Blumenthal Urges Ban on Electronic Cigarette Flavors, Online Sales

[ennagizer]

Oy Vey. Another of our wonderful lawmakers who only reads the headlines and is misinformed.
It really bothers me when people make claims without having any evidence to support it. Well, that's because there is no evidence. Does that matter? Apparently not.

Blumenthal Urges Ban on Electronic Cigarette Flavors, Online Sales
usnews .com/news/articles/2013/09/20/blumenthal-ban-electronic-cigarette-flavors-online-sales

 

[Petrodus]

Quote from the article

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., is one of the most vehement advocates
of restricting the sale of electronic cigarettes. He says the vapor-producing devices,
which are booming in popularity, have become "gateway nicotine-delivery devices"
for children and he advocates banning flavor options and online sales.

 

[Vocalek]

Isn't this a wonderful country? Everyone can enjoy his or her own "facts" without bothering to cross-check them with reality. This is especially beneficial for law-makers who can ram any old thing down the throats of the public regardless of how stupid or bizarre their theories are.

If Blumie is right, then whenever an adult goes into an ice cream store offering a wide variety of flavors, the adult asks for flavor-free ice cream. Nope, not even vanilla. Gotta be flavor-free. https://www.baskinrobbins.com/content/baskinrobbins/en/products/icecream/flavors.html

Wine is an adult-only beverage, so wine coolers are made with wine and strictly flavor-free soda. Bartles&Jaymes

Coffee is an adult beverage, so Coffee-mate(TM) flavors are "Coffee," "Decaf", and "Flavor-free." Products - All Flavors | COFFEE-MATE®

Now that we have seen it is absolutely true that adults don't like products that go into their mouths to have any flavors, it must be true that e-cigarettes are marketed only to children. Ignore the sales figures. Pretend that adults are buying the lion's share of the products.

Furthermore, the proliferation of e-cigarettes has created a huge uptick in the number of 12- to 17-year old students who are smokers.

Last year, only 5% of high school sophomores said they had smoked cigarettes daily in the last 30 days, compared with 18% of sophomores who were smoking daily at one point in the 1990s. The numbers have also plunged for eighth-graders and high school seniors, hitting their lowest point since the surveys began.

Teen cigarette smoking drops to lowest point recorded, study says - Los Angeles Times

Current cigarette smoking among middle school and high school youth declined in a linear fashion between 2000 and 2011.4

CDC - Fact Sheet - Youth and Tobacco Use - Smoking & Tobacco Use

The CDC report "Current Tobacco Use Among Middle and High School Students — United States, 2011" was published on August 10, 2012. Current Tobacco Use Among Middle and High School Students — United States, 2011

During 2000–2011, among middle school students, a linear downward trend was observed in the prevalence of current tobacco use (14.9% to 7.1%), current combustible tobacco use (14.0% to 6.3%), and current cigarette use (10.7% to 4.3%). For high school students, a linear downward trend also was observed in these measures (current tobacco use [34.4% to 23.2%], current combustible tobacco use [33.1% to 21.0%], and current cigarette use [27.9% to 15.8%]).

It is now late September of 2013, and there has been no report published titled, "Current Tobacco Use Among Middle and High School Students — United States, 2012," although the survey data required to go into that report has been collected, but only the data on e-cigarettes was reported--and grossly exaggerated. Any guesses why the CDC is NOT reporting the 2012 statistics? Before October?

I'm betting that the teen smoking rates have continued the downward trend, and the slope may have become even steeper. Given the fact that the big excuse for strict regulation of e-cigarettes is the claim that the products are destroying the health of U.S. youth, a report that conventional smoking rates are down would not support their agenda.

Any takers?

 

[jtpjc]

The comments to this article show clearly that it is not politically correct anymore to be against e-cigs. Sorry mr. Blumenthal, you're disconnected with the real world and, except making you look like an idiot, you are also making yourself non-eligible.

 

[Petrodus]

jtpjc ...
Your signature cracks me up !!

 

[Vocalek]

I found the report on which the LA Times story was based. Childstats.gov - America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2013 - Introduction

So we do have some 2012 figures, but not from the CDC.

On this page Childstats.gov - America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2013 - America's Children at a Glance
click the Arrow next to "Behavior" to expand the tables.

Regular cigarette smoking
Students who reported smoking daily in the past 30 days
8th grade 2% (2011) 2% (2012) NS
10th grade 6% (2011) 5% (2012) NS
12th grade 10% (2011) 9% (2012) NS
Alcohol use
Students who reported having 5 or more alcoholic beverages in a row in the past 2 weeks
8th grade 6% (2011) 5% (2012) Arrow pointing down
10th grade 15% (2011) 16% (2012) NS
12th grade 22% (2011) 24% (2012) Arrow pointing up
Illicit drug use
Students who reported using illicit drugs in the past 30 days
8th grade 9% (2011) 8% (2012) NS
10th grade 19% (2011) 19% (2012) NS
12th grade 25% (2011) 25% (2012) NS
Sexual activity
High school students who reported ever having had sexual intercourse 46% (2009) 47% (2011) NS
Youth perpetrators of serious violent crimes
Youth offenders ages 12–17 involved in serious violent crimes 9 per 1,000 (2010) 6 per 1,000 (2011) N

So smoking rates are down a little, drinking is up a little in the upper grades, and illicit drugs are about the same.

 

[Orb Skewer]

Unless they have employed an extraction method, a Ketchup bottle is a 'gateway nicotine-delivery device'
As is Zucchini, and the 'kids' argument is null too.

Kids 'try' a smoke (real cigs) because it's daring, forbidden, risque, a rite of passage, a test.
How many kids who try vaping are gonna enjoy the lack of a buzz, the faff.......the complete lack of danger ?!?!.
Sure kids will try them if they can get their grubby little snot covered mits on them-it wont be long before they are regarded as 'lame' or 'Gay' or '......ed' by the up and coming Adult that every kid is trying to become.
Anyway..Better an Ecig than taking a long dangerous ride on a Camel/or a Marlboro.


Sounds like sen. Dickie Blumenthal is just another ignorant oaf.

 

[2coils]

I know I read somewhere, Dr Siegel mentioned, the CDC failed to disclose that 90% of e-cig use in youth was that of current smokers. A point that debunks the whole scaremongering point of the CDC. I am not sure how Dr Siegel came to that percentage, but telling it is!!! If anyone has the link to his quote please post. I will look as well!

If this point from him is accurate, it should be mentioned during counsel meetings before any votes.

 

[Petrodus]

The CDC failed to report some stuff and twisted other information
because they're sleeping with the FDA (period)

 

[ennagizer]

I know I read somewhere, Dr Siegel mentioned, the CDC failed to disclose that 90% of e-cig use in youth was that of current smokers. A point that debunks the whole scaremongering point of the CDC. I am not sure how Dr Siegel came to that percentage, but telling it is!!! If anyone has the link to his quote please post. I will look as well!

If this point from him is accurate, it should be mentioned during counsel meetings before any votes.

Info can be found here: Notes from the Field: Electronic Cigarette Use Among Middle and High School Students — United States, 2011–2012

During 2011–2012
Among all students in grades 6–12 ..... among current e-cigarette users, 76.3% reported current conventional cigarette smoking.
Among middle school current e-cigarette users, 61.1% reported current conventional cigarette smoking.
Among high school current e-cigarette users, 80.5% reported current conventional cigarette smoking.

 

[2coils]

http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/09/electronic-cigarette-experimentation.html

The 90% thing came from his blog...Just found it

 

[2coils]

VPLive Vape Team Episode #84: Imitation Wars - YouTube

Dimitri said it best here. I think we need to go to the council meetings with pictures too!! We need to make it plain as day that the flavors ban and accusations of targeting kids is absurd!! Take a look! Spend 3 to 4 minutes watching..

 

[stitt]

Vodka and whiskey come in candy flavors. Where's the outrage? What about the children?

 

[ennagizer]

Vodka and whiskey come in candy flavors. Where's the outrage? What about the children?

Because, as everyone knows, drinking, drinking & driving, drinking & driving & texting are safer than an ecig. And only 46%* (I believe) of teens drink alchohol. So, it's not an important enough statistic to get the parents riled up. <----Written with a boatload of sarcasm.

But, 6.8% of teens trying an e-cig at least once in a 30 day period makes everyone screech on their brakes.

*Edit: It's only 39% of high school students that drank some alcohol in the past 30 days prior to the CDC survey. Whew, what a relief. <----Written with even a bigger boatload of sarcasm.

 

[jtpjc]

During 2011–2012
Among all students in grades 6–12 ..... among current e-cigarette users, 76.3% reported current conventional cigarette smoking.
Among middle school current e-cigarette users, 61.1% reported current conventional cigarette smoking.
Among high school current e-cigarette users, 80.5% reported current conventional cigarette smoking.

Let's do some junk science here, before mr. Stan Glantz does it for us.

During 2011–2012
Among all students in grades 6–12... of the 100% reported e-cigarette users, 76.3% reported current conventional cigarette smoking.
Among 100% of the middle school current e-cigarette users, 61.1% reported current conventional cigarette smoking.
Among 100% high school current e-cigarette users, 80.5% reported current conventional cigarette smoking.

Which proves without a shadow of a doubt that e-cigarette use is a gateway to cigarette smoking.

 

[ennagizer]

VPLive Vape Team Episode #84: Imitation Wars - YouTube

Dimitri said it best here. I think we need to go to the council meetings with pictures too!! We need to make it plain as day that the flavors ban and accusations of targeting kids is absurd!! Take a look! Spend 3 to 4 minutes watching..

Yeah, I watched the segment live and completely agree. He (we) should include energy drinks and those 5 hour energy shots too, along with the stories of teens abusing those products and overdosing on caffeine, sometimes resulting in death.

 

[jtpjc]

I have a great title for a future news article: E-cigs, a gateway or a getaway?

 

[Petrodus]

I have a great title for a future news article: E-cigs, a gateway or a getaway?

... Again !!

 

[ennagizer]

I'm going off topic here, but trying to compare ecig use with drinking. The CDC survey on teen alcohol use got my panties in a bunch.
CDC - Fact Sheets-Underage Drinking - Alcohol

Info from just the first paragraph:

Alcohol is the most commonly used and abused drug among youth in the United States, more than tobacco and illicit drugs, and is responsible for more than 4,700 annual deaths among underage youth.

Although drinking by persons under the age of 21 is illegal, people aged 12 to 20 years drink 11% of all alcohol consumed in the United States. More than 90% of this alcohol is consumed in the form of binge drinks.

On average, underage drinkers consume more drinks per drinking occasion than adult drinkers.

In 2010, there were approximately 189,000 emergency rooms visits by persons under age 21 for injuries and other conditions linked to alcohol.

 

[Vocalek]

I'll bet that if you presented this paragraph to the ANTZ and asked them to fill in the blank, they would write "e-cigarettes"

In 2012, 6.5 percent of 8th graders, 17.0 percent of 10th graders, and 22.9 percent of 12th graders used __________ in the past month—an increase among 10th and 12th graders from 14.2 percent, and 18.8 percent in 2007. Daily use has also increased; 6.5 percent of 12th graders now use __________ every day, compared to 5.1 percent in the 2007.

DrugFacts: High School and Youth Trends | National Institute on Drug Abuse