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A following up on my post last month at
Allegheny County Health Dept and BOH scorn vapers and evidence, push vaping ban
The Allegheny County Board of Health held a public hearing today on its proposed workplace vaping ban. 15 people testified, including 8 opponents of the vaping ban, and 7 supporters (most of whom receive funding from Big Pharma, federal, state and/or local health agencies).
This morning's Post Gazette ran an article on the proposed ban and hearing at
E-cig ban on Allegheny County Health department radar
My testimony (only 3 minutes allowed) is below
Testimony to the Allegheny County Board of Health
Opposing Proposed vaping Ban in Workplaces and Public Places
August 15, 2016
I’m Bill Godshall, founder and executive director of Smokefree Pennsylvania, which has campaigned to sharply reduce cigarette smoking since 1990. For disclosure, neither Smokefree Pennsylvania nor I have ever received any funding from any tobacco, drug or vapor product company.
According to the scientific evidence, vapor products are at least 95% less harmful than cigarettes, have helped millions of smokers quit smoking, have NOT created nicotine dependence among nonsmokers, pose no harm to nonusers, and have denormalized smoking. Public Health England and the Royal College of Physicians have reported the same scientific findings, and last month Public Health England issued a Guidance urging employers to allow indoor vaping, all of which were ignored by the BOH when it voted to propose the vaping ban.
As vaping has increased, US adult smoking rates have declined from 20% to 15%, and US teen smoking rates have plummeted from 18% to below 10%. The most recent US survey found 7.4 million smokers quit smoking by switching to vaping.
Many employers have found that allowing workers to vape at their workplace has helped many employees quit smoking, increased productivity, eliminated smoke breaks, protected vapers from 2nd hand smoke exposure, reduced absenteeism and healthcare costs.
In sharp contrast, banning vaping in workplaces demonizes vaping, stigmatizes vapers, forces vapers to be exposed to 2nd hand smoke, encourages vapers to relapse to cigarettes, discourages smokers from switching to vaping, deceives the public to believe vaping is as harmful as smoking, and exposes far more youth to far more vapers and vaping.
Since the Board of Health first proposed banning vaping in workplaces in May, I’ve sent hundreds of studies, reports and other documents to Karen Hacker and Abby Wilson delineating how vaping has dramatically improved public health.
Unfortunately, the Health Department responded by doubling and tripling down on its false and misleading fear mongering claims about vaping on its website and at the July BOH meeting, where a Big Pharma funded ALA lobbyist was reading from the regulation that was leaked to her by someone at ACHD or the BOH. In today’s Post Gazette, Dr. Hacker was quoted as falsely claiming vaping “normalizes” smoking, falsely claiming vaping aerosol harms vapers and bystanders, and falsely insinuating that vapor products are gateways to cigarettes for youth.
Smokers and vapers have a human right to truthful information about vapor products, and public health agencies have an ethical duty to truthfully inform.
The proposed vaping ban imposes far more punitive penalties for violators than the PA Clean Indoor Air Act allows for violators of the state’s smoking ban, and it also appears to be preempted by state law.
For these reasons, Smokefree Pennsylvania urges the Health Dept to stop lying about lifesaving vapor products, and urges the BOH to protect public health instead of Big Pharma and the cigarette industry by rejecting its proposed vaping ban.
Allegheny County Health Dept and BOH scorn vapers and evidence, push vaping ban
The Allegheny County Board of Health held a public hearing today on its proposed workplace vaping ban. 15 people testified, including 8 opponents of the vaping ban, and 7 supporters (most of whom receive funding from Big Pharma, federal, state and/or local health agencies).
This morning's Post Gazette ran an article on the proposed ban and hearing at
E-cig ban on Allegheny County Health department radar
My testimony (only 3 minutes allowed) is below
Testimony to the Allegheny County Board of Health
Opposing Proposed vaping Ban in Workplaces and Public Places
August 15, 2016
I’m Bill Godshall, founder and executive director of Smokefree Pennsylvania, which has campaigned to sharply reduce cigarette smoking since 1990. For disclosure, neither Smokefree Pennsylvania nor I have ever received any funding from any tobacco, drug or vapor product company.
According to the scientific evidence, vapor products are at least 95% less harmful than cigarettes, have helped millions of smokers quit smoking, have NOT created nicotine dependence among nonsmokers, pose no harm to nonusers, and have denormalized smoking. Public Health England and the Royal College of Physicians have reported the same scientific findings, and last month Public Health England issued a Guidance urging employers to allow indoor vaping, all of which were ignored by the BOH when it voted to propose the vaping ban.
As vaping has increased, US adult smoking rates have declined from 20% to 15%, and US teen smoking rates have plummeted from 18% to below 10%. The most recent US survey found 7.4 million smokers quit smoking by switching to vaping.
Many employers have found that allowing workers to vape at their workplace has helped many employees quit smoking, increased productivity, eliminated smoke breaks, protected vapers from 2nd hand smoke exposure, reduced absenteeism and healthcare costs.
In sharp contrast, banning vaping in workplaces demonizes vaping, stigmatizes vapers, forces vapers to be exposed to 2nd hand smoke, encourages vapers to relapse to cigarettes, discourages smokers from switching to vaping, deceives the public to believe vaping is as harmful as smoking, and exposes far more youth to far more vapers and vaping.
Since the Board of Health first proposed banning vaping in workplaces in May, I’ve sent hundreds of studies, reports and other documents to Karen Hacker and Abby Wilson delineating how vaping has dramatically improved public health.
Unfortunately, the Health Department responded by doubling and tripling down on its false and misleading fear mongering claims about vaping on its website and at the July BOH meeting, where a Big Pharma funded ALA lobbyist was reading from the regulation that was leaked to her by someone at ACHD or the BOH. In today’s Post Gazette, Dr. Hacker was quoted as falsely claiming vaping “normalizes” smoking, falsely claiming vaping aerosol harms vapers and bystanders, and falsely insinuating that vapor products are gateways to cigarettes for youth.
Smokers and vapers have a human right to truthful information about vapor products, and public health agencies have an ethical duty to truthfully inform.
The proposed vaping ban imposes far more punitive penalties for violators than the PA Clean Indoor Air Act allows for violators of the state’s smoking ban, and it also appears to be preempted by state law.
For these reasons, Smokefree Pennsylvania urges the Health Dept to stop lying about lifesaving vapor products, and urges the BOH to protect public health instead of Big Pharma and the cigarette industry by rejecting its proposed vaping ban.
