a-problem-a-council.html [general discussin of regulation in Arlington and nearby towns, some junk]

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(Idaho Falls area ID US local radio) www . kpvi . com/content/news/local/story/Pocatello-Police-See-Increased-Use-of-E/psJKyh5gq0e0psVuHZFpRw.cspx [police find more "minors in possession" - no junk as such]

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(Public E-mail from UT US St. Sen Lyle Hillyard) le . utah . gov/publicweb/HILLYLW/PublicWeb/13486/13486.html [cites to studies showing "second hand vaping" is not so dangerous - Utahans should Google "utah rep paul ray cigarette" for St. Rep. Paul Ray, who is crusading to get Utah to treat vaping like smoking tobacco for all purposes]

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(U. AZ US student paper) www . wildcat . arizona.edu/article/2014/01/e-cigs-spark-smoking-etiquette-revamp [student editorial on vaping etiquette - apparently UAZ doesn't have a "vaping" = "smoking" policy yet]

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(San Diego SD CA US ABC radio/TV affiliate) www . 10news . com/news/investigations/e-cigarettes-under-fire-by-critics-team-10-tests-the-vapor-01292014 [general report, chock-a-block w/ the usual junk - California's full of pending legislation and ordinances, see the legislation forum.] Intresting quote from Stanton Glantz:

"Most of the people, about 80 percent of people who use e-cigarettes, keep smoking regular cigarettes," said [Standon] Glantz.

(What was he thinking? Doesn't that make them vastly more effective than other forms of nicotine repacement as smoking cessation?

 

[Uma]

Oh lookie, a POLL! . 10News - E-cigarettes - good or bad? Take our poll - Story
So far all are in favor of the eCigs, by 80%.avg. .

 

[Roger_Lafayette]

Oh lookie, a POLL! . 10News - E-cigarettes - good or bad? Take our poll - Story
So far all are in favor of the eCigs, by 80%.avg. .

Story contains junk but the poll doesn't Tormorrow's follow-up will prob'ly stink tho' (based on today's).

 

[rothenbj]

"The truth is little is known about the chemicals e-cigarette smokers are inhaling. What is known is there is an increase in the number of adolescents smoking them."

The fear of the unknown and the child victim are such easy propaganda sales.

 

[Roger_Lafayette]

"The truth is little is known about the chemicals e-cigarette smokers are inhaling. What is known is there is an increase in the number of adolescents smoking them."

The fear of the unknown and the child victim are such easy propaganda sales.

As I've said so many times - the ANTZ are remarkably gifted and proficient when it comes to messenging.

We keep talking about science and rationality in lengthy paragraphs, while they keep grabbing their audience by the amygdala with snappy sound bites.

 

[2coils]

The average joe doesn't care about science. The dramatic sound bites are more captivating. Same thing with the evening news. Drama always steals the show.

 

[Roger_Lafayette]

The average joe doesn't care about science. The dramatic sound bites are more captivating. Same thing with the evening news. Drama always steals the show.

Agreed ... however when someone w/ "letters after their name" speaks in sound bites and uses junk science, then average people get worried (especially if it involves children), the media picks it up (cub reporters are always looking for an easy alarmist story), politicians react .. and that's how anti-vaping laws get passed. It can happen in a heartbeat at the municipal or county level.

Furthermore these sorts of sound bites build support for statewide legislation - demonizing smokers (or people whom the public confuses with smokers) and protecting children is always popular. And once a bill banning the sale of PVs to minors is in committee "mark up" in a legislative committee, or on the floor, it can easily "morph" into much more, such as taxation, interstate sales bans, limiting licenses for B&M stores, or a general provision that defines vaping as smoking for purposes of state law. I call this the "minor morph," and there's always a risk of it in any state that hasn't recently rejected those additional provisions.

Of course the "minor morph" can also occur at the city/county level. What politician with a sense of political self-preservation is going to vote against a bill or an ordinance banning the sale of PVs to minors - regardless of what else it doees?

Last week, I listed a junk-filled article by an MD in the Pomerado News - now the City of Poway (which is served by the paper) is considering redefining vaping as smoking (I suspect this will also ban outdoor vaping in their parks and have consequences for municipal employees, etc.). Coincidence? Hmm, maybe.

Sp far yesterday's garbage article by Phillip McAndrew of Loyola Med. Schol hasn't appeared except in syndication yesterday and in a refutation today from a UK blogger - but it's too early to tell whether his claims that PG is a "hazard," and that PVs are ineffective as smoking cessation will get any traction outside of the syndication. I'll be surprised if they don't.

 

[2coils]

Agreed ... however when someone w/ "letters after their name" speaks in sound bites and uses junk science, then average people get worried (especially if it involves children), the media picks it up (cub reporters are always looking for an easy alarmist story), politicians react .. and that's how anti-vaping laws get passed. It can happen in a heartbeat at the municipal or county level.

Furthermore these sorts of sound bites build support for statewide legislation - demonizing smokers (or people whom the public confuses with smokers) and protecting children is always popular. And once a bill banning the sale of PVs to minors is in committee "mark up" in a legislative committee, or on the floor, it can easily "morph" into much more, such as taxation, interstate sales bans, limiting licenses for B&M stores, or a general provision that defines vaping as smoking for purposes of state law. I call this the "minor morph," and there's always a risk of it in any state that hasn't recently rejected those additional provisions.

Of course the "minor morph" can also occur at the city/county level. What politician with a sense of political self-preservation is going to vote against a bill or an ordinance banning the sale of PVs to minors - regardless of what else it doees?

Last week, I listed a junk-filled article by an MD in the Pomerado News - now the City of Poway (which is served by the paper) is considering redefining vaping as smoking (I suspect this will also ban outdoor vaping in their parks and have consequences for municipal employees, etc.). Coincidence? Hmm, maybe.

Sp far yesterday's garbage article by Phillip McAndrew of Loyola Med. Schol hasn't appeared except in syndication yesterday and in a refutation today from a UK blogger - but it's too early to tell whether his claims that PG is a "hazard," and that PVs are ineffective as smoking cessation will get any traction outside of the syndication. I'll be surprised if they don't.

Can't disagree with any of that. This junk science makes headlines and is disastrous to our cause as most people don't know any better and take it for truth. The CDC study is the perfect example. even tho its thoroughly been debunked, the damage has already been done. And to think 2014 just started, gonna be a very busy year for us!!

 

[Roger_Lafayette]

... And to think 2014 just started, gonna be a very busy year for us!!

You can say that again. Extremely busy.

1) Here in the states, even if the FDA pushes back its Oct 31st target for regulaton (as they've done several times before), the "minor morph" remains a threat in any state that hasn't already banned sales to minors. Not just at the state level, but in those counties and municipalities where politicians are anxious to climb on board. Even in "red" states which have been traditionally unwilling to ban indoor vaping, taxation will become an issue. Just do the arithmetic: there are approx. 3M vapers in the US and 41M smokers. If the #vapers doubles, that's another 10% or so people who are no longer paying as much in analog cig. taxes. And once states start to tax vaping supplies, there will be pressure on Congress to ban interstate sales to end-users (and if that wasn't enough, bans on interstate sales can also be justified by the need to make sure that all transactions are face-to-face, in order to protect minors). Stock up on your high-% e-juice, DIYers.

2) World-wide, there are also plenty of countries that still allow vaping, and even a few like Ireland which haven't yet banned sales to minors. The only difference between these countries and the US is that most of them tend to be run by their national governments, instead of using a federalist system - so it's not as if there are going to be thousands of local goverments which each feel the need to pass their own taxes and regulations. Bill Godshall has a list here: Electronic Cigarettes - Global Legal Status

3) Also look for plenty of EU-wide action in 2014. Although their regulatory target date is 2016, hearings and studies in the EU Parliament will continue.

4) The sales of NRT options (gum and the patch, etc.) have apparently fallen in the EU by 10% in 2013, which is also pretty much in line with the fall in PMI's revenue from cigarette sales - 6% (I don't have the links handy, but I believe they were posted in my roundups this last week). That means that BT absolutely must continue to expand its footprint into vaping, and BP is even more incentivized to continue its fight to block vaping.

5) As more people begin to vape, both the ANTZ and probably BT will be comissioning and driving studies. We already know how the ANTZ do their studies - they get cheap poorly-manufactured all-in-ones which are likely to have lousy e-juice and then claim contamination and/or poor cessation success rates. But now the tide is turning, and we should see a number of studies that are done under different conditions. We should also see ANTZ organizations like the ACA and ALA begin to soften their lines, and more professional orgs like the American Society of Public Health Physicians endorse vaping as cessation or THR. This is going to happen a lot more quickly than (say) the reclassification of homosexuality from a "mental disease or defect" to "normative behavior."

6) Will we see vaping depicted in narrative form, i.e. in TV shows, movies or even in creative writing? Visual art, such as photography or even painting? That may not happen in on a significant scale in 2014, but the growth of vaping must necessarily engender this result, since art really does imitate (and depict) life.

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In a nutshell: the politics, the science, the economics, and the social changes which wll accompany a doubling of vapers in most if not all countries where vaping is legal (with no end in sight) will necessarily drive these differences in taxation, regulation,and the media attention (even in the arts) that goes with them.