New from Steve K's Vaping World:
It turns out that the notion of Big Pharma pulling the political strings against e-cigarettes isn’t just for a small niche of people any longer. As the e-cigarette debate heats up, more mainstream analysts are also beginning to follow the money trail. That money trail starts at Big Pharma and ends with the people charged with protecting the public’s health.
In addition, big pharma is highly active in the nicotine-replacement therapy, or NRT, market. NRT includes such items as nicotine gum, lozenges, and patches, and GlaxoSmithKline is the leading marketer of these products within the United States. Obviously, if smokers who are in the process of quitting turn to e-cigs rather than NRT, Glaxo will lose revenue.
Unfortunately, it would also seem as if Glaxo has support from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; in particular, Mitch Zeller, a former anti-tobacco lobbyist who was appointed head of the FDA’s center for tobacco products earlier this year. Now, Zeller should not be taking sides in this argument, but according to an article published in The Wall Street Journal back in 2009, Zeller disclosed that he “…provides consulting support to GlaxoSmithKline consumer health through Pinney Associates on an exclusive basis on issues related to tobacco dependence treatment.”
This pharmaceutical consultancy has regulatory authority over competing products, including e-cigs.
via Electronic Cigarettes Have a Rich and Powerful Enemy – DailyFinance.
It’s about time this ugly little secret starts to get exposed to the light of day. The question is if it’s too late to do much for the e-cigarette industry.
Originally posted: Big Pharma eCig Conspiracy – What Financial Pundits Have to Say
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