Advocacy

With the “Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act”, Democrats want to kill the American vaping industry for good…

A man, in a position of power, and a track record of investing his money in Big Tobacco wants to rid America of vaping. He says he’s doing it for the kids but that’s not really true. If he were, then he’d dedicate his time to more pressing matters – things like opioid abuse and obesity.

Like the sun, these problems are too big, too difficult to look at straight-on. They require more thought, more money. Picking a fight with the largely independent vape industry is easier. And that’s what he does – he sponsors a bill that will effectively kill the American Vape Market.

Meet The “Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act”

Reps. Frank Pallone of New Jersey and Donna Shalala of Florida, Democrats, introduced this bill to the house on Tuesday, April 15.

If passed, this bill would effectively destroy the US vape industry overnight, killing thousands of businesses and costing thousands of jobs across the country.

So what’s the bill all about? Here’s a break-down of what’s being proposed:

• Prohibit all “characterizing flavors” except tobacco unless they are specifically approved by the FDA
• Prohibit online sales
• Gives FDA authority to collect $100 million in user fees from the vaping industry
• Prohibits sales to anyone under 21
• Orders FDA to issue a rule on the regulation of products using synthetic nicotine
• Extends all FDA rules on sales and marketing of cigarettes to vaping products, including advertising rules

Friends of Big Tobacco

What’s ironic about this entire fiasco, and why I used the phrase “virtue signaling” in the title, is that the bill’s sponsor, Pallone, had over $15,000 of his own money tied up in Big Tobacco shares. And to me, that just typifies everything that is wrong with politicians right now.

They don’t care. How can you say you care and then have vested interests in companies that have, collectively, killed hundreds of thousands of Americans over the years?

Not only that, but then have the audacity to propose a bill that would destroy a technology that has helped more people quit smoking, and stay quit, than anything else in history? How? Big Pharma couldn’t solve smoking, and neither could government initiatives.

Collectively, the US Government and Big Pharma have wasted billions on anti-smoking initiatives that DO NOT work. Whereas vaping, a technology that is 95% safer than smoking, has been shown to destroy smoking rates wherever it is present.

This is why the UK is now actively promoting vaping as the #1 method for getting off of cigarettes for good. The UK is even running campaigns about ecigs to dispel the lies and myths perpetrated by anti-tobacco/vaping zealots online and in the US.

But You Can STILL Buy Cigarettes…

And while all this nonsense is going on in the USA, you’re still free to buy cigarettes and tobacco. The ongoing flavor bans, which are sweeping the country, are yet another example of Big Brother getting it all wrong. Adults like flavors. They don’t taste like tobacco – and that’s a good thing.

Kids shouldn’t vape, obviously. They also shouldn’t drink alcohol and smoke weed, but many do. Banning an entire technology because of kids being kids is no different from banning cars because a few kids go joyriding every week somewhere in the US. It’s nuts, basically.

Using Emotive Language To Win Arguments

But what really irks me about this War on Vaping is the language used. They’re using children to push a political agenda. Not because they actually care about kids, but because they know that no one will dare argue with the implied logic – who wants to be seen as not caring about kids, after all?

At its core, it basically says that if you’re pro-vaping you somehow don’t care about child welfare. And in today’s PC Culture, being tarred with this brush is not something anyone in a position of power would want. It’s just too much heat. That’s why most just tow the line…

And this, my friends, is virtue signaling at its finest. Everybody towing the line, afraid to argue with the accepted logic that has been spewed down from god knows where, banning things for no good reason, other than some jumped-up BS about vaping rates amongst teenagers.

Interesting fact: more kids have smoked weed than tobacco in the US, did you know that? Crazy, right.

A few thousand people will read this post inside the next few days. Do me a favor: email or write to your state’s senator and tell them EXACTLY what you think about this bill. We have to come together to fight this virtue signaling PR machine. Only then will things change.

They have the mainstream media to do their bidding. They can push an idea, even a whole untrue one, into the minds of millions of people overnight – like the whole teen-age vaping epidemic. In order to stop them, you need to get active as well.

Get on the phone, email, write and attend calls to action in your area.

Follow CASAA for updates. And please, please, please take five minutes to call your state’s representative. They work for you remember!

Extremism has taken over public health and tobacco control groups. The exploitation of children to push agendas is completely unethical and has to stop. The War on Vaping just got a lot uglier. It’s TIME someone spoke up for the kids – because their parents seemingly won’t!

World War II (1939-45) was so long ago the men and women who fought and nursed and labored and survived will soon have all passed on.

Four generations have been born since then.

Many of whom have only known peacetime.

One of the first anti-smoking advertisements in New Zealand was printed in 1945.

You’d think Governments recovering from participating in WWII would have had more important things to do.

The End of One War & The Start of Another…

Perhaps it was an effort to signal a return to normal life?

Certainly, Government campaigns trying to direct our behaviors have become normal over the succeeding 73 years since that first ad.

America’s Long History of Being Completely Mental About Everything Goes Way Back…

We are bombarded with anti-fat, anti-alcohol, anti-sugar, sitting-is-the-new-smoking messages everywhere we go.

Thankfully, TV viewing has been transformed and we can now mute the ads, fast forward through them or abandon broadcast television altogether and just watch Netflix.

Anti-Smoking Campaigners Arrive On The Scene

Anti-smoking campaigning really took off after the publication of the US Surgeon General’s report in 1964.

The report presented convincing scientific evidence that smoking kills.

This was BIG news and coverage of the launch of the report appeared in newspapers and on people’s new black and white television sets around the world.

It’s hard to pinpoint the genesis of tobacco control as a sector, but this event was probably it.

The US Surgeon General, Dr. Luther Terry, dropped a bomb on smoking and with it began a new world war.

The World Conference on Tobacco Control

The term “war” should never be used lightly, but it was the language used by the tobacco control community who rallied and began the World Conference on Tobacco OR Health in 1967.

Held every four, and later three, years ever since, these meetings have been key for sharing war stories, tactical moves and for anointing heroes and revving up the troops.

Rarely, arguments broke out.

I remember one, the purpose of which was to exile a prominent member for traitorously working with a tobacco company in some way.

Using the language of war, in a time still shadowed by WWII, was very effective for whipping up panic, fear and of course funding.

This war mentality encouraged the now embedded us versus them, good versus evil paradigm that frames the tobacco industry as the enemy, smokers as hapless victims and public health as the saviours.

Media Fatigue Lead To More Dramatic Rhetoric

A huge problem arose for public health crusaders, however, when the media got sick of us bleating the same boring message on and on, decade after decade.

We call this media fatigue.

They wouldn’t cover our events or print our press releases unless there was something new, controversial or shocking in it.

Tobacco Free Kids Using Kids As Clickbait

All public health campaigns, about alcohol, fat, safe sex or smoking were being undermined by this.

To get airtime, we had to up the ante.

We had to stage dramatic protests. We had to create a fight.

We had to exaggerate the implications of our research, or at least let the media do that for us.

Breaking The Law To Change The Law

In the early 1980s, Dr. Arthur Chesterfield-Evans, a medical doctor and politician in Australia pioneered a new strategy for getting media attention when he graffitied billboards advertising cigarettes.

His BUGA-UP efforts involved him breaking the law to change the tag-lines on smoking ads to something more truthful.

This won him notoriety, and as he said: “It formed the extreme pole of anti-tobacco action, and so made all legal activities moderate by comparison.”

Tobacco Control Groups Using Kids Is Just… Awful

Skip forward 20 years and colleagues in New Zealand were using school kids to populate a street rally against smoking.

Another smoke-free advocate got school students to lie in body bags outside a tobacco factory.

Even with school children involved these stunts drew a disappointing amount of media attention.

The New Reefer Madness

As the years have marched on, tobacco control has become increasingly extreme, saying shocking things about people who smoke, pushing prices up to painful levels, demanding prohibition – anything the media will think is hard-hitting enough to report on.

Everything is a threat to the children these days. Just twist your message into a threat to the children and anyone who has had kids will have their protect-the-children instinct activated, and wallets will open.

To be fair, children have been exploited by marketers, the media and lobbyists forever.

It’s standard business practice, why shouldn’t public health do it too?

Has Tobacco Control Has Gone Too Far In Its War on Vaping?

No one in tobacco control thinks of the damage that might be done to the poster child de jour.

It’s probably time some guidelines were put in place to prohibit the use of children as mouthpieces for bizarre codswallop some wacko adults believe.

The case in point is a video from last week (6 Nov 18) showing a young girl reading out a list of totally fictional dangers of vaping, including that “vaping can lead to poor decisions such as going homeless, dropping out of school, child abuse…

Child abuse!? Whoa!

The video has gone viral.

The Facts

The girl has been made a laughing stock.

It’s uncomfortable to watch it, to see a child so obviously being exploited.

Dr. Carrie Wade, Director of Harm Reduction Policy at R Street Institute made some good points when she called for us to not retweet or spread the video even further.

As she said, it’s not the girl’s fault, it’s her parents and the organization (Children4Change) that deserve the anger and disgust we feel at what they’re making those kids do for them.

As Carrie said, “videos last forever.”

How is that girl going to feel when she’s older and can comprehend what her parents made her do, the reaction she sparked, and the negative consequences for smokers and vapers?

Extremism Has Taken Over Public Health

This incident is an exemplar of the extremism that has taken over public health.

Anything goes no matter how absurd, no matter the lack of evidence (e.g. taxing sugar, banning vaping, minimum pricing on alcohol).

Hurting a few to save the many, that’s the mantra of public health today.

The children they exploit are just collateral damage in a war that’s gone way beyond preventing injury and disease.

And it gets worse. A new bill known as Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act if passed could well destroy the entire vaping industry in America.

Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act

So what’s it all about? Simple: Democrats want the vaping industry gone – plain and simple. Why? Kids, again.

Here’s what the bill is proposing:

• Prohibit all “characterizing flavors” except tobacco unless they are specifically approved by the FDA
• Prohibit online sales
• Gives FDA authority to collect $100 million in user fees from the vaping industry
• Prohibits sales to anyone under 21
• Orders FDA to issue a rule on the regulation of products using synthetic nicotine
• Extends all FDA rules on sales and marketing of cigarettes to vaping products, including advertising rules

The bill is being sponsored by Reps. Frank Pallone of New Jersey and Donna Shalala of Florida. Ironically, Pallone has been making money off of Big Tobacco, after reports surfaced about him owning shares in Phillip Morris – around $15,000 worth!

But, hey… who cares what you do in your private life as long as you’re virtue signaling to the masses online, right?

The insidious culture of smoke shaming that has developed over the past three decades has now reached fever pitch, losing sight of its actual goals. We need a new way to deal with smoking, and shaming current smokers into submission is NOT it…

The tiler is going in and out of the house. I’m working at the kitchen table, uncomfortable leaving a tradesman alone in my home.

The windows are closed, but the smell of cigarette smoke wafts in, nevertheless.

My annoyance is immediate. He’s smoking on MY property! Me – the Crusader of the crusaders against smoking. I get up and go (maybe a little bit stompy) to close the back door.

My mind throws up things I could say to him: Could you please smoke out near the gate? But it’s raining so that would make me seem pretty unreasonable.

Perhaps I could do my spiel and give him some snus or a vaporizer to try?

But I’ve left my samples at the office…

Anyway, it’s his choice to smoke, my new be-kinder-to-smokers self reminds me.

Smoke Shaming: It Might Be Well-Intended, But It’s Gone Too Far…

I feel tired. I’ve spent so many years approaching people about their smoking.

Earlier this week, I saw a security guard at a hospital tell an old woman to put her cigarette out, despite the fact she was sitting outside in the no-smoking area.

I felt ashamed that she was treated that way. This is smoke shaming – and it ain’t helpful.

All of my work over the last 25 years has helped make this happen. I went over to her. The look as she saw me coming was, “Oh here we go again, another nutter’s coming to tell me off.”

She was surprised when I sat next to her. I introduced myself while struggling to open a canister of snus. I explained what it was and offered her a portion.

She took one and said, “It’s all right, my daughter’s picking me up in a moment.”

As she put the snus in her pocket, I realized she just took it to be polite.

How silly of me to think anyone would accept some weird little packet of “powdered tobacco” from a stranger and put it in their mouth.

I felt like an idiot. I didn’t achieve anything and probably made the incident worse for her.

The tiler passes me on his way to the bathroom, breaking my reflection. Over the last 3 years, I have been working on calming my reaction to cigarette smoke and to smokers.

Cigarette Smoke Is Bad… We ALL Know This (So: Made-Up Facts Aren’t Necessary, Surely?)

Exaggerated fear of cigarette smoke is a kind of hysteria shared by millions of people.

We think it’s justified because we’ve been led to believe that cigarette smoke is so toxic that breathing a whiff of it, even when we’re outside, might trigger an asthma attack, or worse.

Of course, this isn’t true.

Our psychosomatic rejection of air fouled by burning tobacco has been built and encouraged by decades of gory anti-smoking campaigns that have implanted fear of the many ways smoking could kill us.

Even if you’re an ex-smoker (which I am) or have never smoked, the campaigns warn that “there is no safe level of exposure” and that the lit cigarette which is like a “little toxic waste dump on fire” (see the previous link) can still give us heart disease, cancer or a stroke.

Some people even believe that breathing in second-hand smoke is more dangerous than directly smoking a cigarette!

Enter… Third-Hand Smoke (Because Second-Hand Smoke Ain’t Scary Enough…)

No wonder they think that when leading health groups say things like “sidestream smoke is about 4 times more toxic than mainstream smoke.”

Then along came third-hand smoke.

This idea conjures up the scary image of the pores of our skin hungrily sucking in carcinogens from any smoke that lands on us or the surfaces we touch.

The most ridiculous message is that babies could soak up enough nicotine from crawling around on the floor and licking random objects that they could be permanently damaged and die early from cancer!

That so many people can be so gullible, including myself, for many years, or so uninformed is frightening. Climate change? You can forget that – the earth is doomed!

Anyway, back to deprogramming myself.

Let’s Treat Smokers For What They Are – People! Just Like You And I…

I reassure myself that 1) the whiff of smoke will not harm me, 2) it is not going to stick on all the surfaces in the house and make it smell like an ashtray, and 3) the tiler did not come to my house for a lecture.

This brought to mind what Dr. Kgosi Letlape said at the recent Asia Harm Reduction Forum in Manilla: “It’s not about charity, it’s about solidarity. People need to find their humanity. People have been socialized into a corner.”

I don’t know the circumstances that have led to the tiler smoking, and it’s not charitable of me to pry. He smokes, therefore it’s safe to assume he knows stress. I can relate to that.

The best way I can help people stop smoking, if that’s what they want to do, is to create an environment that supports them to switch from smoking to harm reduced products.

I just need to get back to my work and leave him to his.

Having given myself a good talking to, it’s time to calm down and make me, and the tiler, a cup of tea.

If you’ve been vaping for any amount of time, you might have wondered whether or not second hand vapor is dangerous, hazardous, or bad for those around you.

If you’re using an RDA or a sub ohm tank, filling a room with fog doesn’t take long at all. But what about the people breathing in that fog? Is it bad for their health?

As always, there are myriad reports of the “dangers” of vaping and second hand vapor, but are these reports justified – or are they just more anti-vaping propaganda backed-up by bunk science?

Let’s take a look at the actual facts to get a better idea about the real dangers associated with second hand vapor…

What Is Second Hand Vapor Made Of?

First and foremost: vapor produced by vaping is NOT the same as smoke.

Smoke from cigarettes is the byproduct of combustion – burning materials – and is extremely dangerous to humans. It contains a mixture of carcinogenic chemicals that includes tar and carbon monoxide.

Vaping devices do produce visible vapor, and it does hang around in the air, looking quite a lot like smoke.

However, the vapor produced by ecigs DOES NOT contain any tar or carbon monoxide.

There are dangerous elements (metals, for instance) but they are at considerably lower levels compared to cigarette smoke.

What If I Breathe In Second Hand Vapor?

What vapors exhale doesn’t really contain much of anything, save for propylene glycol and glycerin – the two core elements that make up E Juice.

According to Drexel University, the risks associated with second-hand vapor, while worthy of study, are likely to be extremely minimal.

Third-Hand Nicotine?

Third-hand nicotine is the process whereby inhaled nicotine is exhaled and then comes to rest on surfaces – things like carpets and sofas. However, because of the nature of vaping, almost 100% of the nicotine is absorbed by the user.

Furthermore, a study conducted by the Royal College of Physicians concluded the following:

Does Vaping Effect Indoor Air Quality?

This is a good question and one that related directly to the issue of second hand vapor: does vaping indoors affect the air quality of your home?

According to a study by the University of San Diego, vapor emitted by vaping devices had no noticeable effect on the air quality of homes surveyed.

What’s even more interesting though is that cooking food, candles, and tobacco ALL affected the air quality of homes. Bottomline: cooking is worse for air quality in your home that vaping.

OK, But Is Second Hand Vapor Dangerous?

If you listen to the FDA and its stooges, you probably think vaping is the second coming of Satan. But this just is not the case.

Across the pond, the UK government has now confirmed that it will spend millions educating the public about the “misinformation” spread about the dangers of vaping.

Furthermore, the Royal College of Physicians, inside its 264-page review of the dangers associated with vaping, found nothing that is cause for concern from a health perspective – “to date, there have been no identified health risks of passive vaping to bystanders.”

In addition to this, Igor Burstyn’s study of the dangers of second hand vapor concluded that second-hand vapor “poses no apparent concern”.

What Does This All Mean?

Simple: the dangers associated with second hand vapor have been studied and there are no real causes for concern. This goes for exposure to it, third-hand nicotine, and for air quality inside homes.

However, if you do have kids or pets, it is always advisable that you limit your vaping around them. I do all my vaping outside or in my office. I never do it around my niece and nephew, nor will I do it around our baby, who’s arriving in August.

This is my personal preference. I vape and I enjoy it, but that doesn’t mean my family and friends do, so out of respect for them, I try my best not to expose them to my sweet smelling clouds as best I can.

Seth Rogan has always been a pot advocate. But now he’s putting his money where his mouth is with following the launch of his brand new cannabis company, Houseplant

Houseplant is Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg’s brand new cannabis company. It’s based (and will operate solely) in Canada, where cannabis has now been made legal.

Rogan, speaking on Instagram, confirmed the news yesterday: “We have been working on this quietly for years and seeing everything come together is a dream come true.”

Houseplant started as an idea way back in 2013. Six years later, the company is now open for business. Canopy – an investor firm – acquired 25% of the business and invested capital in the firm, but Rogan and Goldberg will remain business leads.

Seth Rogan Quotes About Weed & Houseplant

This is clearly a passion-project for Rogan, a man who is basically a stoner icon these days, following films like Pineapple Express and myriad appearances on talk shows where he’s talked about the positive-nature of cannabis.

“We could not be more passionate about this company and are dedicated to doing everything the right way. It is extremely important to us to treat cannabis with the reverence it deserves. What a time!”

Weird Cannabis Laws In Canada – Use It, But Don’t Talk About It

Since cannabis was made legal in Canada, back in October 2018, there has been a huge rise in the number of facilities and dispensaries across the country. However, with legalization comes some pretty weird rules…

“The Cannabis Act prohibits the promotion of cannabis, cannabis accessories or any service related to cannabis by means of a testimonial or endorsement or by means of the depiction of a person, character or animal, whether real or fictional,” notesnotes one report.

For this reason, Rogan and Goldberg will NOT be spokespersons for Houseplant. Instead, they will act as business leads, directing the product and developing it further – they cannot actively promote it, though, according to the law.

“Since inception, the Houseplant team has maintained a strong focus on abiding by the regulations which is why, not due to a lack of opportunity both pre and post-legalization, Seth and Evan have not participated in any cannabis related event or promotion in Canada,” said Houseplant in a statement to the press.

Houseplant Strands Coming To Canada

Houseplant’s first strain available in stores in Canada will be a Sativa bud, and it’ll be available as early as April 2019. The company has also confirmed that it has both hybrid and indica strains coming soon too. Pre-rolled joints and soft-gel products are also planned for 2020.

Unsure about the different types of weed? Check out our handy guide on The Different Types of Weed for more details on each + plus details on the highs and how they affect you differently.

Houseplant Will NOT Be Coming To The USA

Why? Simple: while cannabis is legal in a few states in the US, it is still considered illegal by the federal government – and this makes it difficult for businesses, large and small, to operate in the country.

For now, Houseplant will focus its energies in Canada. However, Canopy, the investment firm behind it, does have plans in place for a global rollout, focusing on places like Europe.

Last I checked pot was still illegal in 99.9% of European countries… maybe Houseplant knows something we don’t!

Either way, super cool news. And kudos to Seth and Evan for following their passions and doing something totally awesome for weed lovers in Canada.

Everybody has phones, right? Most people in the US have iPhones or Android phones. Why don’t we use them to stop this apparent teen vaping epidemic then!? 

In the last few weeks, there has been an absolute avalanche of news about underage vapers in the USA. So much so that we’re now looking at side-wide bans on flavors and even more draconian legislation in the months to come. Basically, we need a solution to stop underage vaping…

So, here’s my 2¢ on the subject…

Using FACE ID and/or TouchID To Stop Teen Vaping Epidemic

Let’s use smartphones. Let’s use the face scanners and the fingerprint sensors to authorize payments for vape goods. This way, before you confirm payment, you’d have to prove – either by a face scan or a fingerprint scan – that you’re old enough.

Most people use double-layers of security on things like PayPal, anyway, so it wouldn’t even be that much of a hassle for those of us old enough to vape to do whenever we buy something online.

It’d also be WAY cheaper and less annoying than the ID checks on delivery and/or scanning and uploading your ID to a retailer’s site.

Think about it: all you’d have to do is scan your finger and/or face to confirm it is A) you, and B) that you’re old enough to buy vape gear. It’s a simple solution that uses existing technology to make vaping safer – the #1 thing the FDA wants.

PayPal, Apple Pay, And Google Pay Could Lead The Way…

This wouldn’t work out the box, however, it’d need PayPal, MasterCard, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and all the other credit companies to implement some kind of software to make it work… but it would definitely work.

And imagine the PR bump you’d get from it? Apple solves underage vaping epidemic with new, revolutionary “age verification software” – hell, if I had the capital, I’d be working on building something like this right now!

I’ve been thinking about this concept for a few days now, following on from the proposed, state-wide California flavor ban. Things need to change, we need to get more proactive – show that we care about progress and about keeping vapes out of the hands of kids.

Rather than kicking up a stink, I think it’s time we got creative, looked at the technology that’s available around it and put some pressure on billion dollar companies to implement a solution that’d appease the FDA and the nut-jobs involved in anti-vaping groups.

Your Face and Fingerprint Are Unique – And This is Important

Why? Because once you’ve confirmed you’re an adult, for instance, that’d be it. All you’d have to do is tap your finger on something or take a scan of your face and the retailer would know you’re old enough to buy vape products.

It takes the strain off of retailers, saves them thousands in fees for implementing new age restriction technologies on their sites, and it essentially blocks minors from accessing adult consumables like vape products.

Hell, you could even apply it to things like alcohol and cannabis too.

How Are Kids Buying Vapes?

This is a good question: is it from online retailers or from B&M stores? I honestly don’t know for certain, but it’s most likely a combination of the two. Back in the day, I wasn’t old enough to smoke, and the internet didn’t exist, but I still managed to buy smokes every week without too much fuss.

Kids basically always find a way; you cannot stop them from doing anything, really.

All you can do is make it slightly more difficult for them without making it totally annoying for tax-paying adults to purchase whatever they want within the confines of the law. And I think using something like FACE ID or TouchID for purchase confirmations would be the easiest and least annoying way to do it.

And you know that if Apple did it, Google would follow suit.

Biometrics on mobile devices are the key here; we all have unique fingerprints and faces, so let’s use them to stop youngsters from vaping. If you’re old enough, your ID would know you were and you wouldn’t have to do a thing.

What it would do is stop any teenager from buying vape products via phone and/or tablet.

On top of this, say you had to register an account with a retailer before you made a purchase. Say this registration involved confirming your age via PayPal/Apple Pay/Google Pay, using the above-mentioned biometrics. Wouldn’t this work kinda simply? Wouldn’t it be easy to rollout?

Surely, something like this would ensure “kids” couldn’t get access to vape products online, right?

If you agree, share this post – let’s see if we can get anyone at Apple, Google or PayPal to take notice!