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This information has been classified as personal opinion or editorial commentary regarding electronic cigarettes.

Opinion or Editorial 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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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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Prominent Public Health Physicians and Tobacco Researchers Expose Double Standard in the FDA's Recent Study of Electronic Cigarettes and Challenge the FDA's Alarmist Attitude Toward the Devices

 BOSTON, July 27 /Standard Newswire/ -- The FDA recently went public with misleading information about the safety of electronic cigarettes and the marketing of the devices, not only using its clout but recruiting other prominent organizations to demonize a product that has great public health benefit potential.
 
 A group of prominent doctors and tobacco researchers, including Dr. Michael Siegel at the Boston University School of Public Health, Dr. Joel Nitzkin of the AAPHP Tobacco Control Task Force, and Dr. Brad Rodu, Endowed Chair, Tobacco Harm Reduction Research University of Louisville, challenge the FDA to provide the full quantitative data of the study upon which the FDA has based its warning against electronic cigarettes. They are concerned that the FDA's disingenuous targeting of electronic cigarettes through a biased presentation of the scientific data has had significant negative impact upon the public perception of electronic cigarettes, when the best available evidence suggests that these have shown that the devices offer great potential to reduce serious health issues among traditional tobacco smokers.
 

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Opinion or Editorial e-Cig Blog Posts

A Personal Petition to the American Cancer Society

As I sit here this mother's day looking at the totals my American Cancer Society Relay for Life in SL team has done so far this year, I have mixed feelings. I'm proud of my team and all we have done to help raise money to fight cancer, but I'm disappointed in the ACS and fear all the money I've helped to raise is just going to be turned against me and electronic cigarettes.

I'm proud of my RFL of SL Team

On one hand, I'm proud of my team. So far we've raised over $5000 and have not even hit the halfway point yet. Last year we did almost three times that and this year we are aiming even higher. I have no doubt that when the relay comes in mid July, my team will have raised around $20,000 usd or more for this organization.

I'm co-captain of one of the largest producing teams in the Relay for Life in Second Life, the virtual world where I work and play when I'm not busy spreading the word about electronic cigarettes. I've been volunteering for the Relay for three years now and I see all the hard work that goes into it, all the fun we have and more importantly, all the money we raise for cancer research, patient counseling and such. I know we touch the lives of thousands of people and it's the reason I relay. It's the reason I've stepped up to take a leadership role. I'm proud of what we have accomplished.

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E-Cigarette Prices and Why They Vary

Last night I was talking to some people and the topic came up of why there is such a broad difference in price between the different e-cigarettes available now. You can get some starter kits for as low as $18 bucks while others can run $140 or more. Then we have the free trial guys who say they will let you try it free and on the other side of the spectrum we have the mall guys who charge $150 to $200 for their offers.

What are the differences? Why is there such a wide range of prices for what is basically the same product? It is an interesting topic of discussion, so I thought I'd do a little about my thoughts here.

You Get What You Pay For

I've never been one to go cheap. I learned early in life that you get what you pay for. Yes, you may save a few bucks here and there shopping at the Wal-Marts and the Dollar Stores of the world, but in the long run you may actually end up spending more money. Cheaper goods don't usually last as long, are not of the highest quality or come with a lower level of customer service. There is a good reason for that.

Price Quality Service

Pick any two.

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My Suggested Response to the Appellate Court Stay of Judge Leon's Ruling

Over at the Electronic Cigarette Forum's Smoking Everywhere V. FDA Daily Docket Sheet Update there has been great debate this week about how the vaping community should respond and proceed after the U.S. Court of Appeals sided with the FDA in the Smoking Everywhere vs FDA case resulting in a stay of Judge Leon's previous ruling denying their jurisdiction over ecigs until at least September when the court will hear arguments and make a final ruling.

Needless to say most people are outraged, some are confused and sadly many of those the vaping community looks up to as leaders have been arguing with each other instead of taking action while some vendors seem to be finally ready to challenge the FDA themselves.  

As usual in matters this important regarding things I've taken hours to consider and write my thoughts about, I figured I'd share here as well.

 

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Do increased taxes imposed on cigarettes really work?

I was asked today to share my thoughts on the question of

Do taxes imposed on cigarettes to discourage public use really work?

She wanted to know particularly two things:

  1. Improved social well being
  2. Create distortion which causes a dead weight loss

I thought i'd post my response here for everyone. What do you think?

-----My Answer-----

the new fad for states to shore up their budget deficits by increasing tobacco taxes is gaining in popularity, however, the benefits of such programs are hotly debated.

Let's look at your two questions:

1- Improve Social Well Being

There are many who favor using oppressive taxes to modify the behavior of citizens, and smokers are an easy and popular target. Groups such as the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids are calling for a $1 increase across the board and call it a WIN WIN WIN for states. They reason:

A budget win

In this they are right, raising tobacco taxes $1 a pack can raise millions of dollars for state coffers. For example: Such an increase could result in an estimated $480.1 million in new revenue for a state like Florida.

Faced with budget crunches, many states are eyeing this as an easy way to quickly increase revenue.

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E Cigarette Direct Survey of Electronic Cigarette Users on Anti Smoking Claims

James Dunworth, over at E-Cigarette Direct, is a curious guy, like me. We've traded some very interesting info over the last few months and he sent over the results from a survey he did this week asking people about their opinions and beliefs in some of the anti smoking groups outrageous claims. What he found did not surprise me, but I thought it would be fun to go down the list and see what they thought.

The survey included 250 people, smokers, non smokers and vapers, so not that comprehensive of a survey, but a nice place to start. The respondents broke down like this:

  • 34% Non Smoker (91)
  • 18% Smokers (48)
  • 33% Electronic Cigarette Users (89)
  • 15% E-cig users who still smoke (40)

 

Question 1: Do you believe smoking is bad for your health?

95% said YES | 2% said NO  | 3% were undecided

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Opinion or Editorial Reviews

Thalinor reviews the GreenSmoke cartridges
John takes a look at the Green Smoke brand of electronic cigarettes, which he really likes.He talks about how his past supplier was a nightmare, no working batteries, cartridges half filled. But once he switched to Green Smoke, he's been very happy with "zero problems".He says it puts out more...
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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.