# Vaping Quotes: e-cig politics



## Alex (21/8/15)

*Vaping Quotes*
A selection of ecig-related quotes from medical experts, law experts, ethicists, regulatory experts, and community advocates.


_Featured quote:_

"You should fight for your lives and your health. It is absolutely irresponsible and dangerous behaviour to ban e-cigarettes."
- Dr K Farsalinos


Contents
On nicotine's potential for dependence
On dependence and addiction
On the safety of nicotine
On nicotine-related topics
On the safety of ecigs
On the potential saving of life
On ecig bans / regulations
On the tobacco control industry
On corruption in public health
On propaganda and junk science
On government oppression
On the W.H.O.
On the EU
On politics
On ethics
On smoking cessation
On the future
On vaping products
On Snus
On general topics



* On nicotine's potential for dependence*
"It seems very safe even in nonsmokers," he said. "In our studies we find it actually reduces blood pressure chronically. And there were no addiction or withdrawal problems, and nobody started smoking cigarettes. The risk of addiction to nicotine alone is virtually nil."
- Dr. Paul Newhouse
Director, Vanderbilt University Center for Cognitive Medicine
April 16, 2014
http://www.tampabay.com/news/health/study-finds-nicotine-safe-helps-in-alzheimers-parkinsons/2175396
https://medschool.vanderbilt.edu/ccm/files/ccm/SFN 2012 Poster MCI- Kamkwalala.pdf
https://medschool.vanderbilt.edu/ccm/files/ccm/SFN 2012 Poster MCI3- Newhouse Chronic.pdf

"There is very little to no evidence for the abuse of nicotine when not delivered in a tobacco vehicle."
- Prof K Fagerstrom
http://nicotinepolicy.net/karl-fagerstrom/520-dependence-on-tobacco-and-nicotine

"Studies have shown that none of the nicotine replacement therapies - chewing gum, inhalers, patches - none of those are addictive. Nicotine is not addictive. The cause of addiction is the release of monoamine oxidase inhibitors, or MAOIs, along with nicotine."
- Prof Peter Killeen
Emeritus Professor of Psychology, ASU
http://www.statepress.com/archive/node/7194

"The changes that FDA is allowing to these labels reflect the fact that although any nicotine-containing product is potentially addictive, decades of research and use have shown that NRT products sold OTC do not appear to have significant potential for abuse or dependence."
US FDA
Nicotine Replacement Therapy Labels May Change
http://www.fda.gov/forconsumers/consumerupdates/ucm345087.htm
_To clarify: the FDA are stating that pure nicotine does not create dependence, although this is slightly obscured._



* On dependence and addiction*
"Addiction these days is a term usually used to refer to a chronic condition in which there is repeated powerful motivation to engage in a purposeful behaviour (usually involving a psychoactive drug) that is or can be harmful."
- R West, 2014-05-09
http://www.rjwest.co.uk/blog.php



* On the safety of nicotine*
"Nicotine does not cause heart disease or cancer."
- Dr K Farsalinos
Consultant cardiologist
http://saveecigs.wordpress.com/2013...sed-on-ideology-and-theories-but-not-science/

"Addiction to nicotine has never caused harm to the user or to bystanders. That is why NRT products are now recommended by the FDA and the MHRA as long-term substitutes for smoking."
- Dr K Farsalinos

Prof P Hajek - QMUL video on ecigs:


"Compared to a range of dangerous non-nicotine chemicals in tobacco smoke, nicotine is relatively harmless, except in pregnancy and in some rare conditions."
- Prof Hajek

Nicotine is not associated with cancer or heart disease.
NICE, PH45
NICE is the clinical guidance authority for all UK medical practitioners

"Nicotine is not the major cause of any disease associated with smoking; it’s comparable to caffeine, which is highly addictive but safely consumed in coffee, tea and cola."
- Prof B Rodu
Professor of Medicine, oral pathology specialist
2014-01-18
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20140119/OPINION04/301190020



* On nicotine-related topics*
"The current optimal plasma cotinine cut-point to distinguish smokers from non-smokers in the general US population is 3 ng ml. This cut-point is much lower than that established 20 years ago, reflecting less secondhand smoke exposure due to clear air policies and more light or occasional smoking."
- Benowitz et al 2009
Nicotine Chemistry, Metabolism, Kinetics and Biomarkers
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2953858/
This quote reveals a common misconception and and in someone other than Benowitz, a lack of medical knowledge: everyone tests positive for nicotine and its metabolytes such as cotinine, since everyone consumes nicotine in the normal diet (in vegetables). Here, we assume this erroneous statement is made due to some form of warped ideology and/or a commercial COI. Equating plasma nicotine measurements to ETS exposure is a fallacy normally indicating regrettable lack of knowledge in persons claiming expertise in this field. Less vegetables in the modern diet are the principal reason for lower measurements now; the 'ETS source' of nicotine for non-smokers is a fabrication, as is obvious from modern measurements.



* On the safety of ecigs*
"Switching is so close as good as quitting that from a health point of view there is no point in worrying about the difference."
- Dr C Phillips

"The risk is negligible and compared with smoking, there is no contest."
- Prof R West
Director of Tobacco Studies, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London
Full quote: http://metro.co.uk/2013/07/04/e-cig...n-there-really-be-smoke-without-fire-3865413/

"Among millions of e-cigarette users, credible adverse events are almost non-existent."
- Prof B Rodu
(commenting on the miniscule number of adverse event reports for ecigs, lodged with the FDA; 47 reports vs >10,000 for Chantix, in exactly the same time period since introduction, and with a larger ecig userbase than for Chantix)

"In exposure terms, quitting equates to switching to the e-cig."
- Prof R Polosa

"We have such a massive opportunity here. It would be a shame to let it slip away by being overly cautious. E-cigarettes are about as safe as you can get."
- Prof P Hajek

"Determining that a tobacco-free nicotine-delivering product is safer than a product that delivers nicotine with thousands of tobacco smoke constituents is a fact of basic science, and anyone who challenges such a notion would probably benefit from a remedial course in basic sciences."
- Prof M Siegel

"E-cigarettes are probably about as safe as drinking coffee."
- Prof R West

"[_e-cigarettes_] pose very small or maybe no health risks."
- Prof P Hajek

"[e-cigarettes] are unlikely to kill anyone".
- D Arnott
Full quote:
“Do you want the tobacco industry to carry on making cigarettes which are highly addictive and kill when used as intended, or do you want them to move to a product which is much nearer licensed nicotine replacement therapy and is unlikely to kill anyone?”
D Arnott, ASH UK, at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2015 annual meeting, San Jose, California.
http://www.bmj.com/content/350/bmj.h3317
https://aaas.confex.com/aaas/2015/webprogram/Paper13548.html

"E-Cigarettes are orders of magnitude safer than conventional cigarettes."
- Prof P Hajek


"Some public health experts have expressed concern that widespread use of e-cigarettes could ‘re-normalise’ smoking. However, we are tracking this very closely and see no evidence of it. Smoking rates are declining, quitting rates are increasing and regular e-cigarette use among never-smokers is negligible."
- R West
http://psychcentral.com/news/2014/09/06/e-cigarettes-give-boost-to-quitting-smoking/74569.html



* On the potential saving of life*
"If all the smokers in Britain stopped smoking cigarettes and started smoking e-cigarettes we would save 5 million deaths in people who are alive today. It’s a massive potential public health prize."
- Prof John Britton
Chair, Tobacco Advisory Group, Royal College of Physicians

"If, on a population scale, smokers switched from cigarettes to e-cigarettes, there will be an enormous public health benefit."
- Prof P Hajek

Excerpt from article:
Even if e-cigarettes were to carry a significant risk of death, say 1/20th that of cigarettes at the upper end, this would reduce to 330 premature deaths per year for every million [_vapers_] saving more than 6,000 lives [_per year per million smokers_]. This is a conservative estimate, as Professor West explains: "It's very conservative because the main toxins from cigarette smoke are either completely absent or in much lower concentrations than 1/20th."
- Prof R West, Dr J Brown
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0914/050914-E-cigarette-policies-should-be-evidence-based
[_West is saying that, at most, 330 vapers per million per year may die from ecig-related mortality, compared to 6,670 per million smokers_ _per year - this is a mortality rate of, at maximum, 0.03% p.a._]

“If we could get all of those people [_who smoke_] to completely switch all of their cigarettes to noncombustible cigarettes, it would be good for public health.”
Mitch Zeller
Director, Center for Tobacco Products, FDA
May 15th, 2014
http://www.help.senate.gov/hearings/hearing/?id=a0a14829-5056-a032-526d-3bc1bfd96586



* On ecig bans / regulations*
“The e-cigarette is a tsunami - you cannot stop it with a law.”
- Prof J F Etter
E-Cigarette Summit, London, 2013-11-12

"I’ve always thought these objections were led by ideology not science or real concern for health. That’s why the Snus case is so revealing. They looked for expedient arguments to support a ban on Snus (gateways, dual use, reduced cessation etc.), but when those arguments proved utterly baseless they still didn’t change their position on wanting a ban. This is why you can’t trust any of those who backed the Snus ban to ever do the right thing on e-cigs - whatever the evidence says, because it isn’t actually about evidence."
- Clive Bates
UK civil servant (= government national administration staff)
Regulatory expert, independent public health advocate
http://www.clivebates.com/?p=1602

"We are trying to help regulators and politicians to put their policies on a rational basis... at the moment it's really driven by vested interests and unsupported worries..."
- Prof P Hajek


"When you can't govern, legislate."
- C Snowdon
2015-04-15

“Legislators are much more interested in the arguments [of middle-class parents] than they are in evidence.”
- P Davidson, UoC
http://www.psmag.com/navigation/health-and-behavior/harm-reduction-movement-picks-steam-93690/



* On the tobacco control industry*
"Part of the tobacco control job description is to avoid thinking critically, after all."
- Dr CV Phillips
THR science specialist
ex-Professor of Public Health, Alberta University

“Hiding THR from smokers, waiting for them to decide to quit entirely or waiting for a new anti-smoking magic bullet, causes the deaths of more smokers every month than a lifetime using low-risk nicotine products ever could.”
- CV Phillips, 2009

"Opposition to THR is an entirely dishonest enterprise."
- Phillips & Rodu

"It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it."
- Upton Sinclair

"In one of the most ironic twists in my 30-year career in tobacco control, the anti-smoking movement is doing more to harm the public's health than to protect it with respect to its position and actions on electronic cigarettes."
- Prof M Siegel
http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/anti-smoking-groups-doing-more-harm.html



* On corruption in public health*
"All who call for ecigs to be removed from the market have a financial COI."
- Prof M Siegel

"...every one of the anti-smoking groups which has called for electronic cigarettes to be pulled off the market ..... has a financial conflict of interest with pharmaceutical companies that manufacture the smoking cessation drugs."
- M Siegel
(Typical resource)
http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/its-official-big-pharma-is-lobbying.html

"Whatever happens with e-cigs next week, thousands of vapers have learned that 'public health' is a financially and morally corrupt enterprise."
- Christopher Snowdon
Twitter, @cjsnowdon
5th Oct 2013, before the final ENVI EU TPD vote

"It's not about *our* health, it's about *their* wealth."
- jpargana, ECF

"You give them grants, you establish friendships, you make sure they become beholden to you, you start programs with them, which they can make a profit from. But they are not going to continue to get money, unless they are saying what you want them to say.
Everybody knows that this is how things work. They know it and you know it - it’s only maybe the public that does not know it.
That’s how you influence the medical establishment. Simply, with money."
- Dr. Peter Rost
former vice-CEO, Pfizer (and whistleblower)

"If you are a skilled pathological liar then Public Health is the field for you."
- sofarsogood, ECF, 2015-01-31

(from Bill Godshall) Barbara inquired:
"I tried to do a quick google search on what percentage of the American Lung Association's funding came from Big Pharm but was unsuccessful. Anyone have any idea?"
"The ALA won't report that info, but the ALA has increasingly relied upon Big Pharma money during the past 20 years. I suspect drug companies have given the ALA at least $50 million in the past 20 years just to promote smoking cessation drugs (and to oppose smokeless tobacco, and more recently e-cigs).
While the ALA (and CTFK, ACS, AHA, AAP, AMA, Legacy, etc.) used to acknowledge Big Pharma funding for various reports and projects, those disclosures (previously insisted upon by Big Pharma donors) have declined significantly during the past several years. I suspect that in recent years (due to our exposing), the drug companies and these funding recipients agreed to cover up Big Pharma's influence over those organizations."
- Bill Godshall, on ECF



* On propaganda and junk science*
"I can't think of a single major environmental, dietary or public health story in my career that has not been driven in some way by junk science. But we are still awash in junk science that affects our health or costs us money, peace of mind and our liberties."
- Steve Milloy
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/junk-science-garbage-policy/article/2567516

Some quotes about chemophobia resulting from the 2015 formaldehyde panic in the USA:
One of the most fundamental principles of toxicology: the dose makes the poison. "Unfortunately, all molecules are potentially toxic," says American University chemist Matthew Hartings. "Toxicity is not just about the molecule but is about both the molecule and its concentration."
Every minute of every day on every inch of this planet, formaldehyde is all around you and inside you. Always.
The concern about formaldehyde in personal care products reveals a bit of chemophobia, which Dartmouth chemistry professor Gordon Gribble defines as, "An irrational fear of chemicals based on ignorance of the facts." He says, "People don’t know how small molecules are, and they believe that single molecules of some chemical pose a health threat."
http://www.slate.com/articles/healt...son_johnson_removed_it_from_baby_shampoo.html



* On government oppression*
"I will never smoke again. Unless my government makes me."
- Ian Firth




* On the W.H.O.*
"While the WHO still does good work to reduce infectious and communicable diseases, it's done an outrageously terrible job on tobacco policies and education."
- Bill Godshall
Independent anti-smoking-harm campaigner
US smoking law expert (has had input into more smoking-related laws than any other person in the world)
World's most committed, active and successful campaigner; world's most successful independent campaigner; world's most respected campaigner

".....it is now clear to me that the WHO is a far greater threat to smoker's health than is the tobacco industry."
- Bill Godshall
http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/another-day-another-e-cigarette.html



* On the EU*
"The EU is a vast, stinking cesspit of corporate corruption."
- Steve Hilton, ex-adviser to David Cameron
http://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2015/05/hiltons-ideas-need-halfons-help.html

"The purpose of the TPD is now, and probably always will be, to protect the income of the pharmaceutical and cigarette industries and preserve tobacco tax revenues."
- CP, while Secretary of ECCA UK

"In the EU a tobacco classification for e-cigarettes is essentially the same as a medicinal classification: an easy way to gradually remove them from the market. Our main problem with tobacco classification is that it, and more especially the individual provisions no matter how spurious, will be a thousand times harder to fight than medicinal classification."
- CP, on Facebook



* On politics*
".....science-based popular education can have an enormous impact on politics."
- Carl Phillips

"The fact is, in a democracy run by fools, it is necessary for people to generally suffer for a period to learn the truth."
- seen in a blog comment by 'Lem'



* On ethics*
"In the case of cigarettes and e-cigarettes, history will judge us harshly as to how we answer this billion-person question. It may also look back in anger at policy-making amounting to institutionalized manslaughter."
- Prof Julian Kinderlerer
President of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE)
http://www.science20.com/news_artic...em_ecigarettes_face_a_fork_in_the_road-153217

"I believe the marketplace can do a better job than the government on the issue of public health."
- Jeff Stier, public health expert, The National Center for Public Policy Research, USA, commenting on e-cigarettes.
Full quote:
"The irony is that a tobacco company is selling a product that could help more people effectively quit, and the government is standing in the way. I believe the marketplace can do a better job than the government on the issue of public health."



* On smoking cessation*
"It's pretty clear to me that e-cigarettes have helped more people quit smoking than the 2009 Tobacco Control Act, all the FDA-approved smoking cessation drugs and all the government anti-tobacco propaganda programs combined."
- Bill Godshall

"Self-motivated quitting is far more effective than NRT."
- M Siegel
http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/new-study-shows-that-even-extended.html



* On the future*
"I predict that by 2050, about half the population will be using tobacco products - almost all low-risk - in free countries where people can afford it. Despite the health risks from such usage being minimal, this is the greatest nightmare of those with the endgame fantasy."
- CV Phillips
http://antithrlies.com/2015/07/24/why-is-there-anti-thr-3-anti-tobacco-extremism/



* On vaping products*
Q: "So is 'pharmaceutical grade' the same as 'USP'?"
A: "No, they are different."
- Neil E. Levin, CCN, DANLA



* On Snus*
"Modern epidemiologic studies reveal that the oral cancer risks from Snus use in Sweden and from modern moist snuff and chewing tobacco use in the U.S. are so small that they cannot be measured with any precision."
- Prof B Rodu, world authority on the oral pathology of tobacco consumption

"[Snus] is a huge success story that hasn’t received enough attention. It shows that other forms of nicotine that aren’t as lethal as cigarettes can be used to reduce death and disease."
"The evidence we have from Sweden is the most solid we have in the world."
- Dr. David B. Abrams, Executive Director of Tobacco Research, American Legacy Foundation
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/30/b...co-says-its-less-harmful-than-cigarettes.html



* On general topics*
"When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators."
- P J O'Rourke

"If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey, he is obligated to do so."
- Thomas Jefferson

"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed; second, it is violently opposed; third, it is accepted as being self-evident."
- Schopenhauer

"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."
- Gandhi

"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."
- Seneca the Younger



* From me*
"When these ecig regulations are imposed, it will be the first time in history that the public will have been forced to go to the black market in order to obtain legitimate products to stay healthy and enjoy a normal lifespan, an odd reversal of the usual situation."
- CP, 2013-06-02

"The new EU TPD is considered to be the most egregiously corrupt statute in history as it will directly lead to millions of deaths for profit."
- CP, 2013-07-30

"I'll listen seriously to any Public Health industry senior staff who run three miles a day, take an additional half an hour's daily exercise of their choice, who drink _only_ water - ever - and who eat _only_ berries, nuts, roots, raw plants, unprocessed cereals, some meat or fish once weekly, the occasional cooked meal, and who never consume any processed food of any kind, and who consume nothing whatsoever in addition, and who have no vices or bad habits of any kind. The rest can [_insert expletive here_] off, since they are massive hypocrites who clearly have no right to pontificate on lifestyle choices or dictate to others what rules to live by."
- CP, 2015-04-21

source: http://www.ecigarette-politics.com/vaping-quotes.html

Reactions: Informative 1


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