Prohibitionist CASA Columbia falsely claims e-cigarettes target marketed to children (NY Times letter).

[Bill Godshall]

Abstinence-only prohibitionist CASA Columbia outrageously claims e-cigarettes are target marketed to youth, despite no evidence that any nonsmoker (or any child) has ever become addicted to nicotine via e-cigarettes.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/18/opinion/e-cigarettes-and-children.html?

This appeared as a letter in today's NY Times (in response to last week's rather objective article on e-cigs).

Please note that CASA was started and run by former HEW (now DHHS) Secretary Joseph Califano, a long time abstinence-only drug prohibitionist (including for tobacco) who has been at Columbia University for several decades.

Joe Califano used be on my e-mail list (and he congratulated me when I convinced Mike Enzi to require color warnings on all cigarette packs), but last year he told me to stop sending him e-mails (because he staunchly opposes e-cigarettes).

The American Legacy Foundation's Cheryl Healton (who urged FDA to ban e-cigs in 2009, and who has urged FDA to regulated (i.e. ban) them as a tobacco product) worked for Joe Califano at CASA and Columbia University before she took over Legacy.

Everybody who I know at CASA opposes tobacco harm reduction products because Califano opposes them (and he sets CASA policy and pays their salaries).

 

[Talyon]

Wow what a load of monkey dung, jee whiz.....

 

[Bill Godshall]

ACSH: Deceptive letter day at the New York Times
Deceptive letter day at the New York Times - Health & Science Dispatch | Health & Science Dispatch

Not to be outdone, the Chairman of the Board of CASAColumbia (a center specializing in research into addiction and substance abuse based at Columbia University), wrote in to express his concern about the likelihood (to his perspective) of e-cigarettes seducing, at the behest of course of Big Tobacco companies, youngsters into a lifetime of nicotine addiction. The writer (Jeffrey B. Lane by name) asserts — based on zero evidence — that e-cigs are “…Big Tobacco’s next cash cow…” and that flavorings of the product are clearly meant to attract children and could not possibly have a role in helping addicted adult smokers use the device to get off deadly cigarettes and their toxic, carcinogenic smoke. He wrote to criticize the excellent overview of e-cigs in The Times recently.

Again, Dr. Ross has little patience for such misleading sophistry: “To a hammer, everything looks like a nail. To an addiction specialist, I guess everything looks like a hook to trap the unwary. What Lane and his anti-harm reduction allies never, ever mention is the sad, inconvenient fact of 45 million addicted American smokers, of whom well over 400,000 will die prematurely due to their craving. Why? Because the substance they abuse, nicotine, is delivered in the most toxic product known to man, cigarettes. Electronic cigarettes deliver the nicotine safely, or almost so. Ignoring that fact to rail about baseless fears of kids getting hooked while consigning smokers to their doom with patches and gum that don’t work is not beneficial for public health. Mr. Lane should keep his mouth (or pen) shut when he avoids the facts about what he is supposedly an expert on.”

 

[SloHand]

Interesting that JEFFREY B. LANE (and the New York times) waited 4 days to publish his comments and in a place that no one can challenge him on it.

 

[Vocalek]

Check out Carl's blog post: CASAColumbia are liars | Anti-THR Lies and related topics

 

[mad maori]

yes- monkey dung would be an understatement!!!

 

[SloHand]

Good article Vocalek,

"An unsophisticated forecaster uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts - for support rather than for illumination. - Andrew Lang"