Godshall quoted & Polosa's Study Cited in Daily Mirror

[Vocalek]

If you’re a smoker who’s broken many .a new year resolution to quit, you might want to increase your chances this year by trying .an e-cigarette.

This is a new approach, pioneered by researchers at the University of Catania in Italy, to help those struggling to kick the habit.

For their tests they recruited 40 hardened smokers who weren’t even interested in quitting. The smokers were given a simple gadget already available in stores to help them stop.

[SNIP]

William T Godshall, the prominent executive director of Smokefree Pennsylvania, US, believes that e-cigarettes are close to being harmless. He says on a harmfulness scale of one to 100 – with gum, lozenges and patches at one and cigarettes at 100 – e-cigarettes are no higher than two.

Read more: Smoke, don't choke - mirror.co.uk
​

 

[Tom09]

Great article. Also, note that the author is not just another journalist. Appears that Miriam Stoppard is a professional health expert and public figure.

And to quote Dr. Miriam Stoppard from her recent Mirror column:

Stopping smoking has, for years, relied on “abstinence only” approaches.
In other words nothing but giving up completely will do, .or can work.
A more modern approach encompasses “harm reduction” and it’s the approach I advocate because it’s more humane and has a place in the real world.
Pharmacologically speaking, nicotine itself isn’t especially harmful, and if it could be available in a form that is acceptable and effective as a cigarette substitute, millions of lives could be saved.

 

[wfx]

nice work. thanks bill.

 

[Lydia]

nice work. thanks bill.

Yes, I agree.

 

[Tom09]

Following up on Stoppard’s Mirror column, another notable UK news outlet (The Independent) has picked up today on the “e-cig controversy”. The latter article is journalistic and tries to “balance both sides”. Nonetheless, the headline reads positive (A safer way to puff), Polosa is cited in body, and concluding paragraph is in favour of harm reduction.

 

[Ande]

Miriam Stoppard is an MD, I think. I've read her work in another area (birthing) and been moderately impressed. (Still a little doctor-focused for my liking, but in favor of educating women to have choices in birth.)

Nice to see her hand in this.

Best,
Ande

 

[rolygate]

Yes, she is a 'name'. Lots of positive stuff coming out now. The propaganda merchants are taking a beating, at last.

 

[Bill Godshall]

Dr. Stoppard (who thinks I'm prominent) repeated comments I made in John Tierney's article in the NY Times two months ago.

 

[Ande]

We all think you're prominent, Bill.

And we welcome it. Somebody who doesn't want smokers to die gaining visibility is a bit of a novelty still.

Best,
Ande