Science, Politics, & Money
In the past ten years, there has been a great deal of talk about vaping being safe or not, and most of that talk is completely without merit, particularly if it comes from the mainstream media, who say only what they're paid to say (and anyone who thinks differently, I have a bridge I'd love to sell you...). The point is, the safety of vaping can be properly evaluated only by the comparison of vaping to the tobacco smoking it has been designed to emulate and replace.
I doubt if there is anyone on planet Earth unaware of the dangers of smoking tobacco. The exact degree of danger is somewhat debatable, and not truly relevant here, but the Smoke Nazis have driven their social-engineering point home with such gusto and frequency, it's no longer debatable: smoking kills. If we're to swallow the Smoke Nazis' message whole, then even being within a 1-block radius of a lit cigarette can apparently kill you, deform or retroactively abort your children, and cause the sky to fall. They hate smoking so much, that to them, anything that appears to "smoke," must be some type of cigarette, and therefore must be considered equally dangerous, offensive, and just plain evil. |

What they seem to be saying is "if it looks like smoke, then it must BE smoke, and therefore deadly." But e-cigarettes produce VAPOR, not smoke, and they produce that vapor precisely so that addicted smokers may fool their addiction into thinking it's been satisfied, yet without having actually SMOKED -- there is no fire, no tobacco, no ash, no stink, and NO SMOKE.

As for deadly... not even close. Analysis so far is still rather limited, vaping being such a relatively-new phenomenon, but what tests have been carried out scientifically and objectively indicate that vaping is AT LEAST 95% safer than smoking tobacco. The eliquid that is vaporized contains only a few substances: nicotine, in varying levels; a carrier, which may be propylene glycol (PG), vegetable glycerine (VG), or a combination of them; and flavor, which is optional, and may be composed of many different chemical substances. Other research (examples/summaries here and here) has determined that not only is "2nd-hand vapor" NOT dangerous, it's probably even safer to breathe than regular, ambient air -- there is more formaldehyde released by lumber, carpet, and furniture, than will EVER come from vaping, unless you're such a total idiot that you completely incinerate your wick -- which is precisely what the paid-for pre-determined-result "research" did, in order to come up with something suitably alarming. No actual vaper will EVER continue vaping with a wick that is burning, because it tastes HORRIBLE.
Tobacco, on the other hand, particularly the cigarette tobacco available in American cigarette brands, contains many hundreds if not thousands of chemicals -- nicotine being probably the safest one! -- and once ignited, those cigarettes produce thousands more pyrolytic chemicals, a great many of which are proven carcinogens. There is also the matter of particulates -- tiny SOLID particles which result from burning ANYTHING -- which is a hazard both for smokers ("tar"), and even somewhat for anyone in their vicinity. And although the pronouncements about 2nd-hand smoke are grossly exaggerated in order to serve the Smoke Nazi's fascist social-engineering program, 2nd-hand smoke CAN be hazardous, to SOME people -- generally those with some existing breathing problem.
Tobacco, on the other hand, particularly the cigarette tobacco available in American cigarette brands, contains many hundreds if not thousands of chemicals -- nicotine being probably the safest one! -- and once ignited, those cigarettes produce thousands more pyrolytic chemicals, a great many of which are proven carcinogens. There is also the matter of particulates -- tiny SOLID particles which result from burning ANYTHING -- which is a hazard both for smokers ("tar"), and even somewhat for anyone in their vicinity. And although the pronouncements about 2nd-hand smoke are grossly exaggerated in order to serve the Smoke Nazi's fascist social-engineering program, 2nd-hand smoke CAN be hazardous, to SOME people -- generally those with some existing breathing problem.
Nicotine, however, is NOT carcinogenic.
Nicotine is a mild stimulant, an alkaloid not dissimilar to caffeine, and like caffeine, produces a dependency which varies in intensity from person to person -- so the use of it is at much the same level of risk as caffeine, and for the same reasons; the use of it, in vaping, is one of the reasons for the success of vaping in smoking cessation, though it is very far from the only reason -- otherwise the other Nicotine Replacement Therapies would be a great deal more effective than 3%-7%!
The entire point of Tobacco Harm Reduction is to replace an addiction to something provably dangerous, with a dependency on something which conveys many of the same benefits, and little to none of the risk. No one with an ounce of good sense should say that vaping is "safe" -- nothing on planet Earth is safe, and certainly, breathing air is preferable to inhaling anything else, even given the usual quality of modern air. But vaping is so much safer than smoking, every doctor in America and around the world should be recommending them to any of their patients who cannot or will not quit smoking. If there was any such thing as medical ethics, they should be giving them out for free! And certainly, the FDA, CDC, and WHO should be supporting vaping, not acting as if it's the modern plague that must be cured -- there really isn't a "vaping epidemic" at all, let alone among young people. Gottlieb has quite obviously been bribed to utter such ridiculous things, probably by Big Pharma, to do anything he can to undermine vaping -- it cuts into Big Pharma's bottom line too much.
A lot of very smart people have written on the subject of Tobacco Harm Reduction, but there are three websites in particular you should visit if you want to know more: (the links will open in new windows)
The entire point of Tobacco Harm Reduction is to replace an addiction to something provably dangerous, with a dependency on something which conveys many of the same benefits, and little to none of the risk. No one with an ounce of good sense should say that vaping is "safe" -- nothing on planet Earth is safe, and certainly, breathing air is preferable to inhaling anything else, even given the usual quality of modern air. But vaping is so much safer than smoking, every doctor in America and around the world should be recommending them to any of their patients who cannot or will not quit smoking. If there was any such thing as medical ethics, they should be giving them out for free! And certainly, the FDA, CDC, and WHO should be supporting vaping, not acting as if it's the modern plague that must be cured -- there really isn't a "vaping epidemic" at all, let alone among young people. Gottlieb has quite obviously been bribed to utter such ridiculous things, probably by Big Pharma, to do anything he can to undermine vaping -- it cuts into Big Pharma's bottom line too much.
A lot of very smart people have written on the subject of Tobacco Harm Reduction, but there are three websites in particular you should visit if you want to know more: (the links will open in new windows)
Why Vaping Works (and pharmaceutical NRT doesn't)
Cigarette smoking is one of the most profound addictions that mankind has ever known, possibly THE most profound; most people find it very difficult to quit, and some people find the many kinds of suffering caused by smoking-cessation to be so agonizing, it's near-impossible for them to quit permanently -- they may force themselves to lay the cigarettes down, but relapse over and over, just to end the absolute misery.
There are very good reasons for that extreme difficulty, which Big Pharma has not even BEGUN to address with their Nicotine Replacement Therapy products -- because they have zero interest in assisting smokers to quit: NRT is a literal goldmine for them, and if smokers actually quit, then they don't buy anymore [very expensive] NRT, and smokers who quit also become much less likely to require the various and expensive medications for cancer, asthma, COPD, and various anti-inflammatory pharmaceutical products, or to need far less of them. It is not happenstance that the beginning of the intense pogrom on smoking coincides with Big Pharma's discovery that it could make massive profits from sales of nicotine; the fact that Big Pharma doesn't have any financial stake in vaping from which to make profits explains why Big Pharma hates vaping so much and funds so much totally bogus "science" to try and discredit it, but it doesn't explain why vaping is so much more effective.
To help explain this, it's necessary to first consider a few facts:
1. Nicotine is not the only psychoactive chemical in cigarette smoke;
2. People with various types of neurochemical disorders find smoking cessation impossible, or nearly so;
3. Cigarette smoke also contains anti-inflammatory chemicals;
4. People with various inflammatory/auto-immune disorders find smoking cessation impossible, or nearly so;
5. Long-ingrained behavior is much harder to change or quit than mere chemical dependency.
The first four are accounted for and well-explained in the "WTA" page -- those "minor" tobacco alkaloids, including the MAOIs, are of huge benefit to those smokers wishing to quit who suffer neurochemical and/or inflammatory/auto-immune disorders. If Big Pharma added those minor alkaloids to their NRT products, those products would jump in efficacy -- but as noted, Big Pharma has no interest in actually helping smokers quit, since quitting would mean they wouldn't keep buying those NRT products -- and it's likely they would also need far less of the medications they take for those neurochemical/inflammatory disorders.
The fifth point is by far the biggest reason why vaping is far more successful than any other form of NRT, regardless of the presence or absence of any other chemicals: because vaping mimics the BEHAVIOR of smoking. It's not an exact replica -- the inhalation technique is a bit different, vaporized nicotine/alkaloids take much longer to hit the brain than those same alkaloids in smoke (roughly 15 minutes as opposed to 10-15 seconds), and vaping is more complicated as there are many different aspects to consider, and customize: flavor, wattage, nicotine level, ratio of PG/VG, and holding something far larger than a cigarette, which generally has a larger "mouthpiece" than the filter of a cigarette -- but the sensation of suction, of inhaling something (which looks like smoke), then exhaling something (which looks like smoke)... all those are very similar to smoking, and satisfy much, if not all, of the same longterm habit.
There are very good reasons for that extreme difficulty, which Big Pharma has not even BEGUN to address with their Nicotine Replacement Therapy products -- because they have zero interest in assisting smokers to quit: NRT is a literal goldmine for them, and if smokers actually quit, then they don't buy anymore [very expensive] NRT, and smokers who quit also become much less likely to require the various and expensive medications for cancer, asthma, COPD, and various anti-inflammatory pharmaceutical products, or to need far less of them. It is not happenstance that the beginning of the intense pogrom on smoking coincides with Big Pharma's discovery that it could make massive profits from sales of nicotine; the fact that Big Pharma doesn't have any financial stake in vaping from which to make profits explains why Big Pharma hates vaping so much and funds so much totally bogus "science" to try and discredit it, but it doesn't explain why vaping is so much more effective.
To help explain this, it's necessary to first consider a few facts:
1. Nicotine is not the only psychoactive chemical in cigarette smoke;
2. People with various types of neurochemical disorders find smoking cessation impossible, or nearly so;
3. Cigarette smoke also contains anti-inflammatory chemicals;
4. People with various inflammatory/auto-immune disorders find smoking cessation impossible, or nearly so;
5. Long-ingrained behavior is much harder to change or quit than mere chemical dependency.
The first four are accounted for and well-explained in the "WTA" page -- those "minor" tobacco alkaloids, including the MAOIs, are of huge benefit to those smokers wishing to quit who suffer neurochemical and/or inflammatory/auto-immune disorders. If Big Pharma added those minor alkaloids to their NRT products, those products would jump in efficacy -- but as noted, Big Pharma has no interest in actually helping smokers quit, since quitting would mean they wouldn't keep buying those NRT products -- and it's likely they would also need far less of the medications they take for those neurochemical/inflammatory disorders.
The fifth point is by far the biggest reason why vaping is far more successful than any other form of NRT, regardless of the presence or absence of any other chemicals: because vaping mimics the BEHAVIOR of smoking. It's not an exact replica -- the inhalation technique is a bit different, vaporized nicotine/alkaloids take much longer to hit the brain than those same alkaloids in smoke (roughly 15 minutes as opposed to 10-15 seconds), and vaping is more complicated as there are many different aspects to consider, and customize: flavor, wattage, nicotine level, ratio of PG/VG, and holding something far larger than a cigarette, which generally has a larger "mouthpiece" than the filter of a cigarette -- but the sensation of suction, of inhaling something (which looks like smoke), then exhaling something (which looks like smoke)... all those are very similar to smoking, and satisfy much, if not all, of the same longterm habit.
Government Overreach
On 8/8/16, the FDA imposed the biggest, most monstrous LIE on the American people since Prohibition went into effect: the "Deeming Regulations," designed to somehow magically turn something which ISN'T tobacco, into tobacco -- because they say it is -- just as the Emperor looks spiffy in those new, INVISIBLE clothes.
I say they're full of shit, and really need to be removed from any position of any authority whatsoever, they have so egregiously abused it. They have lost ALL credibility, along with the CDC and WHO, thanks to their greedy, industry-serving stance on the greatest boon to public health since the smallpox vaccination -- yes, all the way back to the eighteenth century!
The "Deeming" regulations also specify that vendors and manufacturers can no longer depend on their First Amendment rights and tell the truth: they can no longer say that vaping is at least 95% safer than smoking cigarettes -- even though it's true, and Public Health England and The Royal College of Physicians have said as much. At some point in the last couple years, I heard there was a lawsuit in the works for this obscene trampling of the US Constitution, but I've since heard nothing further about it. Apparently the FDA thinks the constitutional rights and freedoms specified in the Bill of Rights have simply ceased to exist.
But guess what? I'm not a manufacturer nor a vendor; I'm just a housewife with a website, who very happily hasn't had a cigarette in nearly five years now, thanks entirely to vaping -- and the FDA will not stifle me; I WILL tell the truth: if you switch from smoking to vaping, you have a much better chance of living longer, than if you continue smoking. You have a much better chance of not just living longer, but living better: less coughing, less disgusting mucus, less colds and flu, less tedious standing around outdoors in all weathers just to "get your fix," less poverty, less odious stink of your person and hair and garments, and a whole lot less ashes and burnholes in your clothing -- like, ZERO!
I won't lie; if you've been a smoker for a decade or three or five, you still may have some negative health consequences -- the damage from smoking is cumulative (like the damage from sunburn), and may still lead to cancer and/or other serious health conditions, even if the exposure is completely removed -- but your chance of NOT getting cancer or other serious tobacco-related illness is much greater if you don't keep adding to the risk, a puff at a time.
I will not be silenced. Vaping can save lives -- a billion of them, this century -- and the FDA is full of shit, and needs to be summarily dismissed.
At the very least, Gottlieb needs to be dismissed, as he very clearly has been bought -- probably by Big Pharma. He went from discussing the "continuum of risk," to threatening the entire vape industry due to a totally non-existent "youth vaping epidemic" -- a very clear indicator of a BRIBED public official fabricating total BS from thin air to suit those paying his bribe.
I say they're full of shit, and really need to be removed from any position of any authority whatsoever, they have so egregiously abused it. They have lost ALL credibility, along with the CDC and WHO, thanks to their greedy, industry-serving stance on the greatest boon to public health since the smallpox vaccination -- yes, all the way back to the eighteenth century!
The "Deeming" regulations also specify that vendors and manufacturers can no longer depend on their First Amendment rights and tell the truth: they can no longer say that vaping is at least 95% safer than smoking cigarettes -- even though it's true, and Public Health England and The Royal College of Physicians have said as much. At some point in the last couple years, I heard there was a lawsuit in the works for this obscene trampling of the US Constitution, but I've since heard nothing further about it. Apparently the FDA thinks the constitutional rights and freedoms specified in the Bill of Rights have simply ceased to exist.
But guess what? I'm not a manufacturer nor a vendor; I'm just a housewife with a website, who very happily hasn't had a cigarette in nearly five years now, thanks entirely to vaping -- and the FDA will not stifle me; I WILL tell the truth: if you switch from smoking to vaping, you have a much better chance of living longer, than if you continue smoking. You have a much better chance of not just living longer, but living better: less coughing, less disgusting mucus, less colds and flu, less tedious standing around outdoors in all weathers just to "get your fix," less poverty, less odious stink of your person and hair and garments, and a whole lot less ashes and burnholes in your clothing -- like, ZERO!
I won't lie; if you've been a smoker for a decade or three or five, you still may have some negative health consequences -- the damage from smoking is cumulative (like the damage from sunburn), and may still lead to cancer and/or other serious health conditions, even if the exposure is completely removed -- but your chance of NOT getting cancer or other serious tobacco-related illness is much greater if you don't keep adding to the risk, a puff at a time.
I will not be silenced. Vaping can save lives -- a billion of them, this century -- and the FDA is full of shit, and needs to be summarily dismissed.
At the very least, Gottlieb needs to be dismissed, as he very clearly has been bought -- probably by Big Pharma. He went from discussing the "continuum of risk," to threatening the entire vape industry due to a totally non-existent "youth vaping epidemic" -- a very clear indicator of a BRIBED public official fabricating total BS from thin air to suit those paying his bribe.
03/11/19
I learned on 03/08/19 that Gottlieb has resigned, as of the end of March, so dismissal will not be necessary. I'm unsure if this is a positive or negative development for vaping; obviously it bears watching, to see who is appointed in his place.
I learned on 03/08/19 that Gottlieb has resigned, as of the end of March, so dismissal will not be necessary. I'm unsure if this is a positive or negative development for vaping; obviously it bears watching, to see who is appointed in his place.