Photo: Sarah Merriweather
The latest edition of the Week in Vaping is here, covering a few new pieces of research – one of which is thoroughly laughable – some legislative news and the best news stories and blog posts from the week. We’ve also resurrected our “Bullshit of the Week” section, and in it you’ll learn why you should “just say no” to vaping (yes, seriously).
So here’s the Week in Vaping!
New E-Cigarette Research
A new study has found that, like virtually all modern business, e-cigarette companies use social media for marketing purposes, “including posting images to Instagram, a social media site used by 52 percent of teens.” Author Tim Mackey, PhD, goes on to comment, “the results highlight the potential of the Internet to encourage e-cigarette initiation and underage purchasing.” This is just the latest incarnation of the disturbing trend of treating things that are completely normal as somehow sinister when e-cigarettes are added to the equation.
A new piece of research sees public health discovering the existence of vaping conventions, and they’re upset that they aren’t invited. They call conventions a “potentially problematic practice” because no ill-informed public health types are there to warn us about the possible dangers of vaping (heaven forefend). This study has been thoroughly mocked by Carl V. Phillips.
A new paper from Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos and Dr. Jacques Le Houezec looks at how to regulate e-cigarettes in the face of uncertainty, proposing a separate regulatory scheme rather than just lumping them in with tobacco products or medications.
A survey conducted by Lancashire County Council in the UK found that a quarter of under 18s had tried vaping, and 12 percent used e-cigs regularly.
Regulations, Legislation and Vaping Bans
The Malaysian Medical Association has said it will support any move by the government to ban e-cigarettes, claiming that e-cigarettes weren’t any safer than cigarettes because both are potentially carcinogenic. Of course, cigarettes would remain on sale.
Gil Ross from the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) discusses the Totally Wicked challenge to article 20 of the EU Tobacco Products Directive, pointing out the excessive nature of the proposed rules and their utter lack of justification. Their legal challenge has been heard in court, and a report will be filed to the justices on December 17th, who will issue a decision early next year.
The ban on vaping in public places – including bars, restaurants and outdoor patios – in Edmonton, Alberta may be extended to include vape shops, but the decision on the bylaw won’t be made until the end of the year.
CASAA has commented on UCSF’s comment on the proposed warning and child-resistant packaging for e-liquid, showing how the comments are incredibly misleading and intended primarily to further political goals. CASAA supports warnings and child-resistant packages, of course, as long as it doesn’t intentionally mislead customers or impact on product quality.
Bullshit of the Week: Just Say No to E-Cigarettes
A disaster of an article published on San Diego Family, used the headline “just say no to e-cigarettes” without a hint of irony, before lunging head-first into the standard array of anti-vaping claims pushed by California’s Still Blowing Smoke campaign and the Department of Public Health’s report.
They mention bubble gum flavor, and even say “e-cigarettes are most likely to be found right next to the candy or ice cream displays in convenience stores.” It claims that vaping is a gateway to smoking and marijuana, and repeat the carefully-crafted piece of sophistry, “E-cigarettes are not a healthy alternative to tobacco smoking.” No-one claims they’re “healthy,” just healthier – but of course, they know that.
The (unnamed) author of this monstrosity should probably consider getting information from somewhere other than Still Blowing Smoke commercials.
An honorable mention goes to a campaign going on to warn about the “dangers” of e-cigarettes in the UK, covered in a blog post from Totally Wicked.
Other Vaping News, Blog Posts and Articles
A woman was awarded $1.9 million in damages after she was badly burned when her e-cigarette battery exploded during charging. Next week, expect to see lawsuits filed against cell phone and laptop manufacturers when the lithium batteries in them cause similar problems. Sorry, my mistake, that obviously won’t happen.
A vet offers some warnings about keeping e-liquid (or cartridges) away from pets, also mentioning that while PG is toxic to cats through ingestion, the same isn’t expected through inhalation.
A DailyDot writer went to vape convention to mock it – expecting douchey vapers and hilarity – but found out vapers are nice. As the author Jene Gutierrez put it in a tweet, “I went to a vape conference for lulz and all I got was this stupid empathy.”
There have also been some more great blog posts from across the community:
5 Tips for new vapers from ProVape.
Ashtray Blog: E-Liquid Poisonings: Ten Statistics Everyone Should Know
Guide to Vaping: Vapers Want to Eliminate Drugs Associated with Vaping
GrimmGreen.com: Coilporn: More than just pretty little wires
Check Back Next Week for More!
It hasn’t been as eventful a week for vapers as usual, despite some important news like Totally Wicked’s court date passing, but there have been a few great blog posts and a pleasingly positive article from the DailyDot. Plus, the nonsense this week was so transparent and extreme that it probably (hopefully) won’t be taken too seriously.
So, check back next Sunday for more of what’s going on in the world of vaping!