This article is from the ASU State press. Here's the original article in all it's terrible entirety:
E-cig market lacks public disclaimers, advertising to youth
By Becca Smouse
March 17, 2014 at 6:02 pm
Thanks to our commercialized society, new products are constantly being pushed onto and heavily influencing consumers. However, the rapidly rising market of electronic cigarettes is starting to target children with glorified ads and limited disclaimers.
Companies that manufacture e-cigarettes promote the same message: They are not as “bad” as traditional cigarettes. Jumping on board, the public has placed vape pens and e-cigarettes on a pedestal, praising their concern with individual well-being.
Yet, it seems the market has forgotten its product still isn’t healthy.
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E-cig market lacks public disclaimers, advertising to youth | ASU News | The State Press | Arizona State University
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A friend of mine wrote to the writer with no response so I drafted together my own article and sent an email to the editor of the paper. I appealed to the journalistic duty to provide balance on issues and they asked me for an article around 300 words. Doh I had already written a 1400+ word paper and totally shot over the moon. I honestly didn't expect much from them, but alas I will post the text and link of the article they published and I will post the original that a friend put on his blog.
In response to Becca Smouse’s March 17 column, “E-cig market lacks public disclaimers, advertising to youth.”
On a basic level, e-cigarettes are used by nicotine dependent adults for the purpose of harm reduction. These devices vaporize a mixture of USP propylene glycol, nicotine, glycerine and food flavorings. Finding someone who vapes unflavored nicotine is a rare encounter — like finding a politician who tells the truth about e-cigarettes. We don’t make sweet or fruity flavorings because that’s what kids like, we do it because that’s what we like. It keeps things interesting and the better the flavors taste, the more tobacco looks like a filthy option. It also allows you to explore your newfound sense of smell after quitting without going into complete gluttony.
Many people like myself depend on the flavoring while tapering their nicotine levels. Educating a child is the responsibility of the parent and making a scapegoat out of flavorings through legislation does nothing but punish adults who are trying to adapt to less harmful habits. There will be kids that pick up vaping, but it is not because the flavor was too enticing. It’s because they were trying to relieve their boredom or emotional distress, the same reasons people start cigarettes. It is doubtful that anyone would go from using e-cigarettes first to smoking later; that is like drinking 100-year-old brandy and deciding you would probably like warm Steel Reserve better.
It seems that every time researchers want to prove e-cigarettes to be harmful, they buy cheap and mass-produced Chinese disposable e-cigarettes. This does not correlate with the experience of the average vaper who buys e-liquid made locally in a lab with high purity ingredients like .... Out or Juggz Juice for example. You would be a fool to argue that flavorings are more dangerous than the polonium 210 found in cigarettes. Just one exposure takes roughly 691 days to leave the body completely. Any day without radioactive polonium is a good day indeed.
Michael Eastman
Undergraduate
Letter: “Trix are for kids and e-cigs are for adults” | ASU News | The State Press | Arizona State University
Original 1400+
Guest Post By Michael Eastman: Vaping, Disclaimers, And Youth | John Castle
Write to the editors instead of commenting and complaining about these lopsided articles. It is our duty as people in the know to stop the spread of misinformation whenever possible. You too might get a chance to have your voice heard. Please excuse the mentions of companies in my article, I used them because they were a local example of people I know who don't make dodgy juice that these fear mongerers want people to believe everyone is consuming.
E-cig market lacks public disclaimers, advertising to youth
By Becca Smouse
March 17, 2014 at 6:02 pm
Companies that manufacture e-cigarettes promote the same message: They are not as “bad” as traditional cigarettes. Jumping on board, the public has placed vape pens and e-cigarettes on a pedestal, praising their concern with individual well-being.
Yet, it seems the market has forgotten its product still isn’t healthy.
<...>
E-cig market lacks public disclaimers, advertising to youth | ASU News | The State Press | Arizona State University
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A friend of mine wrote to the writer with no response so I drafted together my own article and sent an email to the editor of the paper. I appealed to the journalistic duty to provide balance on issues and they asked me for an article around 300 words. Doh I had already written a 1400+ word paper and totally shot over the moon. I honestly didn't expect much from them, but alas I will post the text and link of the article they published and I will post the original that a friend put on his blog.
In response to Becca Smouse’s March 17 column, “E-cig market lacks public disclaimers, advertising to youth.”
On a basic level, e-cigarettes are used by nicotine dependent adults for the purpose of harm reduction. These devices vaporize a mixture of USP propylene glycol, nicotine, glycerine and food flavorings. Finding someone who vapes unflavored nicotine is a rare encounter — like finding a politician who tells the truth about e-cigarettes. We don’t make sweet or fruity flavorings because that’s what kids like, we do it because that’s what we like. It keeps things interesting and the better the flavors taste, the more tobacco looks like a filthy option. It also allows you to explore your newfound sense of smell after quitting without going into complete gluttony.
Many people like myself depend on the flavoring while tapering their nicotine levels. Educating a child is the responsibility of the parent and making a scapegoat out of flavorings through legislation does nothing but punish adults who are trying to adapt to less harmful habits. There will be kids that pick up vaping, but it is not because the flavor was too enticing. It’s because they were trying to relieve their boredom or emotional distress, the same reasons people start cigarettes. It is doubtful that anyone would go from using e-cigarettes first to smoking later; that is like drinking 100-year-old brandy and deciding you would probably like warm Steel Reserve better.
It seems that every time researchers want to prove e-cigarettes to be harmful, they buy cheap and mass-produced Chinese disposable e-cigarettes. This does not correlate with the experience of the average vaper who buys e-liquid made locally in a lab with high purity ingredients like .... Out or Juggz Juice for example. You would be a fool to argue that flavorings are more dangerous than the polonium 210 found in cigarettes. Just one exposure takes roughly 691 days to leave the body completely. Any day without radioactive polonium is a good day indeed.
Michael Eastman
Undergraduate
Letter: “Trix are for kids and e-cigs are for adults” | ASU News | The State Press | Arizona State University
Original 1400+
Guest Post By Michael Eastman: Vaping, Disclaimers, And Youth | John Castle
Write to the editors instead of commenting and complaining about these lopsided articles. It is our duty as people in the know to stop the spread of misinformation whenever possible. You too might get a chance to have your voice heard. Please excuse the mentions of companies in my article, I used them because they were a local example of people I know who don't make dodgy juice that these fear mongerers want people to believe everyone is consuming.
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