Why Vape Advocacy is Important

Why advocate?
•An estimated 480,000 smoking related deaths per year in the U.S. alone
•An estimated 16 million people in the U.S. currently suffer from smoking related illnesses
•An estimated 1 Billion lives will be lost this century to smoking
•Studies have shown that vaping is at least 95% safer than smoking
•Over 40 Million people worldwide have used vaping to quit smoking
•Every 5 seconds a life somewhere in the world is lost to smoking
•Thousands of jobs will be lost
•Doctor prescribed medication used to quit smoking have a long list of health risks and many who use them return to smoking in the long run
Educating Others and Knowing the Facts
There is a great deal of misleading information that can make vaping look bad.
Formaldehyde Study
•New England Journal of Medicine performed a study on Formaldehyde in produced by e-cigarettes
•Their results showed that at 3.3V on a standard variable voltage tank system (pen style) found no Formaldehyde.
•The same system at 5.0V found that over 10 times the amount of Formaldehyde than traditional cigarettes.
•PROBLEM WITH STUDY* The conditions used for this study were completely unrealistic.
•Under such conditions a vaper would never be able to use the product because the coils would be fried and would cause a horrible taste.
Diacetyl Study
•In the 1990’s, factory workers in a microwave popcorn plant contracted Bronchiolitis, also known as ‘POPCORN LUNG’.
•It was generally believed that this was caused from inhaling a powdered form of Diacetyl, in very high concentrations.
•Diacetyl in these cases was used in butter flavoring for the popcorn.
•The Nicotine & Tobacco Research Group conducted a study on “SWEET”
E-liquids to evaluate the levels of Diacetyl presence in them.
•Diacetyl was found in 74.2% of the samples.
•The FDA states on their website that there are no health risks to the public from Diacetyl at levels that are currently used.
•Diacetyl has been a common ingredient in Tobacco for over 50 years
•The amounts found were lower than the strict safety limits for Occupational exposure.
•The amounts found were 110 times lower than in analog cigarettes
•There has been NO documented cases of Popcorn-lung being developed from smoking.
•If in fact, Diacetyl was the cause of Popcorn-lung in the factory works, which has not been proven, it would more than likely be because the Diacetyl was in a powder form and at very high concentrations.
•Even though studies like this are very over blown, most manufacturers of Premium E-liquids strive to limit the levels of Diacetyl in their products to very low levels do to the publics perception.
The FDA’s Deeming Regulations
•The FDA now classifies vaping products as “tobacco” products
•In 2016 the FDA created these new regulations to include all tobacco products, including vaping products.
•The FDA calls e-cigarettes “ENDS” (Electronic Nicotine Delivery System”
FDA Deeming Regulations include;
•Check photo ID of everyone under age 27 who attempts to purchase e-cigarettes or other ENDS.
•Only sell e-cigarettes and other ENDS to customers age 18 and older.1
•Do NOT give away free samples of e-cigarettes or other ENDS, including any of their components or parts.
•Do NOT sell e-cigarettes or other ENDS in a vending machine unless in an adult-only facility. 2
•Beginning in 2018, do NOT sell or distribute e-cigarettes or other ENDS without a health warning statement on the package.
•Beginning in 2018, do NOT display advertisements for e-cigarettes or other ENDS without a health warning statement.
•If you operate a vape shop that mixes or prepares liquid nicotine or nicotine-containing e-liquids, or creates or modifies any type of ENDS, you are considered a tobacco product manufacturer and must comply with all of the legal requirements for tobacco product manufacturers.
•*It has become knowledge that manufacturers will need to pay roughly $1,000,000 per product to go through the approval process.
•Each e-liquid flavor is considered a separate product
•The majority of manufactures will not be able to afford these fees, causing them to go out of business.
Big Pharma & Big Tobacco
•Most cigarette manufacturers will be able to afford these fees and those same manufacturers have or are coming out with their own e-cigarettes
•By current estimates, cigarette sales could decrease by nearly 70 percent by 2024, while e-cig sales are expected to reach more than five million
units by that date.
•The United States government as well as States make billions of dollars a year from Tobacco taxes
•It is not only the tobacco manufacturers who are losing lots of money and market share, pharmaceutical companies who make Smoking Cessation drugs are also taking a big hit.
•Investors who have shares in Tobacco and Pharmaceutical companies are losing a lot of money.
•It appears that this is not a case of “if vaping is safe”, rather a case of Money vs. Health
Conclusion
•It is important to advocate because an entire industry is at risk of going extinct
•It is important to advocate because 1 Billion lives are at stake
•Vaping was how I was successful at quitting smoking and it may have helped you quit
•Smoking kills
•Vaping doesn’t
•Advocate in a professional manner
•We owe it to ourselves, our families and millions and millions of others to fight for our right to be able to choose a healthier alternative to smoking