The Incidental Economist

[Orb Skewer]

JUNK BLOG ALERT !

theincidentaleconomist .
com/wordpress/
what-do-studies-say-about-electronic-cigarettes/

"My thoughts? If you’re looking for a means to help you quit, there’s a tiny bit of evidence that they might help, but that evidence favors placebo e-cigs about as much as tobacco e-cigs. There’s a bit of evidence that e-cigs are better than traditional cigarettes for lung function, although those studies are really small and transient. There’s also some tiny amount of evidence that e-cig smoke changes laboratory values less than the smoke of traditional cigarettes, although the clinical meaning of this is unclear. So it’s hard to get too excited about e-cigs."

Carl V Phillips (CASSA) has this goon on the ropes

Edited to add-unfortunately this is not a 'run of the mill blog'-it is actually taken seriously and carries weight, the Author has had peer reviewed papers published.

 

[AgentAnia]

Excellent comments and rebuttal replies to comments by Carl Phillips. Thanks for posting this.

 

[Orb Skewer]

Peg Stueber-now you want to be standing 'behind' her in a fight

 

[Bill Godshall]

Here's the comment I posted (which is awaiting approval/deletion by moderator)


Aaron,

Many surveys have been published (including in peer reviewed journals) finding that many smokers have quit smoking and/or sharply reduced their cigarette consumption by switching to e-cigarettes.

A Gallup Poll just found that 48% of former smokers in US reported quitting “cold turkey”, 5% with nicotine patch, 3% with e-cigarettes, 2% with prescription drugs, 1% with nicotine gum.
Most U.S. Smokers Want to Quit, Have Tried Multiple Times
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/04/quit-smoking-cigarettes_n_3684381.html

Please note that most former smokers quit smoking >25 years ago, that FDA approved “tobacco dependence” treatments have been marketed by drug companies, promoted by health agencies and industry funded anti-tobacco/medical/health groups, and subsidized by taxpayers and insurance policy holders for decades (Nicorette gum - 1984, Wellbutrin - 1986, Nicoderm/Habitrol patches - 1992, Chantix - 2006).

In sharp contrast, newer e-cigarettes (2006) have been lied about and demonized by many health agencies (i.e. FDA, CDC, WHO, state/local health departments) and many drug industry funded anti-tobacco, medical and health groups (i.e. CTFK, ACS, AHA, ALA, AAP, AMA, ATTUD, Legacy, ASH, Mayo) and researchers.

In 2009, the FDA unlawfully banned e-cigarette imports, and US Customs agents seized nearly 1,000 shipments at US Ports before all 13 federal judges adjudicating litigation filed by two e-cig companies struck down FDA's ban.

Furthermore, the use of e-cigarettes has been banned in public places and workplaces by extremist state/local governments and employers.

I noticed that you are a pediatrician, and wanted to inform you that during the past decade the American Academy of Pediatrics has made many misleading fear mongering claims about e-cigarettes, dissolvables, snus and other exponentially less hazardous smokefree alternatives for smokers, and that AAP has refused to ethically disclose that it has received millions of dollars from competitor drug companies that market less than effective NRT products (that have a 5% success rate for smoking cessation) and less than safe Wellbutrin and Chantix.

More than 99% of all tobacco attributable disease, disability and death in the US is caused by daily inhalation of tobacco smoke. In contrast, the daily consumption of smokefree tobacco/nicotine products pose negligible if any increased disease risks.

The growing mountain of scientific and empirical evidence indicate that e-cigarettes:
- are 99% (+/-1%) less hazardous than cigarettes,
- pose no risks to nonusers,
- are virtually all consumed by smokers (or by smokers who became vapers),
- have helped several million smokers quit or significantly reduce cigarette consumption, and
- have never been known to addict a nonsmoker to nicotine.

For nearly three decades I've successfully campaigned to ban smoking in workplaces, sharply reduce tobacco marketing to youth, hold cigarette companies accountable in civil courts, increase cigarette taxes, and help smokers quit smoking.

E-cigarettes are the most effective products ever invented/marketed to help smokers quit smoking and/or to sharply reduce their cigarette consumption.

I'm confident that history will judge e-cigarettes to be as beneficial for public health as childhood vaccines, antibiotics, condoms, pasteurization, and sewage/water treatment.

Bill Godshall
Executive Director
Smokefree Pennsylvania
1926 Monongahela Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15218
412-351-5880
smokefree@compuserve.com

 

[AgentAnia]

Excellent summing up. But this:

I'm confident that history will judge e-cigarettes to be as beneficial for public health as childhood vaccines, antibiotics, condoms, pasteurization, and sewage/water treatment.

is awesome! Am making this the first entry in my E-Cig Quotable Quotes file!

 

[alexrho]

Excellent comments gratzz

 

[2coils]

These ANTI's are tuff. They will go to the grave denying that e-cigs are a safer alternative. They demand evidence.....evidence is presented! They then try to rip apart the studies, as if they were done by children. Qualified individuals are starting to speak up. Njoy's Board now seats a Former Surgeon General. It just keeps getting worse and worse for them, and they still keep coming! This blog is ridicules IMHO. They cant possibly believe they can make a valid point by discrediting the studies presented. Furthermore, they will not recognize the testimonials of users, and even put up this editors note>>>>> Just so you’re aware, comments conveying anecdotal stories or arguing that anecdotes matter here will not be approved. So the science gets discredited and one cant take the word of the users. Its absurd!

 

[Petrodus]

The ANTZ agenda is very simple
Erase even the memory of smoking and nicotine from the face of the planet.
With that in mind ...
Everything they do and say ... falls into place.

 

[rothenbj]

These ANTI's are tuff. They will go to the grave denying that e-cigs are a safer alternative. They demand evidence.....evidence is presented! They then try to rip apart the studies, as if they were done by children. Qualified individuals are starting to speak up. Njoy's Board now seats a Former Surgeon General. It just keeps getting worse and worse for them, and they still keep coming! This blog is ridicules IMHO. They cant possibly believe they can make a valid point by discrediting the studies presented. Furthermore, they will not recognize the testimonials of users, and even put up this editors note>>>>> Just so you’re aware, comments conveying anecdotal stories or arguing that anecdotes matter here will not be approved. So the science gets discredited and one cant take the word of the users. Its absurd!

They did let one anecdotal comment through which I replied to since my story was nearly identical. Of course I had to mention that my comment was anecdotal, just because they said they wouldn't accept them in comments.

 

[MonkInsane]

Well at least the info on the studies are accurate, despite Aarons thoughts on them, hopefully people will come to their own conclusions if they take the time to read the studies.

While he plays down E-Cigs, the article is not definitively negative, a hellova lot better than some of the other junk articles I've read. So maybe the goal here should be to win him over, since, judging from his article - he seems to be leaning towards supporting E-Cigs. Maybe he just needs a little push.

 

[Spazmelda]

Would it be appropriate to comment with the question, "why exactly haven't there been more studies?" This is a question that begs to be asked, IMO. You would think that with all the anecdotal evidence and knowing what is in an electronic cigarette compared to a traditional cigarette, that health researchers and government health agencies would be falling all over themselves throwing research dollars to study these things and determine if, indeed, they are a safer and viable option for smokers. They are not, and the few studies we do see from these researchers start out with the assumption that electronic cigarettes are harmful. They make the data fit this assumption no matter what it actually says.

I know that we can't research every crazy health claim that comes along, but electronic cigarettes logically make sense, anecdotal evidence overflows, they have been around for a while now, and sales are exponential. Any agency truly concerned with public health should want to assess them and make recommendations for how to make them safer and more effective, not search for reasons to ban them.

 

[MonkInsane]

Would it be appropriate to comment with the question, "why exactly haven't there been more studies?" This is a question that begs to be asked, IMO. You would think that with all the anecdotal evidence and knowing what is in an electronic cigarette compared to a traditional cigarette, that health researchers and government health agencies would be falling all over themselves throwing research dollars to study these things and determine if, indeed, they are a safer and viable option for smokers. They are not, and the few studies we do see from these researchers starts out with the assumption that electronic cigarettes are harmful. They make the data fit this assumption no matter what it actually says.

I know that we can't research every crazy health claim that comes along, but electronic cigarettes logically make sense, anecdotal evidence overflows, they have been around for a while now, and sales are exponential. Any agency truly concerned with public health should want to assess them and make recommendations for how to make them safer and more effective, not search for reasons to ban them.

It all comes down to money. If ecigs take off, the government income from tobacco taxes will drop. Simple. That is why there is pretty much a global resistance against ecigs at governmental level.

Sent from my HTC Desire S using Tapatalk 2

 

[Spazmelda]

It all comes down to money. If ecigs take off, the government income from tobacco taxes will drop. Simple. That is why there is pretty much a global resistance against ecigs at governmental level.

Sent from my HTC Desire S using Tapatalk 2

Oh, I know that's one of the reasons, for sure, lol. I'm just wondering if that would be an appropriate comment for this blog. I don't want to sound like a conspiracy theorist. I'm not, at all.

 

[rothenbj]

It all comes down to money. If ecigs take off, the government income from tobacco taxes will drop. Simple. That is why there is pretty much a global resistance against ecigs at governmental level.

Sent from my HTC Desire S using Tapatalk 2

Not only will there be a reduction in taxes collected at all levels of government, but also people will live longer, incur additional medical expenses (particularly for Medicare), put further stress on retirement plans (Company as well as SS) and place increased demand on the world food supply. Other ancillary damage comes in lost profits for the Pharma industry not only in lost revenue from useless stop smoking products, but all the products required to treat smoking related illnesses. This leads to less money being spread around to support all the ?non-profit?"health" associations who spew out the Quit or Die message and the medical research industry that turns out the junk science that supports the ANTZ propaganda.

After considering all of the above it's easy to see how dangerous E Cigs and other reduced harm products really are. Doesn't anyone understand the Law of the Jungle and how it applies to civilized society? They've used their propaganda and taxes to drive over 20% of the population away from being the weakest links to ultimately become a strain on the entire "ecosystem". Light 'em if you got 'em.

 

[MonkInsane]

Exactly! Only it is part of a much bigger covert plan that all ties into protecting corporate interests(money & agendas) to fuel the drive for globalization. Very small piece of a much bigger problem. We are being slowly manipulatedinto a global Faccist Dictatorhip run by corporations operating behind the scenes. As paranoid as it sounds(Yeah, I realize I must come accross as a bit of a loon at this point), I truly believe it is what is happening.

Watch this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQRJ5Mb3GDE#at=2237

Was an eye-opener for me. Keep in mind this was recorded July 6th 2008, then look at what is has happened since then and what is happening now.