Vaping Myths DEBUNKED… by Dr. Michael Siegel, a professor at Boston University School of Public Health
The vaping industry is under A LOT of pressure right now.
You can’t open your phone and look at the news without reading some kind of alarming story about vaping.
Especially if you live in the US, where a full-scale war on vaping is now taking place.
The UK is pushing vaping as an alternative. It’s been sanctioned by Public Health England and the NHS.
America needs to do this same.
And the only way this will happen is by scientific leaders standing up and supporting it.
And one such person is Dr. Michael Siegel, a professor at Boston University School of Public Health.
Siegel is a world-renowned authority on tobacco and was also one of the key witnesses in the landmark Engle lawsuit, which resulted in an unprecedented $145 billion verdict against Big Tobacco.
More recently the good doctor has been fighting for a sensible debate over the pros and cons of vaping in the US.
Here is a selection of claims leveled at “electronic cigarettes” by The California Department of Health Services (CDHS), under a grant funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), back in 2016:
- “The aerosol is a mixture of chemicals and small particles that can hurt the lungs just like cigarette smoke.”
- “E-cigarettes are just as addictive as regular cigarettes.”
- “People can become addicted to nicotine from e-cigarettes and they may start using regular cigarettes.”
- “Studies show that e-cigarettes do not help people quit smoking cigarettes.”
Got it? Good.
Now, let’s take a lot at whether or not these “claims” stand up to scrutiny.
Debunking The California Department of Health Services “Anti-Vaping” Statements
What follows is a selection of claims made by The California Department of Health Services about vaping and ecig usage.
Do they have any actual substance? No, not according to one doctor. And he’s taking a stand against what is, for want of a better word, “pseudo-science”.
Enter Dr. Michael Siegel on debunking duties:
1) “The aerosol is a mixture of chemicals and small particles that can hurt the lungs just like cigarette smoke.”
EVALUATION: Unsupported by scientific evidence
While it is true that there are a small number of chemicals in the aerosol of many electronic cigarette brands and there are certainly small particles, at present, there is no evidence that these small particles can hurt the lungs just like cigarette smoke. In fact, there is strong evidence that electronic cigarette use does not produce the kinds of decrements in lung function observed with cigarette smoking.
2) “E-cigarettes are just as addictive as regular cigarettes.”
EVALUATION: A Lie
It has been quite convincingly shown that electronic cigarettes are not nearly as addictive as regular cigarettes. The nicotine delivery from e-cigarettes is quite poor and inconsistent in most brands. The delivery of nicotine from e-cigarettes is much lower than in regular cigarettes. Patterns of use of the product, especially among youth, demonstrate that the addictive power of e-cigarettes is much lower than that of tobacco cigarettes.
3) “People can become addicted to nicotine from e-cigarettes and they may start using regular cigarettes.”
EVALUATION: Unsupported by scientific evidence
It has not yet been demonstrated that people can become addicted to nicotine from e-cigarettes. Certainly, people who are already addicted to nicotine from smoking may remain addicted to nicotine when they switch to electronic cigarettes. But there is as yet no evidence that nonsmokers who try e-cigarettes are at significant risk of becoming addicted to nicotine. More importantly, there is no evidence that people who start out with e-cigarettes are progressing to cigarette smoking. In fact, existing studies have failed to find more than a couple of youths who have started smoking after having been introduced to nicotine for the first time through e-cigarettes.
4) “Studies show that e-cigarettes do not help people quit smoking cigarettes.”
EVALUATION: A Lie
In fact, the opposite is true. Studies show that e-cigarettes do help people quit smoking. The existing studies suggest that e-cigarettes are about as effective as nicotine replacement therapy. It is possible that newer products are more effective for smoking cessation, but at very least, we can say that these products do help many people quit smoking.
Vape Myths DEBUNKED – Pretty Much!
So, yeah, according to a professor that has 25 years of experience working in the field of tobacco research, pretty much everything published in the release is complete BUNK.
In conclusion, Dr. Siegel said: “I condemn the Department for blatantly lying to the public. In their apparent zeal to demonize electronic cigarettes, the California Department of Health Services has crossed the line into unethical public health conduct, breaking one of the key principles: communicate honestly with the public.”
He added: “That federal revenue is being used to support the dissemination of these lies makes this conduct even more egregious. I urge the CDC to cancel this contract with CDHS on the grounds that the Department is violating basic public health ethics by lying to the public.”
This isn’t “progress”.
This is propaganda. Plain and simple.
All we want is a fair debate on the subject.
Not sanctimonious rhetoric from tobacco-lobbied government stooges.
Now, will somebody PLEASE think about the ex-smokers who used to smoke heavily but are now making progress, away from the death sticks, with vaping!?
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