Should e-cigarettes be banned like smoking? (Philly)

[Coastal Cowboy]

Please post Tracy Kane's e-mail address, as I'd like to send her some of the scientific evidence on e-cigs that she obviously hasn't read or even heard about.

The last person to ask for objective information about smoking cessation is someone who is paid and instructed to promote FDA approved drugs as the only effective way to quit smoking.

It's probably not a good idea to post her email address in an open forum. That would likely result in her inbox getting slammed and her never even bothering to read your correspondence.

However, I will PM it to you.

 

[rothenbj]

Don't know what a longitudinal analysis is, but judging by her past statements, I'm voting for "blowing smoke"...

(Maybe longitudinal means "we couldn't get the results we were looking for, so we're not gonna tell you."

Edit: Here's the first definition that came up when I googled longitudinal analysis: "Longitudinal data analysis involves examining the progression of data over precisely measured units of time." So I guess she meant "There have been no long-term studies of ecig use yadda yadda..."

There's a reason there are few longitudinal analysis studies done on Pharma quit smoking products longer than a year. The results become abysmal.

 

[Crumpet]

To my amazement, Ms. Kane responded to my email. Here is the text of her response, followed by my reasoned, yet unequivocating reply:

Mr [redacted] - I appreciate your passion. I, too, am passionate but about helping people stop smoking - not transferring their nicotine addiction to a new drug delivery device. Plus, FDA-approved nicotine replacement therapies (which is what I recommended in the radio segment) have undergone rigorous testing and must meet quality control standards. They can be highly effective in helping a smoker achieve total abstinence when combined with a support program. On the other hand, longitudinal analysis found no difference in quit rates between e-cigarette users and nonusers.

E-cigarettes have yet to be proven safe or unsafe. On the other hand, smoking cessation has been proven safe and beneficial in numerous studies for decades.

Out of curiosity, do you sell electronic cigarettes?

Regards,
Tracy Kane

---

Ms. Kane:

No, I do not sell electronic cigarettes. I am a water resource policy analyst and consultant and do sports media and publishing as a side hobby.

I was able to quit a 35-year, two pack/day habit using e-cigs after trying and failing four times using the therapies you mentioned in the story (including support programs). I did so on the advice of my physician, who told me that they were worthy of my consideration and that more studies were showing their relative safety. My experience has been repeated numerous times.

I am not a fanatic. However, when professionals like yourself provide misleading or false information, I feel a duty to respond and that IS what you did in that story. PG is not "anti-freeze." That is its chemical cousin ethylene glycol, which is poisonous.

There is a growing body of clinical research from around the globe showing that e-cigarettes are much, much safer than smoking and are much more effective than the therapies you spoke of in the story. As a medical professional, you have a duty to know this. My family doctor knew it and he spends 12 hours a day seeing patients.

I don't think you provided the misleading information on purpose or as a result of some ulterior motive. I simply think you were misinformed and spoke from what you thought you knew. I will note however, that while I am not in the e-cig business, you do "sell" pharmaceuticals and cessation programs that compete with the method I used, and this may have introduced some bias in your thinking.

I urge you to do some additional research and approach this issue with an open mind.

I am a professional, too. My clients expect a certain level of service and I do them harm when I don't provide it.

Thanks for your response, and have a great weekend.

---

If she responds again, I'll post again.

If I wasn't married to a great guy I'd be all over you right now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Coastal Cowboy]

If I wasn't married to a great guy I'd be all over you right now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Awwww, shucks.

 

[Kurt]

IBCR, very glad you emailed Ms. Kane. If she responds, please do inform us. If she is trying to use the anti-freeze argument, after it was debunked soundly, and the FDA themseves are no longer using it, then she has an agenda. "Use the term anti-freeze, the idiots always buy it!"

ANYTHING that dissolves in water will lower its freezing point. Ionic, molecular, doesn't matter. PG is used in antifreeze to make it safer for pets to drink accidentally. All the glycols are sweet to the taste.

She should be very embarrassed by her statements. They are either ignorant in the extreme, or more than likely, fueled by the desperation of the NRT manufacturers. She also needs to be reminded at the 95% failure rate of NRTs. Making someone use them is to 95% accuracy making them continue smoking. Where is the health worries here? Oh, yeah, forgot, we can always just blame the weak smokers.

 

[Petrodus]

Mother's concerns regarding safety of 2nd hand vapor
Click Here

Image on this webpage Link


Images like this ... must really "tick-off" the ANTZ to no end

 

[AgentAnia]

It's clear that English is not the first language of the writer, but this sentence caught my fancy:

If you think it is really hard to quit smoking for you than why not you try Electronic Cigarette as an instead.

It makes me smile to think of my ecig as an "instead."

"Is that one of those fake cigarettes?"

ME: "No, it's my instead."

 

[Vocalek]

There actually is a brand named "Instead".

 

[Petrodus]

There actually is a brand named "Instead".

Click Here

 

[DC2]

I neglected to mention the Soterra decision which said that e-cigarettes weren't drugs or drug delivery devices and therefore could not be regulated using the same standards as the NRT's she touts. I also should have asked for a citation on the "longitudinal analyses" showing that quit rates were no higher for e-cig users than non-users. Does anyone know what she's referring to, or is she blowing smoke up my britches?

This is the Vickerman study that the ANTZ have been using lately...
Use of Electronic Cigarettes Among State To... [Nicotine Tob Res. 2013] - PubMed - NCBI

Here are some blog entries by Dr. Seigel regarding this study...
http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/05/anti-smoking-advocate-uses-bogus.html
http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/06/researcher-continues-to-use-bogus-data.html

 

[Petrodus]

This is the study that the ANTZ have been using lately...
Use of Electronic Cigarettes Among State To... [Nicotine Tob Res. 2013] - PubMed - NCBI

Quote from the Conclusion:
"This study offers a preliminary look at e-cigarette use among
state quitline callers and is perhaps the first to describe
e-cigarette use in a large group of tobacco users seeking treatment."

Seeking treatment ??!!

Screams dirty worthless smokers hooked on drugs
wishing to check themselves into a drug rehab center.

 

[AgentAnia]

There actually is a brand named "Instead".

Oh damn. Another potential witticism bites the dust... :sigh:

 

[AgentAnia]

Quote from the Conclusion:
"This study offers a preliminary look at e-cigarette use among
state quitline callers and is perhaps the first to describe
e-cigarette use in a large group of tobacco users seeking treatment."

Seeking treatment ??!!

Screams dirty worthless smokers hooked on drugs
wishing to check themselves into a drug rehab center.

Another good example of "sly innuendo." Which words are used can make a huge difference to the message. Let that be a lesson to all of us!