HEADS UP - NEWS - UPDATES! (When we know, you'll know!)

[kristin]

The anti-vaping syndicate continues to push the idea that nicotine CAUSES depression and anxiety, while downplaying the fact that people who ALREADY experience depression and anxiety are far more likely to "self-medicate" with a variety of substances.

Depression & anxiety symptoms linked to vaping nicotine and THC in teens and young adults

Research Highlights: A study of more than 2,500 people ages 13-24 found that nicotine-only vapers, THC-only vapers and dual vapers (of nicotine and THC) were more likely to report anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts when ...

newsroom.heart.org

 

[kristin]

Also youth use typically was reported separately--middle school (MS) and high school (HS)--using percentages, but by reporting 2022 "even once in the past 30 days" vaping rates as a combined "2.55 million" instead, they hide the fact that 3.3% MS and 14.2% HS vaping is LOWER than 5.2% MS and 17.2% HS student SMOKING rates in 2009.

Where's the Parade? - Tobacco Reporter

Record-low youth smoking rates get no respect.

tobaccoreporter.com

 

[kristin]

Must-read article by Jacob Grier:
"You might think that since e-cigarettes are so much safer than combustible cigarettes, that the standards for getting authorized by the FDA would be more attainable. You would be wrong. Because that would be a rational approach to public health."

 

[kristin]

NO "REVERSAL" in the decline of youth tobacco use.
(Now just 3.08 million out of 27.28 million.)

NO sign of "GATEWAY" to teen smoking.
(Now just 1 million out of 27.28 million.)

Teen vaping was a trend, NOT an "EPIDEMIC."
(Now just 2.55 million out of 27.28 million.)

 

[kristin]

Anecdote #13,509:

Donna is a grandmother who quit smoking after 40 years by switching to flavored vapor products. Non-tobacco flavors are now banned in her state, but she won't be defeated!

What's YOUR real story? Submit your testimonial today!

Go to: casaa.org/_testimonials

 

[kristin]

CASAA BLOG
Vaping testimonial #13,509. CASAA Live discusses AVM's recent Q&A w/ FDA's Brian King. Tobacco Control ignores low youth smoking. Flavor ban backfires for black community in MA. Supreme Court declines to hear LA flavor ban case & more!

Vaping Testimonial #13,509 and More! THR News

Vaping testimonial #13,509. CASAA Live discusses AVM's recent Q&A with FDA's Brian King. Flavor ban backfires in MA. Calls to Action & more!

casaa.org

 

[kristin]

CALL TO ACTION: NEW YORK!

Governor Kathy Hochuk is proposing to ban flavors even for the few, far safer tobacco and nicotine alternatives to smoking that are still legally available for sale in NY. This isn’t just a ban on menthol cigarettes! She's also proposing another tax hike!

New York - Stop a Flavor Ban and Tax!

Take action to keep a total flavor ban and outrageous tax on safer nicotine products out of New York's state budget!

casaa.org

 

[kristin]

Tobacco treatment specialist Jill Selzle said, "If someone is already using nicotine pouches and has been able to quit tobacco, I would suggest weaning off them with the goal of nicotine freedom entirely."

But what if that extremely low risk nicotine use actually helps them in some way and they don’t want “freedom” from it? What if “freedom” from nicotine would instead lead to behaviors that would be far more harmful to their health?

MLB players turning to nicotine pouches amid tobacco bans | FOX Sports

Players across MLB are ditching cans of chewing tobacco for nicotine pouches, which can be just as addictive but, they're hoping, less dangerous.

www.foxsports.com

 

[kristin]

According to the Wisconsin DHS, underage tobacco sales are "on the rise." Except overall tobacco use (including nicotine vaping) among middle and high school students is at record lows nationally. Maybe the anti-vaping syndicate was actually happy that Tobacco 21 expanded their "war" on nicotine–when it made millions of 18-20 year old adults suddenly "underage?"

Underage tobacco use is rising, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services

Underage tobacco sales are on the rise, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

www.news8000.com

 

[kristin]

The purchase of NJOY gives Altria entry to the tiny realm of vaping products granted FDA marketing permission in the United States. NJOY sells two of the seven vaping devices authorized by the FDA.

~Reporting by CASAA director Jim McDonald for Vaping360

Altria Dumps Share in Juul, Buys NJOY for $2.75 Billion

Altria has traded its share of Juul Labs for some intellectual property rights, and paid $2.75 billion to acquire e-cigarette company NJOY.

vaping360.com

 

[kristin]

"...tobacco companies intentionally add menthol to cigarettes and other tobacco products to make SMOKING easier to start and harder to quit."

And banning menthol and other flavored LOW RISK, SMOKE-FREE tobacco and nicotine products that are vastly safer alternatives to smoking addresses this...how?

New York State Department of Health Warns About Tobacco Industry's Tactics of Using Menthol Flavoring to Target and Addict Black & LGBTQIA+ Communities and Kids

 

[kristin]

After applauding the FDA for rejecting low risk vape products in "kid-friendly" flavors, Senator Dick Durbin criticizes Altria for buying into one of the very few vape products FDA has authorized--which is only available in the one flavor he hasn't complained is appealing to kids: tobacco.

 

[kristin]

HEADS UP ILLINOIS!

If you're trying to reduce smoking harms, you don't lie (ie. claiming vaping is a risk to bystanders) to take away important incentives for people who smoke to switch to far safer alternatives. Businesses should be able to choose!

Lawmaker pushes to ban e-cigarette use indoors

An Illinois state senator is calling for a ban on using e-cigarettes inside public places.State Sen. Julie Morrison(D-Lake Forest) introduced SB 1561.The measu

newschannel20.com

 

[kristin]

“Last year, while detailing our new era of nicotine and tobacco prohibition for Reason, I wrote that "there is a real risk that American tobacco policy will open a regressive new front in the war on drugs, just as the previous crackdown on psychoactive substances begins to wind down." By responding to the failures of its first-in-the-nation flavor prohibitions with a wish list for more police powers, this is the path Massachusetts appears poised to go down. States that wish to avoid making the same mistake should view Massachusetts as a warning, not a role model.”
~ Jacob Grier writing for Reason

Massachusetts' tobacco ban went as badly as you'd expect

 

[kristin]

Expert debunking of a paper claiming a “gateway effect” from e-cigarette use to combustible cigarette smoking:

"In conclusion, the analysis by Harrell et al. is flawed and does not provide convincing evidence for the gateway at the population level."

PubPeer - Impact of the e-cigarette era on cigarette smoking among you...

There are comments on PubPeer for publication: Impact of the e-cigarette era on cigarette smoking among youth in the United States: A population-level study (2022)

pubpeer.com

 

[kristin]

 

[kristin]

Don't miss CASAA Live TOMORROW at 4:30 PM Eastern/3:30 PM Central/1:30 PM Pacific!

 

[kristin]

️CASAA LIVE️

TODAY at 4:30 PM ET/1:30 PM PT, we have scientist and harm reduction advocate Annie Kleykamp showing us how to spot media (and sometimes researchers) misrepresenting studies as finding "causation" when they really only found "correlation."

Vaping Science: Correlation or Causation? with Annie Kleykamp

On this week's episode, we have special guest Annie Kleykamp, a scientist and harm reduction advocate committed to "removing the barriers that separate the p...

youtube.com

 

[kristin]

The Wall Street Journal inexplicably resurrects an unpublished paper that was already thoroughly debunked by Sinclair Davidson as very likely "based on a spurious regression." Put very simply, that means they created a misleading correlation between two unrelated things.


Debunk link: A Critique of ‘Can Anti-Vaping Policies Curb Drinking Externalities?: Evidence From E-Cigarette Taxation and Traffic Fatalities’

 

[kristin]

"Analysts say the strategy has backfired, because the surcharge discourages many tobacco users, especially those who are low-income, from buying health insurance at all."

“Tobacco users tend to have lower incomes, which is often a barrier to coverage,” said Barber, president-elect of the VPHA. “Charging them more to access the care they need…is harmful and inequitable."

More states should follow Governor Younkin’s example and eliminate this harmful practice!

Youngkin says he will sign legislation ending higher insurance premiums for tobacco users - Virginia Mercury

Supporters say the bill would save money for all Virginians with insurance and improve access to therapeutic support to quit the habit.

www.virginiamercury.com