CASAA chart show flavors aren’t increasing youth vaping or smoking. Anti-vaping policies undermine tobacco harm reduction. A delusion of safety in Louisiana. Dr. Califf misleads public about smoke. Californian vapers turn to internet for flavors. News Nation can’t math. Blaming common illnesses on vaping. Debunking another Glantz lie and more!
Scroll to the bottom of this post for a link to the audio/video versions of this post!
CALL TO ACTION // Stop A Federal Tax!
Comparing “oranges to oranges” (in this case milligrams of nicotine in vapes vs cigarettes,) if HR 5715 is enacted, vapes would be taxed at a rate approximately 5X higher than cigarettes! Vaping consumers will be paying up to 6¢/mg of nicotine compared to 1.1¢/mg in cigarettes.
The tax hike is just as bad, if not worse, for nicotine pouches, snus, and moist snuff — all reduced risk products compared to cigarettes!
TAKE ACTION: Fight a National Vapor Tax!
CALL TO ACTION // Pennsylvania: Stop a Flavor Ban!
HB 1161 would ban tobacco and nicotine products in any flavor other than tobacco.
TAKE ACTION: Pennsylvania: Fight a Flavor Ban!
CALL TO ACTION // Evanston, IL: Stop A Flavor Ban!
Ordinance 74-O-23, which would ban tobacco and nicotine products in any flavor other than tobacco, is moving toward final consideration on Monday, November 13, 2023 at 6PM!
TAKE ACTION: Evantson, Illinois: Stop A Flavor Ban!
RESEARCH // Surveys Show Flavored Vapes Aren’t Increasing Youth Vaping & Smoking
Let’s review, shall we?
– Nearly 4 years into federal flavor ban on cartridge-based e-cigs
– TOTAL flavor bans in some states and municipalities
– Lawmakers, public health orgs and state AGs screaming to have total ban NATIONWIDE
But where’s the scientific evidence of harm?
As this CASAA chart shows, the percentage of high school and middle school youth who vape or smoke has declined significantly since the peak of the so-called “youth vaping epidemic,” while the percentage of those who still vape non-tobacco flavors has risen. Keep in mind that the 68.8% vaping flavors in 2019 equates to over 3.7 million youth vaping non-tobacco flavors, while the 89.4% in 2023 equates only to just over 1.9 million youth.
TOBACCO HARM REDUCTION // Jacob Sullum: Anti-vaping Policies Undermine Harm Reduction
The shift from smoking to vaping is indisputably an improvement in terms of health risks, so making e-cigarettes less attractive to people who currently or formerly smoked is detrimental.
Policies that make vaping “less appealing to people who already have switched from smoking to vaping or might be interested in doing so. The results are predictable: A recent FDA-supported study of sales data from across the country found that state and local restrictions on ENDS flavors were associated with increased purchases of conventional cigarettes.”
“While the CDC is loath to admit it, the shift from smoking to vaping — in any age group — is indisputably an improvement in terms of health risks.”https://t.co/yeUz9M2CIK
— Kristin Noll-Marsh (@Noll_Marsh) November 10, 2023
READ MORE: With Restrictive Vaping Policies, Efforts to Curb Cigarette Use Will Go Up in Smoke
TOBACCO CONTROL // A Delusion of Safety
Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control Commissioner Ernest P. Legier, Jr. said in a statement: “By most accounts, there is a nationwide vape usage epidemic within the most vulnerable of our citizens-our youth. In response, the Louisiana legislature passed, and Governor Jon Bel Edwards signed, a new law which directly protects public safety by ensuring that only FDA approved vape products are offered for sale in our state.”
How delusional must one be to claim banning the sale of 99.9% of low risk vaping products “protects public safety” while also knowing that deadly cigarettes are sold everywhere and that illicit markets exist?
Furthermore, the 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey shows that youth vaping is down to 7.7% and smoking is down to 1.6%. There is no “nationwide vape usage epidemic!”
Look, a #BlackMarket for illegal Vape Flavors coming soon…
Shelves emptied of popular vape products as new state law goes into effect https://t.co/krOGiLRjoZ
— 🇺🇸 Captain SeaMonkey 🇺🇸 (@CptSeaMonkey) November 4, 2023
READ MORE: Shelves emptied of popular vape products as new state law goes into effect
TOBACCO CONTROL // One More Time: It’s The SMOKE
This tweet by Dr. Califf, the former FDA commissioner, is very MISLEADING, because the 460,000 deaths from “tobacco use” all involved exposure to SMOKE. It’s NOT from the nicotine, so teens using nicotine vapor products INSTEAD of smoking aren’t going to add to those deaths.
This is like stating there were 26,000 deaths from “vehicle use” without revealing that they also involved alcohol, speeding and/or distracted driving.
It’s important to note that Dr. Califf is now on the board for a company that is trying to get FDA drug approval for a therapeutic nicotine nebulizer, so it’s not ironic for him to suddenly be calling for new nicotine products only after decimating the vape industry during his stint at the FDA.
The most important remediable causes of death in the U.S. are tobacco use and poorly controlled hypertension. We’re going to lose 460K Americans this year from tobacco-related illness, and we have millions of teenagers getting addicted to nicotine through vaping right now.
— Dr. Robert M. Califf (@DrCaliff_FDA) November 8, 2023
TOBACCO CONTROL // Consumers Turning to Internet to Circumvent Bans
Their ban of low risk alternatives to smoking popular with adults who smoke/vape isn’t working. Their solution? Ban more. (Note they don’t show evidence it’s youth doing the searching and not adults.)
Trashed Cigarette Packs Highlight Failure of California’s Flavor Ban https://t.co/O1g4ZIcRbt via @Filtermag_org @lmstroud89
— B Fojtik (@PositiveEnerG) October 31, 2023
READ MORE: Searches for online tobacco retailers skyrocket after CA ban on flavored products
MEDIA MISINFORMATION // Understanding Percentage Points vs Percent
No, News Nation, a decline from 14.1% to 10% is a drop of 4.1 percentage points, not a 4% drop. 🤦♂️
In 2022, 2.14 million (14.1%) high schoolers vaped at least one puff in the past 30 days. That dropped to 1.56 million (10%) in 2023, which is actually a substantial 27.1% drop!
E-cigarette use among high schoolers drops 4%: CDC https://t.co/ETrRiowTYk
— NewsNation (@NewsNation) November 4, 2023
MEDIA MISINFORMATION // Blaming Common Illnesses on Vaping
It’s well-known that bacterial pneumonia often occurs following influenza infection: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3760235/#:~:text=It%20is%20well%2Dknown%20that,Haemophilus%20influenzae%2C%20and%20Streptococcus%20pyogenes
No evidence was presented to suggest his “antibiotic-resistant lung infection following a bout with the flu” was caused by his vaping and not his “bout with the flu.”
FDA // Agency Finds Another Obscure Nicotine Product to Kick Around
The FDA seems determined to ban everything adults might use but youth have no interest in. (And are no more of an accident risk to kids than a Nicorette mini lozenge resembling a Tic Tac.)
CASAA director Jim McDonald reporting for Vaping360.
FDA Finds Another Obscure Nicotine Product to Kick Around.
The FDA issued a warning letter today to a virtually unknown manufacturer of nicotine lozenges, accusing the product of mimicking candy packages and posing a grave threat to children.https://t.co/xiu6h73mRt
— Vaping360 (@Vaping360) November 10, 2023
READ MORE: FDA Finds Another Obscure Nicotine Product to Kick Around
RESEARCH // Debunking Another Glantz Lie
Stanton Glantz has released yet another poorly- designed study for which to use to make baseless claims.
When experts in THR debunked his “science,” it was very telling that Stan could only attack the researchers’ motive rather than argue their science. His comment was removed (it was #4) by moderators, likely because it had “no significant bearing on the science.” Classic Glantz.
However, we still recommend reading this excellent analysis (link below) by Floe Foxon & Saul Shiffman to understand why Glantz’s conclusions were so ridiculous.
Junk e-cigarette study debunked | Snowdon Substack https://t.co/gAEPADrNrK pic.twitter.com/zJj5JIOR4H
— Christopher Snowdon 🇺🇦 (@cjsnowdon) November 8, 2023
CASAA IN ACTION // CASAA Live
Watch Alex, Logan and Lt. Diane Goldstein of The Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP) as they discuss the FDA’s looming ban on menthol, illicit markets for tobacco/nicotine products (including vaping products,) and if harm reduction can help solve issues between law enforcement and the communities they serve.
Catch the next show LIVE this Saturday, November 8th at 4:30PM ET/3:30PM CT!
TAKE ACTION // CASAA State Facebook Groups
Have you joined your CASAA State Facebook group yet? Check it out now! Click the link below, click on your state on the map, then click the “Join Now” button to go to your state’s group page. It’s as easy as that to stay updated on local happenings, meet local advocates and never miss a Call to Action in your state!
Don’t forget to also follow our official Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CASAAmedia
FIND YOUR GROUP: CASAA State Locator
CASAA STORE // Apparel and More
Show your support by shopping our store! Our president (and brilliant website/swag designer) Danielle has added some awesome new designs to CASAA’s apparel shop!
VISIT: CASAA Apparel and Swag Store
CASAA MEDIA // Spotify
CASAA’s podcast is on Spotify! Please give us a follow here:
CASAA IN ACTION // Twitter Spaces
The week we recap the Reagan-Udall sessions with Amanda Wheeler, Tim Andrews and CASAA CEO Alex Clark, who all presented to the panel about FDA’s issues regulating reduced-harm products. What grade would you give FDA? Also available on CASAA’s Spotify channel (above.)
— CASAA (@CASAAmedia) October 26, 2022
CASAA MEDIA // Podcast
Catch up on past tobacco harm reduction news with Alex and Logan on the CASAA podcasts on SoundCloud every Monday and now live on YouTube and Facebook every Saturday at 3:30 PM.
