This is where legislation that negatively affects vaping begins...

[voiceinthecosmos]

The American Lung Association is a powerful organization, and they are working very hard to discredit vaping in the eyes of the public. This is one such post on their facebook page:

Disappointed in... | Facebook

While vapers are posting on their page to counteract this post's effectiveness, many of them are not really helping the situation due to the manner of their word choices. Now, don't get me wrong, there are also posts that are quite helpful. However, we all need to be aware that public opinion is formed through information gleaned from respected sources, and the American Lung Association has historically been quite the respected source.

Educate yourself on the negative information, and work to change the opinions formed as a result.

Here is the ALA's facebook wall page:

American Lung Association - Financial aid - Washington, DC - Wall | Facebook


I know that many vapers do not wish to become involved, but if we don't, it will not be long before we are no longer able to vape.

 

[TennDave]

I like what you have to say and Facebook for sure will get the public's attention- probably more so than news articles. Just about everyone is on Facebook. The problem is the Facebook police who I'm not very fond of. If a squabble begins on FB over this issue, members will get banned from FB. The use of eloquent language is key. I had a friend on FB who tried to be-friend another person who was also part of our sub-group there (closed group) and that person complained and she was censored and received a notice that she cannot attempt to be-friend anyone for 14 days. Apparently a "complaint" to the FB police is enough to cause some type of action. Free speech is apparently not supported there. On the other hand, sending a "complaint" about incorrect information that the ALA is propagating could cause them to get their knuckles thumped so turn around might be fair play. I'm just saying that a "war" type scenario on FB won't be tolerated by the FB police and folks who are on there for other reasons too might feel some type of sanction.

Btw, I clicked on your link and at least clicked on "like" for the great pieces that were written about e-cigs!!

 

[Outre]

I like what you have to say and Facebook for sure will get the public's attention- probably more so than news articles. Just about everyone is on Facebook. The problem is the Facebook police who I'm not very fond of. If a squabble begins on FB over this issue, members will get banned from FB. The use of eloquent language is key.

This is true, the use of eloquent language and not getting overly personal on there with people you don't know. Discuss the ISSUE, don't attack people and you'll be safe from their censors.

I had a friend on FB who tried to be-friend another person who was also part of our sub-group there (closed group) and that person complained and she was censored and received a notice that she cannot attempt to be-friend anyone for 14 days.

Facebook is rather "odd" about "friending". Apparently they're fervent wish is for you to only "friend" people you already know so their data metrics make sense/are more valuable when they sell them.

Just remember that the product that Facebook sells is the user's presence. THAT is what they get companies to pony up for.

At any rate, the CORRECT way to go about "friending" people on Facebook differs greatly than in a forum. Public announcements in private groups that you are open to Friending are more what is likely to gain you friends. You can, of course, fill out your Profile enough that people know if you are a "fit" for them, or not.

Otherwise send a Message, if the person allows it, and ask if they are open to Friend Requests. Just that, nothing else.

If, when someone gets a "Friend Request" they Ignore it they are asked if they know the person whose Request they Ignored. If they click "No" I suspect that it sends a spam flag to Facebook and the person may have their account flagged as potentially abusive. If the person made multiple requests at one time and many people flagged the Request as spam, then they might have their ability to "Friend" restricted.

Apparently a "complaint" to the FB police is enough to cause some type of action. Free speech is apparently not supported there.

That's simply not true. When the NY Petco fiasco happened I was all over their Facebook and corporate page giving them hell for being so callous. I was not suspended from posting or from Facebook, although Petco kept trying to delete out comments, lol.

On the other hand, sending a "complaint" about incorrect information that the ALA is propagating could cause them to get their knuckles thumped so turn around might be fair play.

Not really. Facebook simply does not care about that. In fact, since they (ALA) are larger than the individual vaper, Facebook may take a dim view of people flooding them with complaints in the form of Report This Page. I wouldn't recommend it.

I'm just saying that a "war" type scenario on FB won't be tolerated by the FB police and folks who are on there for other reasons too might feel some type of sanction.

Exactly. Facebook is after big money. ALA is Big Money. If you make Big Money too uncomfortable, or attack the people who support the ALA, then Facebook may unleash sanctions in the form of restricted accounts and bans. They're not police in the sense of censorship. Facebook is a business, not a free speech forum. Since they are a business they've very right to moderate as they see fit.

Not that I like Facebook all that much and I have very little respect for Zuckerberg (did you know they formed a political lobby against strengthening online privacy rights, and there are rumors he may run for office?), but I am a business owner and can respect that aspect of what they're doing.

 

[TennDave]

Hey Outre- thanks for your long post and for clearing up my misunderstanding of how Facebook works. My friend who was censored was trying to friend someone who had a mutual friend in common so this was very strange. Anyway, I was busy over on FB reading all of the e-cig support entries. It is amazing that no one, and I mean no one I could tell was for the ALA's suggestion to write groupon to tell them to not give coupons for e-cigs! LOL

One thing I noticed about the ALA is on their profile page, they support other gov. organizations- one being the CDC and on the CDC page, I found a link to none other but this! Health Issues > ACSH a site I was not familiar with...then got busy reading up on their tobacco page- great stuff! Do you know if the ACSH is listed on the ECF somewhere already??

 

[TennDave]

By the way- I posted this elsewhere but seems brand new:
Journal of Medical Case Reports | Abstract | Successful smoking cessation with electronic cigarettes in smokers with a documented history of recurring relapses: a case series