Here's my analysis of SF DPH's CurbIt campaign. Feel free to use or cite without credit.
SF DPH lies about e-cigs
San Francisco Dept of Public Health launches campaign of lies about e-cigs to demonize, scare and lobby for more unwarranted vapor product regulations that protect cigarettes from market competition, encourage vapers to switch back to lethal cigarettes, discourage smokers from switching to far less hazardous vaping, and keep nonsmokers involuntarily exposed to 2nd hand smoke. CurbIt campaign tries to kick smokers and vapers to the curb.
#CurbIt Campaign | San Francisco Tobacco-Free
“SF DPH Lies and Deceptions” vs The Truth about e-cigarettes
“We know e-cigarettes are harmful, just like cigarettes” and “are harmful”
- Cigarettes kill an estimated 480,000 Americans annually.
- There is no evidence e-cigs have ever caused any disease in any human.
- Existing evidence indicates e-cigs are 99% (+/-1%) less hazardous than cigarettes.
- E-cigs have helped more than a million smokers quit and several million others sharply reduce their cigarette consumption.
- SF DPH is unethically lying to the public, immorally protecting cigarette markets, and is committing public health malpractice by threatening the lives of vapers, smokers and 2nd hand smokers
“Flavored e-cigarettes hook teens on nicotine”
- There is no evidence that any nonsmoker has become a daily nicotine vaper.;
- The vast majority of teen vapers are smokers or ex-smokers who switched to vaping.
- Nicotine-free e-cigs are used by most nonsmokers who experiment with vaping.
“This year, 263,000 teens have used e-cigarettes but have never smoked”
- Referenced CDC 2013 NYTS found “ever smoker” teens were 22 and 23 times more likely than “never smoker” teens to report “ever use” and “past-30-day-use” of an e-cig.
- CDC’s 2013 NYTS found .9% of “never smoker” teens reported “ever use” of an e-cig.
- CDC’s press release headline falsely reported “ever use” as “used e-cigarettes in 2013”.
- Nicotine-free e-cigs are used by most nonsmokers who experiment with vaping.
“E-cigarettes are not regulated”
- SF banned vaping everywhere smoking is banned despite no evidence e-cigs pose risks.
- CA and SF have enacted laws banning sales of nicotine e-cigs to minors.
- Sales bans to minors are the only regulations that are warranted for nicotine e-cigs.
“E-cigarettes . . . contain tobacco related carcinogens, toxic chemicals, and heavy metals” and “toxic & cancer-causing metals & chemicals”
- E-cigs contain similar trace levels of carcinogens as nicotine gums and patches.
- Only nontoxic trace levels of so-called toxic chemicals and heavy metals have been found in e-cig liquid and aerosol.
- There is no evidence that metals or chemicals in e-cigs have caused any human cancer.
- A cup of coffee emits more carcinogens, toxic chemicals & heavy metals than an e-cig.
“E-cigarettes also contain highly addictive nicotine”
- There is no evidence that any nonsmoker has ever become a daily nicotine vaper.
- Many vapor products are nicotine-free.
- Vapers have lower plasma cotinine levels than smokers.
- Most vapers reduce their nicotine consumption over time.
- Many smokers who switched to vaping quit vaping nicotine, and many quit vaping.
“E-cigarettes . . . . are heavily marketed to youth using sweet flavors”
- There is no evidence that nicotine e-cigs have ever been marketed to youth.
- Adult cigarette smokers and exsmokers consume >99% of nicotine e-cigs.
- CA and SF laws already ban sales of nicotine e-cigs to minors.
“E-cigarettes emit a pollution cloud that contains hazardous materials, presenting a potential danger to the public” and “secondhand harm to others”
- There is no evidence that e-cigarette aerosol poses any harm or risk to the public.
- Constituents in e-cig aerosol are below levels emitted indoors by exhaling smokers, smoker’s clothing and hair, cooking, carpeting, printers, cleaning products, dry cleaned clothes, hair sprays, perfume, nail polish, a cup of coffee, and even air fresheners.
- Constituents in e-cig aerosol are well below OSHA standards, and exponentially lower than those in secondhand smoke
“#EcigAreCigs”
- E-cigarettes (aka vapor products) are NOT cigarettes.
“E-cigarettes are just the latest gimmick from #BigTobacco to hook a new generation on their products”
- Vapor products were marketed to smokers for nearly a decade before any tobacco company began marketing cigalike e-cigs.
- More than 99% of e-cig companies and >99% of e-cig products compete against cigarette companies for smokers.
- E-cigs have replaced more than 3 billion packs of cigarettes worldwide since 2008.
- There is no evidence that nicotine e-cigs create daily dependence in nonsmokers.
“The majority of e-cigarette brands are owned by tobacco companies”
- Tobacco companies own <1% of e-cigarette brands now on the market.
“San Francisco isn’t fooled by e-cigarettes, Big Tobacco”
- The SF DPH has been deceiving the public about e-cigs since Obama’s FDA unlawfully banned and lied about the products in 2009.
- SF DPH is protecting Big Tobacco’s cigarettes from competition by lifesaving e-cigs.
Gee they have an FB page I can trash? That sounds interesting! Have a number of fast links where bloggers expose the BS at this point to keep tossing at them as well as those other links.
