E-cig article asking for comments-Washington Post

[mpetva]

The Checkup - Is That Right? E-cigarettes are "the healthier alternative to smoking"?

What's your opinion of e-cigarettes? Have you tried them? Do they seem safe to you?

I am sure we can all help this reporter out with our success stories!

 

[quasimod]

OK, two things:

1) It's unlikely that the author even wrote that final sentence:

"What's your opinion of e-cigarettes? Have you tried them? Do they seem safe to you?"

That blurb was probably appended to the story by some marketing-conscious web flunky. WaPo's marketers know that people will register at their site to comment on a controversial subject. Look at the end of some other articles on that site, and similar sites. I bet 15ML of RY4 that the author doesn't read a single comment.

2) That article is intellectually dishonest. The author somehow manages to conflate the claim that vaping is "healthier" to "healthy", and then to "Safe". Classic "Straw Man" argument. This is a professional journalist, so I have to believe it was a conscious, deliberate decision. Motive? I can't say, but just read her final sentence:

"In the meantime, I think a smarter New Year's resolution would be to hold off the e-cigs until we know more."

Well! Case closed, then. I'll just go back to killing myself with 3 packs of Kools every day. That sounds really "smart" to me!