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Welcome to Friday everyone! Here’s your weekly gathering of e-cigarette news. What a gathering it is too. Someone turned on the floodgates. Much of it was repetitive what, with 40 states’ worth of AGs sending a letter to the FDA, that’s a lot of local news stories. There’s also senators on the warpath to make for an interesting week of news. To be honest I’m just a little sick of the news this week, there’s been so much of it a lot not being very positive and all.
Crusading Senators Grill eCig Companies via Snail Mail
The self-righteous and misguided regulation theater started up by a group of senators carries on. In a press release on his website, Senator Dick Durbin and company announced (along with reiterating their conviction that e-cigarette companies are out to get kids) they sent letters to the more prominent e-cigarette companies demanding answers to a laundry list of questions about their business practices. Questions included things like what sort of events the company sponsored, their advertising techniques and what research they’ve done to lure youth to smoking. Oddly, all the questions were numbered question 1.
DURBIN, HARKIN, ROCKEFELLER, WAXMAN & MEMBERS OF CONGRESS CALL ON E-CIGARETTE MAKERS TO EXPLAIN MARKETING TACTICS TARGETING KIDS
Has your company conducted market research for e-cigarette products related to images and messages that appeal to adolescents, or consulted with outside experts on consumer psychology and behavior in order to inform marketing strategies? Please provide documentation of any such research and the names of any experts or outside groups with whom your company has consulted.
The list goes on and on and on. Pretty much written entirely with the notion that these companies are plotting to get kids hooked on e-cigarettes. Holy loaded questions. So tell me Senator Durbin, when did you stop bathing in the blood of puppies to pay tribute to your dark lord?
UK Publication Doesn't Understand Advertising Motivations
The New Statesman out of the UK ran an article complaining about e-cigarette TV spots. In the article the author moaned that TV spots don’t focus on the cessation potential of e-cigarettes and instead lean too heavily on the smoking aspects of the devices. They cite Blu’s use of celebrity lunatic and MILF Jenny McCarthy as an example how the companies are trying to make smoking glamorous. The article also commends a UK commercial that uses old people.
E-cigarettes should be marketed as a tobacco deterrent, not the skinny jeans of the inhalation industry
This is where Big Tobacco companies tend to differ with their non-flammable counterparts. In January, a British company without tobacco ties – E-Lites – debuted their first TV commercial, affectionately dubbed “Gangnam Style Baby”. There is an important distinction to be made here.
E-lites is targeting an older clientele of seasoned smokers; middle-aged star Mark Benton is not selling an e-cig lifestyle, but a more convenient device for smoking. The same cannot be said of blu, framed as the perfect companion to a glass of white wine and that “special someone”.
Interesting thought. Except for one problem. The E-Lites ad as been banned from TV because it is too vague. e-Cig companies walk a very narrow line because they can’t brag about quitting smoking. In a way, the Dorffs and McCarthys of the world are the only way to do ads. Sad but true.
An Actual Balanced eCig Article in an Actual Newspaper
Sometimes, there’s no ceasing of minor miracles. Behold, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch which like countless other outlets ran an e-cigarette story around the recent moves by the CDC and AGs in 40 states. The article naturally covered those aspects, but then the reporter actually went around asking questions about e-cigarettes to paint a more complete picture of the industry and its potential to save lives.
Booming sales of e-cigarettes attract big-time marketing and more calls for regulation
E-cigarettes have some support in the medical world as a workable lesser evil. Dr. Walt Sumner, associate professor of medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine, has studied the issue and interviewed vapers and believes e-cigarettes are a safer way for people addicted to nicotine to get that drug, if they must have it.
Sumner said the vapors probably aren’t dangerous and certainly are much better than tobacco smoke — for smokers or people around them.
Isn’t it refreshing to see something other than this imagined plot of Big Tobacco corrupting our youth by introducing e-cigarettes. Ironically, if prohibitionists get their way and e-cigarettes become over regulated, that imaginary conspiracy has potential to become reality.
College Newspaper Offers Balance to eCig Insanity
Amid all the noise of the current rallying of prohibitionists aiming to overregulate e-cigarettes comes a voice of reason. Sadly, it’s not from a traditional news powerhouse but rather a school newspaper. Boston University to be exact. Home of Dr. Michael Siegel. So someone at the paper decided to maybe go and ask the doctor what the deal was with all this e-cigarette frenzy.
Alarm Bells over E-Cigarettes
BU Today: CDC director Tom Frieden says the findings of increased teen use are “deeply troubling,” deeming e-cigarettes a gateway drug to a lifelong addiction to nicotine and regular cigarettes. Do you disagree?
Siegel: Well, first, it’s important to point out that this alarming conclusion is premature. There is no evidence that electronic cigarettes are serving as a gateway to a lifelong addiction to nicotine and conventional cigarettes.
There is something that Dr. Frieden didn’t mention. The overwhelming majority of the youths who reported experimenting with e-cigarettes were already smokers. So the fact that these smokers are experimenting with e-cigarettes is not really a problem. The concern would be if nonsmokers were using electronic cigarettes, and then moving on to regular cigarettes. But the prevalence of nonsmokers experimenting with e-cigarettes in the CDC study was only 0.5 percent. Moreover, the study did not document any examples of youth starting to smoke as a result of first trying electronic cigarettes.
Kind of refreshing to see this in a school paper instead of the typical drivel that comes from many of these publications. Or, for that matter professional news sources whose reporting is often barely above the level of a 3rd rate school paper.
Advocates Speak Out Against Pol's eCig Lunacy
I’m getting a little sick of these stories about politicians saber rattling emboldened by the CDC’s half-truth survey results. US News recently ran an article covering a certain Gentleman from Ohio’s uneducated rants about e-cigarettes. More importantly, they told both sides of the story. That is, the fact there are actually human beings who aren’t riding around on skateboards who depend on flavored e-cigarettes to not smoke and ultimately die. Something the rabble rousers seem to have lost sight of.
Drumbeat Intensifies for Electronic Cigarette Regulations
SFATA President Phil Daman told U.S. News he opposes “simply rolling [e-cigarettes] under the purview of federal and state statutes designed for tobacco products,” such as the Tobacco Control Act.
“They do not fit the mold of a tobacco product and the Tobacco Control Act was not created to address issues concerning these types of products,” Daman said. “These products are technology products, not tobacco products [and] adult consumers want and should have access to this technology, and a diverse variety of flavors if they so choose.
Amid the frenzied push for new regulation, Daman advises “greater and increased communication between the industry, our elected officials, consumers and the FDA to best understand this new technology so that fair and reasonable regulations, if any, are tailored to what these unique products actually are.”
Times are tough these days as it seems to be the prohibitionists’ finest hour. It’s good to see some coverage of the people who have the most to lose by misguided government influence.
It Seems Senators Also Pushing for eCig Taxes
Among all the buzz and noise surrounding the pressuring of the FDA to do “something” about an imagined preying upon of kids by e-cigarettes by assorted politicians is an interesting little gem. Ohio’s senator doesn’t just want regulation, apparently someone figured out there’s sweet tax money to be had. Not merely satisfied with regulations that could jeopardize small businesses, Senator Brown of Ohio wants them taxed equally to traditional cigarettes.
Ohio senator fired up over electronic cigarettes
The senator said he would discuss his concerns about e-cigs and how manufacturers are marketing the products with FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg. While tobacco products can’t be advertised on radio or television, electronic cigarettes are allowed.
In response to my question about whether e-cigs should be taxed at a lower rate than tobacco, Brown replied: “‘It should be taxed the same – federal and state – as cigarettes. … That’s a question I’ll ask the FDA. …
“We hear the rumors that at the (Ohio) Statehouse there are people who want to tax e-cigarettes at a lower rate,” Brown said. “I think that’s wrong. I hope they don’t do that.”
Not only is the idea of heavy taxes outrageous, but so are the unfounded allegations the senator made about e-cigarettes. Essentially, he took the e- from in front of them and acted just like they were regular ol’ cigarettes.
Will Regs Drive More Teens to Use eCigs?
An interesting (and hilarious) article in Above the Law made an interesting point while generally poking fun at the ridiculous arguments for over-burdensome e-cigarette regulation. Up until all this hubbub, e-cigarettes likely would have become a sort of dorky thing people use. Now that they’re going to be forbidden to kids, that’s a different story.
Regulators Fear Stephen Dorff Will Make Children Smoke Cigarettes
Left to their own devices, e-cigs would eventually be as cool as non-alcoholic beer. They’d just be another apparatus that signaled this to the world: “I’ve made horrible choices in my youth, but now I’m trying to change.”
But now the government wants to get involved and regulate the products. So children aren’t tempted to smoke them. Yes, because if there’s one thing that doesn’t tempt children, it’s making something forbidden…
The other thing that got some mention is the idea of flavors somehow being used to lure unsuspecting kids into a life of illicit gadgetry use. Since there aren’t a lot of girls running around in poodle skirts and boys in Davy Crockett hats, bubble gum flavor is unlikely to coax teens into using e-cigarettes.
With Friends Like This - Local Edition (UPDATED)
I’ve featured e-cigarette companies that try to get ahead by throwing the rest of the industry under the bus before. However, I never expected to hear such mutterings coming from my own back yard. A local e-cigarette shop was quoted on a local news station apparently welcoming their FDA overlords by suggesting flavors are targeted at kids and regarding online sales bans as a good thing.
Many in e-cigarette industry support regulations
She expects little change at their store if any regulations are enacted by the FDA, but she believes the online sales will likely stop as a way to better regulate the age of buyers.
“I think what’s going to happen is the FDA is going to start controlling the online sales of those nicotine products, and we agree with that. We think that’s right.”
Obviously the owner expects no impact, or else she wouldn’t be taking the same approach as Big Tobacco to eliminate competition by regulation. The troubling part is that this is a small business who is in favor of regulation that can shut down countless small businesses. But the worst part is that by a retailer saying these things it frames everything like they’re spilling some big industry secret. One that doesn’t exist.
Update, I had an exchange on Facebook with the customer quoted in the story. You may be shocked to hear this, but it seems the local news station sort of cobbled that part I quoted above. While he couldn’t speak for the owner, he did say that quote was out of context and really what she was trying to say was that she wanted to see regulation of online sales (specifically e-liquid quality) not an outright ban. You can see the thread on the Smoky Mount Vapers Facebook page.
UK eCig Commercials Banned for Following Rules
Remember how a handful of e-cigarette companies blazed new trails on UK television by running ads. Then they sort of fell by the wayside. You may also recall the commercials were a little vague out of fear of running afoul of regulations forbidding showing smoking on the idiot box. Well, it turns out that following the rules isn’t the right thing to do either. All three of the spots were banned from TV because they were too vague about what product they were advertising.
First Three E-Cigarette Spots Are All Banned By U.K. Regulator
A spokesman for the ASA, the U.K.’s independent industry regulatory body, said, “These rulings set an important precedent. It’s a useful benchmark for the sector: useful for consumers to know that we are responding to their concerns, and useful for practitioners in the sector to see how the rules are applied.”
In their efforts to comply with the ad codes, the marketers were guilty of lack of clarity. All three spots are pretty obscure because they try so hard not to promote smoking that they neglect to mention what the product does. While they were condemned for being misleading, the ads were cleared by the ASA of being “irresponsible and harmful.”
The classic damned if you do, damned if you don’t scenario. It kind of reminds me of being married.
Forbes Wonders if States Concerned for Kids or Coffers
In an article about the recent news that most state AGs are howling at the FDA to put the smackdown on ecigs, Forbes posits an interesting question. Is it the concern for kids who may or may not be regularly using e-cigarettes, or is it about the cheddar? You see, e-cigarettes are digging into traditional cigarette sales. In turn that means less money comes to states from the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement. e-Cigarette regulation is likely to slow down the rapid growth of the industry, ergo more people smoke and more money flows into states addicted to tobacco money.
Holy End Run! Attorneys General Urge Action As E-Cigarettes Gain Market Share
The AGs, in their letter, urge the FDA to fold e-cigs into the regulatory framework established under the Tobacco Control Act. That would mean no more Super Bowl ads and restrictions on sales to minors. It also might put a dent in the galloping increase in e-cig sales, which threatens to undermine the master settlement and the finances of the states that signed it.
That sort of is the problem with sin taxes. Originally the MSA funds were supposed to be there to combat smoking with cessation programs and medical treatment. But states of course blew the money on hookers and beer or whatever it is states buy these days. Because they use the money for stuff outside of smoking remediation, the states actually need people to smoke to keep funding the annual state potato sack races. Sin taxes encourage sin.
State AGs Implore FDA to Regulate eCigs by Halloween
A letter signed by at least 40 states attorneys general was sent to the FDA today asking them to regulate the industry ASAP. The concern, naturally, is for the kids and the reasoning relies heavily on the CDC’s masterwork of skewed survey results showing an uptick in teen experimentation with the devices.
Download (PDF, 427KB)
Resistance to eCigs Baffling
An article online in the Inquisitir explored the stance of many health organizations on e-cigarettes. The author seemed to be baffled that groups who have fought so hard to reduce smoking would snub their collective noses at e-cigarettes despite their potential to bring smoking rates even lower. Finally, the writer turned to Dr. Micheal Siegel to help explain what is happening.
E-Cigarettes More Effective Than Patch Converting Smokers, But Lung Association Displeased
“True we don’t know the long-term health effect of e-cigarettes, but there’s a very good likelihood that smokers are going to get lung cancer if they don’t quit smoking. If they can switch to these and quit smoking traditional cigarettes, why condemn them?… It’s ironic the very thing that makes them so effective… drives the anti-smoking groups crazy. But what makes them so effective is it mimics the physical behaviors smokers have, which is something the patch can’t do.”
Or, as I like to say in more cynical terms: keeping the sweet, sweet grant money flowing is way more important that keeping those dirty smokers from killing themselves.
Ottawa Heart Institute - We'll Just Ignore that Evidence
You have to admire the tenacity of the Ottawa Heart Institute. When faced with studies suggesting e-cigarettes are, at a minimum, at least as effective as existing cessation methods, they stick to their guns. Rather than trying a new tactic (kids are popular these days, guys), the organization just ignores the evidence by raising the bar in a press release. They claim no evidence but argue it’s not better than other stuff that works.
Ottawa Heart Institute: No evidence e-cigarettes help you quit
E-cigarettes have not been fully evaluated for their efficacy as smoking cessation aids
To date, one 6-month randomized controlled trial has investigated the efficacy of nicotine containing e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation aid, the institutes says. :”Statistical power was insufficient to conclude e-cigarettes were superior to nicotine patches,” the institute said.
So there’s no evidence that says e-cigarettes are effective, except for this one study that says e-cigarettes are as effective as one of the more effective therapies out there. But that doesn’t count, because e-cigarettes are only slightly better.
Guardian Weekly's One-Sided eCig Article
The Guardian, with the help of the Washington Post ran a lengthy article on e-cigarettes. While the article featured a begrudging quote from Stanton Glantz admitting e-cigarettes are less harmful of smoking, the piece seemed to lean more on one side of the issue. In particular, the tried and true arguments, included blurbs from academics while the pro side was handled by random people they dug up from somewhere.
E-cigarettes: a step forward for smokers, or a step into the unknown?
Unlike tobacco cigarettes, electronic cigarettes aren’t currently subject to regulation in the US, which means their ingredients aren’t standardised. The FDA is working on a proposed rule to regulate the devices, wrote agency spokeswoman Jenny Haliski in a prepared statement. Though the FDA did not provide a timeline for regulation, Glantz suspects political pressure makes regulation unlikely to happen soon. For now, researchers are trying to get a handle on the risks and benefits of e-cigarettes. “It’s a new product, and there’s still a lot we don’t know,” says Pallav Pokhrel, a public health scientist at the University of Hawaii Cancer Centre.
You know, I don’t think I’ve ever hoped Stan Glantz was right more than I have with that quote. Sadly, once again I think he’s wrong. It seems that the political pressure is aligning to do some real damage to the industry. October will soon be upon us so we shall see who’s right.
eCig Fire Coverage, Daily Mail Style
Now that the CDC’s survey news cycle has quieted down a bit, it seems like charging mishaps have once again caught the eye of the media. These accidents are, of course, very serious even if they happen to only a tiny fraction of devices on the market. The Mail, however, in its usual style published an article about a UK fire that raises more questions than it answers. Like, was this actually caused by an e-cigarette.
E-cigarette wrecked car when it EXPLODED ‘like a firework’ while being charged overnight leaving seats destroyed and windows blackened
The liquid from the popular £29.99 Vaporiz Tank cigarette replacement is thought to have leaked and caught fire in the explosion.
Father of three Mr Thomas, from Maesycwmmer, South Wales, had left the device charging overnight in the 12V power socket of his company-owned Skoda Superb.
The vehicle engineer said: ‘The car alarm went off in the early hours of the morning so I went out and saw there was no-one around and clicked it off and went back to bed.
At the very least, that sounds like a series of events that doesn’t make much sense. At the worst, it almost sounds like this was a case where an e-cigarette happened to be in a car that caught fire for some other reason. The e-cigarette in the article also seems to be fairly well intact for being the epicenter of a seat-melting fire. I’m not an e-cigarette accident apologist here, I think it is an issue that needs to be addressed, and quickly. But, this reporting is so bad, it really tells us nothing.
Investigative Reporter Doesn't do Much Investigating
An investigative reporter penned a piece about electronic cigarettes in a recent article for Trib Live. While the reporter started out asking questions in the field, he clearly had better things to do that day. After trying an e-cigarette himself, he went with simply regurgitating most of the crap that’s already been published. Not only that, he clearly doesn’t even understand how the FDA works.
Puffing on e-cig questions
Although not a smoker, I picked up a pack of tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes to see for myself. I took one puff and instantly coughed, feeling a slight irritation on the back of my throat. That was it for me.
A co-worker who smokes about a pack a day found it satisfying, though it took a while to figure out how much nicotine he was inhaling. He exhaled what appeared to be smoke but was nothing more than vaporized nicotine. There was no odor — a big plus.
But here’s the problem: No one can say whether or not they’re safe. E-cigarettes haven’t been studied by the Food and Drug Administration, which says they are working on regulations for them.
The lack of knowledge about the risks is worrisome. I’m no advocate of cigarettes, but at least you know what you’re getting: cyanide, benzene, ammonia, etc.
Wow… that’s just so… First of all, it’s very rare the FDA actually studies jack squat of anything. The outsource that stuff. Drug companies and cigarette companies and whoever else they regulate submits research to them along with some money. The FDA then reviews the information and does whatever. Second, why not just stick with you know will kill you instead of something that probably won’t? Oh, and we actually don’t know everything that’s in cigarettes either, benzene and the others are just what we do know about.
Another eCig Charging Failure Injures Child
According to a local news station, an e-cigarette experienced a catastrophic failure while charging in a car en route to Provo, Utah. The e-cigarette apparently vented and caused hot parts to fly about the car. One of the parts landed on a car seat, igniting the fabric and causing minor injuries to a child in the seat before the driver was able to extinguish the smoldering seat. Local fire officials were able to establish the brand of the device and that the factory charger was being used at the time.
Child burned after e-cigarette explodes in car charger
Provo Fire Marshal Lynn Schofield said he has no doubt Barlow’s White Rhino e-cigarette exploded, just like she claimed.
“(The charging e-cigarette) was attended. It was a catastrophic failure of the device,” Schofield said. “And fortunately only minor burns, but painful burns.”
But it’s not the first time Schofield said he has investigated a fire caused by an exploding e-cigarette.
“This is the second time it’s happened in Provo,” Schofield said. “This is the first time we’ve had an injury.”
A quick visit to Rhino’s web site shows that they carry just a couple different rechargeable styles. The kits are fairly generic so it’s not readily apparent who the manufacturer is. The victims are reported to be ok as the burns suffered by the child were minor.
Unintended Consequences of Aus Nicotine Ban
Here’s an example of what happens when you ban something instead of trying to come up with something in the way of reasonable labeling requirements. A black market. That’s what’s going on in Australia according to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald. While it’s clearly an over sensationalized article, it makes a salient point. Because merchants can’t legally sell e-liquid with nicotine in the open, they tend to have a secret stash instead. The problem is, there seems to be a genuine lack of labeling going on with some merchants.
Deadly nicotine blows its way into e-cigarettes
The Tobacco Station Group (TSG) shop in Liverpool supplied a 10-milligram coffee-flavoured e-juice for just $4, stating: ”We can get it for you cheap cheap. Around the corner, they charge $7.”
In Kings Cross, meanwhile, the TSG shopkeeper pointed to a range of legal e-liquids on display before producing a large Cuban cigar box brimming with illegal solutions. Selling this reporter a $12 vial that stated ”Apple” on the side, the shopkeeper said: ”I do not know what is in it, but nicotine definitely yes, medium strength I think. It’s very popular.”
By banning nicotine, it’s allowing people like the latter merchant to sell products with nicotine while having no business to do so. Even in places like the US where there’s no regulations yet, consumer choice ensures that buyers are free to shop around for quality stuff and the industry is generally interested in providing a high-quality product.
Senator Wants to Destroy Small Businesses on a Hunch
We’ve heard all about the senators that want to cripple the e-cigarette industry already. US News ran a piece about Senator Blumenthol’s personal crusade to put hundreds of small business owners out of business by banning flavored e-cigarettes and shutting down online sales. The of course there’s the countless consumers such a move would harm, actually literally kill, if such draconian measures were indeed implemented.
Blumenthal Urges Ban on Electronic Cigarette Flavors, Online Sales
Blumenthal isn’t sold on the health claims and says flavors make e-cigarettes appealing for kids while online sales make them easy to acquire.
“I think flavors ought to be banned,” Blumenthal told U.S. News. It’s “completely disingenuous” to say adults are the primary users of popular flavor options, he said.
“There may be a handful of adults who like bubble gum-flavored e-cigarettes, but the overwhelming purpose,” he said, “is to appeal to kids.”
The senator then backed up his allegations with… nothing at all. Mainly because he’s completely basing this proposal on a purely imagined evil. If anything, this plan might become self-fulfilling prophecy. If flavors and online sales are banned, most of the e-cigarette industry would dry up and blow away. The small businesses that made this industry possible would largely disappear. That would leave the current retail players in place. Many of those will be owned by Big Tobacco. Once they largely control that market, all bets are off as to what they’re going to do with the product.
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Originally posted: e-Cigarette News Roundup for September 27 – Floodgates
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