I found this blog post and was disturbed by the vast amount of misinformation in it:
E-cigarettes, Are They a Safe Alternative to Smoking? Target Tobacco Coalition
I wrote a reply, which is currently being held for moderation and may or may not be allowed to be seen.
My reply:
E-cigarettes, Are They a Safe Alternative to Smoking? Target Tobacco Coalition
I wrote a reply, which is currently being held for moderation and may or may not be allowed to be seen.
My reply:
I may have gone a bit overboard, and that may result in it not getting posted. Hopefully some of you can help me by commenting on the blog post in perhaps a bit more controlled of a manner than I did.If your claim that electronic cigarettes are part of some plan by the tobacco industry is based on the incorrect assertion on the Wikipedia page[1] that claims "The American Association of Public Health Physicians, a lobbying group for the tobacco industry,[citation needed]," then please note the "citation needed" part of that quote. You can go to the American Association of Public Health Physicians About page [2] and see that "Current major issues include tobacco control," indicating that they wish to control, rather than promote, the use of tobacco. I can't think where else you may have come up with the idea of the tobacco industry wanting electronic cigarettes to be sold or distributed. Please post a citation for your claim.
In the event that your claim is based on the position the American Association of Public Health Physicians has taken on electronic cigarettes, I find it difficult to see how "The time, energy and costs we have incurred in pursuit of the E-cigarette issue are all based on our perception that the requested reclassification could pave the way to a harm reduction initiative that, in turn, with FDA oversight, could result in rapid and substantial reductions in tobacco-related illness and death without increasing the numbers of teens initiating nicotine use"[3] could be taken as the electronic cigarettes somehow being useful to the tobacco industry. If anything, the harm that the electronic cigarette can do to the tobacco industry is substantial.
You also need to post citations to back up your claim that the tobacco industry and, by your reference, the electronic cigarette industry plan to "continue to addict people (children) to nicotine" since this presupposes that they have already done so.
As far as electronic cigarettes "being promoted as a safe alternative to smoking and as a harm-reduction method to help people cut down or quit" is concerned, you're right that electronic cigarettes are promoted in various ways by regulation-free vendors. This is an issue that needs to be addressed, and the electronic cigarette industry would welcome reasonable regulations to ensure that the manufacturers and vendors that produce the products are required to operate within certain standards. Even if you were to make the argument that there are vendors who obviously would not support such regulations, consider the fact that even vendors who may not agree with regulations could shield themselves from criticism or consequence simply by complying with them.
As far as neither of those claims having any studies to support them, you'll need to come up with citations. Plenty of studies have been done on the ingredients used in electronic cigarettes. You have but to do a search on propylene glycol[4], glycerin[5], nicotine[6], and flavoring[7][8] to find a wealth of information. Since the sheer volume of hits on such a search could be overwhelming to someone who hasn't researched the topic before, it might be gentler to find a collection of information someone else has already gathered. The president of National Vapers Club has a video[9] designed to educate legislators that may help you. Accompanying that video is a packet of information[10] from various sources that supports the statements made in the video. There is also an explanatory video[11] for the materials in the packet of information.
In addressing the excerpt you quoted, first of all I'd like to provide a link to the actual press release by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids[12] so that visitors can verify the information for themselves. This press release is yet another example of misinformation without citations. When discussing any topic that involves people's safety, providing citations is essential for establishing the truth. Now to take on the quoted section:
Paragraph one:
As far as electronic cigarettes posing "several serious potential risks to public health," this is hysterical supposition without basis in fact. The claim that "there is no credible scientific evidence that these products are safe for human consumption" can be disproven by simply doing a search on the ingredients used in electronic cigarettes as described above. The claim that "there is no credible scientific evidence" that "they are effective at helping smokers or other tobacco users quit" can be disproven by simply going to any electronic cigarette users gathering place like the E-Cigarette Forums[13] site, for instance and seeing for yourself how many of us have given up smoking cigarettes in favor of using electronic cigarettes. There are millions of us the world over, and the numbers are increasing all the time, as can be seen by watching the addition of new members in any of the electronic cigarette forums[14] the world over. Talk to us. As a rule we are all very excited about how easy quitting smoking was, how wonderful we feel, and how happy our doctors are with us. It's absolutely correct that currently there are no controls on the amount or potency of nicotine or other substances in electronic cigarettes. This is an issue that needs to be addressed, and I've covered that above. The FDA's laboratory analysis of electronic cigarette samples showing carcinogens and diethylene glycol is misleading. First of all, as seen in the video by the president of the National Vapers Club[9], the trace levels of carcinogens found are no higher than those in two slices of cheese, a liter of water, or the nicotine patch or nicotine gum (which are approved by the FDA). Second of all, as seen in the same video, 18 samples were tested and only one contained diethylene glycol at a level less than one percent. Many other independent tests have found no contamination at all. In other words, if a study found a certain bacteria in a sample of broccoli, claiming that all broccoli was contaminated based on that study would be equally as ridiculous as claiming that all electronic cigarettes contain diethylene glycol. Many of us create our own e-liquid to ensure that we know exactly what's in it.
Paragraph two:
The claim that "these products risk deterring current smokers from quitting by providing an alternative source of nicotine in places where smoking is not allowed" is laughable when you consider that the FDA-approved nicotine patch and nicotine gum do the same thing. The claim that smokers "should utilize approved smoking cessation medications and counseling rather than unapproved products" is dangerous advice since only about five percent of smokers who use these methods actually succeed. The success rate of electronic cigarettes, however, is incredible, but has yet to be officially measured. Once again, I recommend going to any of the electronic cigarette forums[13][14] to see more success stories than you can possibly read in a day, a week, or a month.
Paragraph three:
As far as electronic cigarettes having the potential to "serve as a pathway to nicotine addiction for children, leading them to smoke cigarettes and use other tobacco products," this is only true in cases where irresponsible adults allow children access to electronic cigarettes or encourage them to try them. That is no different from irresponsible adults allowing children access to alcohol, illegal street or prescription drugs, caffeine, or any number of other substances not considered safe for consumption by children. The item itself is not the issue - the irresponsible adults are the issue. The fact that electronic cigarette cartridges and e-liquids are marketed in "candy and fruit flavors including bubblegum, cookies and cream, and cola" does not mean they are targetting youths. Adults like those flavors, too. In fact, many alcoholic beverages and medicines come in similar flavors even though they are not for consumption by children. The fact that electronic cigarettes are marketed in shopping malls does not mean that children can purchase them any more than the fact that alcohol is marketed in grocery stores and minimarkets means children can purchase it. Also, the price that electronic cigarettes are sold for at mall kiosks is prohibitive in comparison to the price of a pack of regular cigarettes, which are available everywhere. Most teens don't have eighty to a hundred dollars to spend on a starter kit. I'm sure that anyone except irresponsible adults would agree that vendors who knowingly sell to minors should be punished, and that the sale of electronic cigarettes should be restricted to adults.
Your post above can have deadly consequences by possibly convincing unsuspecting visitors not to consider electronic cigarettes as an alternative to smoking cigarettes. Considering that your mission statement says you are "working to reduce the death and disease caused by tobacco use in Dolores and Montezuma Counties," I hope that you will do some research so that you can correct the above post and write factual posts on the topic of electronic cigarettes in future. I think once you do you'll find that we're actually all on the same side, and that electronic cigarettes are not the demons they've been made out to be.
[1] Electronic cigarette - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[2] Untitled Document
[3] Current Federal Tobacco Legislation S.625/H.R. 1180
[4] propylene glycol - Google Search
[5] glycerin - Google Search
[6] nicotine - Google Search
[7] flavoring - Google Search
[8] FEMA
[9] VapeTube.com - Vaporize Yourself - Legislator Educational Video on electronic cigarettes
[10] http:// vapersclub . com / legislaturepacket . html <---[remove spaces from this link to use]
[11] VapeTube.com - Vaporize Yourself - Legislator Education Packet Video
[12] Federal Court Deals Blow to Public Health in Ruling FDA Cannot Regulate E-Cigarettes As Drugs or Medical Devices (Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids)
[13] http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/
[14] electronic cigarette forums - Google Search
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Some of us don't check our blogs every day, though, so if the author is the same way, it's still possible our comments will go public. Sadly the only way to test whether we're being censored would be to send in a positive comment. 
