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News and info related to the mainstream media coverage of Electronic Cigarettes.

Media Coverage News Stories

E-cigarette users outraged by NBC Connecticut Report

Morning news reporter Debra Alfarone over at NBC Connecticut published a story on Tuesday titled "Call it E-Puffing, But Don't Do it Indoors" which has caused a bit of outrage on some electronic cigarette forums. Vapers , the term e-cigarette users prefer to call themselves, seem to disagree very strongly with some of the "experts" quoted in this story and question why NBC would bury the opinions of truly impartial e-cigarette experts in favor of those people heavily dependent to the pharmaceutical industry for their funding.

First up is Michelle Marichal of the American Cancer Society, listed on ct.gov as the contact person for their helpline, who was asked "if e-cigs are safer than old fashioned cigs" and was quoted as saying:

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Electric Cigarette a Treatment for Parkinson's Disease Hopes USACIG

USACIG, maker of the "Electric Cigarette" announced they have signed an exclusive agreement with Hop-on to submit it's electronic cigarette technology to the FDA for clinical studies for the prevention and treatment of Parkinson's disease.

Recent studies by the Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center lead by Maryka Quik, Ph D have indicated intermittent nicotine treatment can reduce medication induced dyskinesias by as much as 50%. USACIG is hoping their electronic cigarette might be the perfect way to deliver nicotine to Parkinson's patients.

Peter Michaels, CEO of Hop-on, the company one usually associates with multi media services, the first disposable cell phone and the licencing of technology like CDMA, GSM and WIFI, says they are excited to be the exclusive agent for FDA submission.

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Phillip Morris Negotiating for Rights to Electronic Cigarette

It seems Phillip Morris wants their own electronic cigarette. Philip Morris International, one of the largest tobacco companies in the world reported to have over 15% share of the worldwide cigarette market and operations in 160 countries, is in negotiations with Ruyan Group, the makers of what some call the first ecigarette.

While it's not clear if this is simply a distribution deal or if Ruyan is interested in selling out the rights to their e-cig completely, this could have a huge impact on the electronic cigarette industry. Only time will tell, but it seems the first round of negotiations didn't go so well.

“Ruyan Group said that an agreement between the Company and Philip Morris International Management S.A. could not be reached on matters relating to the co-operation between them on its “electronic cigarettes” by the end of the first and exclusive phase of negotiations.”

Phillip Morris in Negotiations with Original E-Cigarette Company

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President of American Council on Science and Health says FDA Misled the Public

Picture of Dr. Elizabeth WhelanIn a Washington Post article published Thursday, Dr. Elizabeth M. Whelan, the president of the American Council on Science and Health calls the recent FDA press conference on electronic cigarettes "distorted, incomplete and misleading." She further states the FDA "was violating its long-cherished tradition of sticking to sound science as the basis for its policies. And in doing so, it is putting the lives and health of millions of Americans at risk."

Strong words against the government agency charged with protecting the public from unsafe consumer products from a woman notorious for attacking industries who make unscientific or overstated health claims. One might think she would side with the FDA against e-cigarette manufacturers and retailers claiming they are a smoking cessation product or a "healthier alternative" that contains "no carcinogens" without FDA approved studies to back them up.

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Media Coverage e-Cig Blog Posts

Njoy stops selling flavors, anti smoking groups chalk up another victory

Njoy announced today they will no longer carry flavors in the US market, save for tobacco and menthol. Why? Because that's what the law requires for regular cigarettes and they are trying to cut the feet out from under the insane argument that "Electronic Cigarettes are marketed to kids".

While I understand their reasoning, it infuriates me to see Njoy and the others forced to cave. Politically it's probably a good move. Anti smoking activists have convinced people that if something tastes good, it must be for kids. But I disagree and I grow tired of seeing this argument not only repeated but successful time and time again.

Chalk up another victory for drug company funded activist anti smoking groups. They are proving the old adage "if you just keep repeating it, it becomes the truth."

Why is this agrument making sense to people? An ecigarette that costs $100 is for kids because it comes in flavors?

Njoy said:

Though electronic cigarettes have a price point generally considered beyond the reach of most youth and there is not widespread evidence of the products being used by underage smokers, a number of pertinent issues have been raised regarding underage persons, such as the appeal of various flavors.

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ABC15 and John Wickwire Catch Another Mall Kiosk Selling E-cigs to Children

A few weeks ago I reported on an undercover sting operation conducted by KSHB-TV in Kansas City, (an NBC affiliate) where they caught a couple of e-cig retailers letting kids try them at the mall. Now there is a new story in Arizona, from TV ABC15.

And guess what? It's the same guy from Kansas. Same quotes, same everything. It's the same exact story almost down to the letter.

From the original story in Kansas:

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Undercover Report: Selling Electronic Cigarettes to Children at the Mall

NBC Action News, KSHB-TV in Kansas City recently got a call from a parent concerned that his 17 year old teen had seen ECigarettes at the mall. Many malls across the country now have e-cig kiosks and the Oak Park Mall and Independence Center are no different. The station decided to do an undercover investigation to see what this was all about and sent an under aged intern into these two malls to test what e-cig vendors might do if approached by a teen.

What they reported clearly demonstrates some of the controversy and problems with marketing surrounding ecigarettes and the way they are treated in the media, so I thought I should do a little commentary about my opinions on this report.

Kids are Safe in the Mall

The article says this parent was very concerned his child was exposed to such things at the Mall. He contacted the management of Independence Center, where his child was, and demanded action. Then he called the TV station to urge them to expose this.

It's still a concern to parents who thought their teens were safe at the mall.

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Fox News Retraction Video gets it wrong, again.

In a classic showing of how often the media gets the story exactly wrong, especially when it comes to electronic cigarettes and the FDA report, Fox not only got the story wrong once, but twice!

In late July, when reporting on the FDA Report on Electronic Cigarettes, which I'm sure contained the obligatory "discovered Diethylene Glycol, a common ingredient in antifreeze", Fox News made a  little mistake. They insinuated with video that Smoke Stik USA was included in the FDA report, which they were not, and that their products may have been the ones DEG was found in, which they were not.

Now that's bad and quite embarrassing to the media, who we trust to get the story right and deliver us the facts. But, the next night they "clarify" the story to make sure they got it right. It's to be expected that the press gets it right. Right?

But they still don't get it right.

They not only print at the bottom of the screen that they are interviewing Crystal Thigpen of "SmokeStick", when she is actually with Smokestik USA, but the anchor references not once, but  twice that the EPA studied e-cigs and issued a report and that the EPA said they were very concerned these products contained "nicotine and other chemicals".

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copyright 2009 all rights reserved *Electronic Cigarettes have not been proven to help you quit smoking and no such claims are being made here. These are the authors personal thoughts on the debate and are not based on any scientific study. Ecigarettes are not marketed as a smoking cessation device and no legitimate manufacturer makes any such claim. E-cigarettes should not be confused with any FDA approved nicotine replacement therapy, for, like cigarettes, they are not FDA approved nicotine delivery systems.