Vick's Vapor Blog

NZ researchers suggest 10-year end game for smoking

2010-10-11T17:56:00.000-05:00

http://tobaccoreporter.com/home.php?id=498&art=3823

Ok, so this is a little research study done in New Zealand, but its intent and its message is very scary. Put bluntly, this study has suggested that the NZ government start phasing out the amount of tobacco available for import (and thus, for sale) in gradually decreasing amounts, to be completely tobacco-free in 10 years. Of course, quit smoking products from our buddies at Big Pharma would be available, as would the wonderful pharmacopoeia of drugs offered to help those struggling smokers break their addiction. The goal would be to force those last, reluctant smokers to give up their butts.

Honestly, this frightens me. This is, to put it bluntly, tobacco PROHIBITION. The forcing of the "Moral Right's" views on the general populace.

What happened during the 20's when we in the US tried prohibition with alcohol? Anybody? Anybody?

Well, a few people stopped drinking. But the majority started simply buying their booze on the black market. And with that black market came the mobsters, and organized crime, and an absolute explosion of violence for them crimesters to KEEP their marketplace. It was such a miserably failed experiment in the folly of trying to morally control man's vices that the amendment was repealed within a decade...the only amendment to the US Constitution to be repealed.

Might I quote here: "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

Do we really want to see a black market emerge in the cigarette arena? Do we really want a revisit of the crime and violence? Think on how much crime is generated already in this country over illegal drugs. Care to triple that? Quadruple it? How much closer must we get to complete chaos in this country before those in charge realize that there are SOME people you simply can't force into doing your wishes?

Pasadena City College Opinion Piece

2010-09-30T20:24:00.000-05:00

Much as it pains me to post a link to an article such as this - here's what the PV is up against -

http://media.www.pcccourier.com/media/storage/paper1346/news/2010/09/30/Opinion/Electronic.Cigarette.Companies.Not.To.Be.Trusted-3939131.shtml

And here's how I responded...let's see if they actually allow my comments to be posted (although I, for one, am not holding my breath)

My, my, my. Allow me to correct just a few mis-conceptions you've written here...For starters, the tobacco giants had nothing to do with the creation of the electronic cigarette - in fact, the E-Cig is a direct competitor to the traditional, tobacco cigarette.

E-Cigs are marketed and used by consumers as an alternative to tobacco - better in many ways to a cigarette because there is nothing to light on fire and no by-products of combustion (such as smoke) to inhale into your lungs.

While there are some distributors who are, as in any industry, willing to make any sensationalist claims to make a quick buck, this product is NOT marketed as a way to quit smoking ... although many users have found that to be a happy side-effect to regularly using them. And while many users do wean themselves down on the nicotine, there are many more who do not, using this as a long term recreational nicotine consumption product.

Would you insist that the entire bottled water industry be shut down because a few resellers have claimed that their water is better because it cures cancer? Of course not - that would be absurd. Yet, that's exactly what the FDA want to do to the E-Cig industry ... shutting down thousands of honest distributors for the sake of silencing the few out there who are just in it to make a quick buck. And all because this is a competitor to not only the tobacco giants, but the pharmaceutical giants as well (with their NRT products).

Nicotine is not, by itself, THAT harmful - it has risks similar to caffeine. Plenty of studies within a few mouse-clicks on Google will tell you that.

Care to do a little research and re-evaluate your article here?

An Accidental way to Quit Smoking

2010-09-19T21:23:00.000-05:00

First and formost - the link:

http://riverjournal.com/vivvo/news/1695-accidentalnotsmoking_bixler_092010.html

Thank you so very much for writing this article - it's an excellent piece. It states things cleanly and precisely, puts the entire scope of the smoking wars in perspective. Make no mistake, there IS a war in progress, and we're all the foot-soldiers in that war...anyone who currently uses nicotine in ANY form: snus, snuff, cigarettes, pipes, PV's, NRT's, cigars, and many other nicotine-products out there that people use to sustain their nicotine balance.

Midwest VapeFest 2010

2010-09-12T18:25:00.000-05:00

And here it is...the aftermath of one of the greatest experiences of my life...I attended one of the largest gatherings of vapers in the US (would it sound pretentious to claim the WORLD?) - This last weekend we descended, en mass, to St. Louis, and took the town by storm.

Link is to my Photobucket Page, which is currently housing the pictures I captured of this event.

http://s974.photobucket.com/albums/ae221/Vicks-Vap-oh-yeah/Midwest%20VapeFest%20photos/

And, it gets better - not only was this event the largest gathering to date, we had a fantastic write-up in the St. Louis paper..

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_0e142538-4114-597a-a896-e249c8e58b6f.html

Which was a positive piece.

Let me genuflect on the experience... it will be emblazoned in my memory forever. These people who gathered, vapers all, united in their common practice. There were people there from all across the US, a few from Canada, and many, many more who couldn't be in attendance watching on the live video stream.

The thing that hits me the hardest about the experience? That I got to meet so many of the people I've known for a year plus, for the first time. Glorious!

FDA Sabre Rattling

2010-09-12T16:41:00.003-05:00

First, here's the link to our lovely FDA's page:

http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm225224.htm

Here's the face of the story - the FDA has sent warning letters to 5 distributors or manufacturers of either the hardware or the liquid, regarding their sales promotions of PV's...claiming (continuing to claim) that these are unregulated or adulterated drug-delivery devises which need a new drug application to be sold, as so stated by the FDCA, which is the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, and how the FDA was granted authority to regulate all food, drugs, and cosmetics sold in this country.

The biggest problem I have with the letters the FDA sent out, is they are still trying to regulate the products as a drug-delivery device under the FDCA, when Judge Leon specifically said they have all the authority to regulate these under the FSCPA (Family Smoking Control Protection Act) that they need, when he tendered his opinion in January. Granted, I'm biased here, being a PV consumer, but I'm inclined to agree with Leon's opinion.

If they (the FDA) really wanted to, they could drop this absurd appeal, and be regulating the products RIGHT NOW, as tobacco alternatives or a reduced risk product. Think on this - they have the authority, granted them by Congress, to hold manufacturers to quality and purity standards...all they have to do is come up with WHAT standards are acceptable.

Instead, they continue to push the appeal, they continue to make noises that these are drug delivery devices, they have now stepped up to harass local distributors, and they continue to waste the taxpayer's money while doing so. This could be OVER, folks, if the FDA would accept the premise that has been laid down by Judge Leon, that PV's are recreational nicotine consumption products, JUST LIKE CIGARETTES, and regulate the marketplace accordingly.

Why will the FDA not yield to this? Face. To back down now, to state that 'we were wrong,' would cost the FDA face, reputation, and status.

Sick yet? I am.

The E-cigarette vs. the FDA by Paul Fetters

2010-07-30T07:12:00.000-05:00

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig11/fetters1.1.1.html

Paul Fetters, if you are reading this due to my link - THANK YOU. I have to say you are well researched, articulate, and certainly call it like you see it.

And, you are right, in all counts.

The Rest of the Story Blog entry

2010-07-26T18:32:00.000-05:00

http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/

Now, I've linked to this blog on those I'm following, but this one deserves special attention, simply because Dr. Mike Siegel wrote a potent statement (below).

When a product on the market is benefiting many people and leading to marked health improvement, the burden of proof is on those who want it removed from the market to demonstrate that the product is causing harm. This is why we err on the side of leaving products on the market until they are shown to be harmful. Since electronic cigarettes are already on the market, I feel that the same standard should hold. They should be removed from the market only if it is demonstrated that they are causing adverse effects. The burden of proof is on those who want the product removed.

THIS is the crux of the issue surrounding E-Cigs....that this is ALREADY an established market in the US, with 1000's of small vendors and resellers, and a customer base above 100,000 users in the US alone. The FDA and the other alphabet-organizations would kill this industry in totality in their bid to squash the competition these products offer against the giants at Big Pharma.

An alternative that works. That breaks the cycle of quit, smoke, quit, smoke, quit, smoke, which lines the pockets of Pharma with its ineffective smoking cessation products, tobacco with sales of its deadly cigarettes, and our Government, which taxes heavily and uses the funds to shore up its own ineptitude in managing the rightfully-collected taxes every citizen must pay.

Wauwatosa Potential Nicotine ban

2010-07-16T23:12:00.001-05:00

Got some potentially bad news today in the form of this article:

http://www.wauwatosanow.com/news/98420549.html

'Tosa (which isn't that far away from me) is considering strengthening their smoking policies for City Workers. Well, that's good, to a point, but the way they're going about it has me worried...first, the inconsistencies in their approach.

They quote the damage from second-hand smoke (SHS) as their major reason for considering tightening up their policy. Well, first, any anti-smoking ordinance is going to quote the old standby of SHS, the clean air act, and all that rot. The SHS mythos has gotten a lot of mileage, and, while I don't deny that there are people out there who are, indeed, extremely sensitive to SHS, I seriously get tired of the exaggerations. There are militant groups such as ASH who claim that as little as a 30 minute exposure to SHS will have an otherwise healthy individual dropping dead of a heart attack, and this is what is fueling most of the hatred.

Let's keep it real, people. SHS is NOT as dangerous as it's being made out to be to the general population.

Need to get back on point. The inconsistencies. Their primary focus is SHS - but then they go on to include smokeless tobacco products and non-smoking alternatives such as my PV in their ban. Tell me how these products affect clean air? Anyone?

I hear crickets.

If they want to focus on the last remaining smokers to force them to quit their habit, they realistically have to look at the history of the anti-smoking movement, and see what it has done before. Education. Scare tactics. Demonization and denormalization. For the smokers that are left, die hard, loyal to their products, and more than a bit armored against all the social engineering aimed at them already, these aren't going to work...they haven't worked so far, what makes anyone think their going to work now???

These last remaining smokers are, in other terms, the antibiotic-resistant strain of bacteria, the 'super virus's' of the world of nicotine/tobacco use. They will not give up their vice. Period. Some simply need the nicotine to function, some are just stubborn, and some have the whole REBEL thing down to a science. They've taken the anti's 'quit or die' approach with zeal, and are committed to DYING for their cigs.

Clearly, the force has met the irresistible object. Neither are willing to concede defeat...and so the dance goes on in all its macabre glory.

If this country truly wants to eliminate smoking in the US, they need to switch tactics. The education has happened. Everyone, everywhere, is aware of the dangers of smoking. The health risks. The denormalization, the demonification of these products.

We get it.....smoking is BAAAAAAAAAD.

The tobacco giants finally get it, too...they are starting to develop and sell alternate products - American snus is gaining popularity. E-Cigs are starting to go mainstream. Camel's putting the orbs, sticks, and strips in test markets. ALL these products are developed as alternatives to smoking, safer by far, because none of them involve lighting a carbon-based substance on fire, and sucking the results of that combustion into your lungs, and NONE of them share those hazardous by-products with bystanders around them.

We need our Gov't to embrace these new products. Push them as alternatives, cheaper and acceptable. Educate the population that there are products out there that CAN still give smokers the taste, actions, and nicotine spikes in their bloodstreams that they need, want, desire, and wish to continue doing, while minimizing the risks and eliminating the social stigmas attached to smoking.

They give smokers these alternatives, and they'll see the smoking rates decline rapidly, without all those messy side effects, like death.

It's called compromise, and needs to be on both sides of the fence. Smokers need to use these alternative products. Gov't needs to embrace them.

CTFK CNN Opinion Piece

2010-06-30T18:51:00.001-05:00

This article, showing up in today's CNN Opinion section, is written by Matthew Meyers, who is the President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK).
Here's the article:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/06/29/myers.big.tobacco/

I'll take his rantings and give you my own (ok, I'm biased, and I'll admit it here, as I consider him to be one of the biggest Tobacco-haters out there, next to Banzaff at ASH) opinions.

The Supreme Court's decision puts the responsibility squarely on elected officials to eliminate the tobacco industry's harmful influence and take effective action to protect the nation's health.

Ok. Now, this is scary. Screaming out for the need for the members of the Hill to rise up and protect us all from the evil Tobacco Empire? Shouldn't the consumers do that, by simple marketplace choice? But, no, wait....we don't have that option anymore. We're now supposed to let our elected officials do the thinking for us. Can you say 'Nanny state?'

Congress and the Obama administration should fund a national public education and stop-smoking campaign, and the Food and Drug Administration must effectively exercise its new authority to regulate tobacco products.

Personally, I think there isn't a person on the face of this planet who DOESN'T know at this point that smoking is dangerous, addictive, and has a 50-50 chance of killing you prematurely. Do we REALLY need to fund additional educational and stop-smoking campaigns? Hmmm. From the perspective of CTFK, I'd say yes....because at least a portion of that funding will go into their coffers.

And the FDA exerting its newly-gained authority to regulate tobacco products? They've done a bang-up job of it so far...banning those dangerous 'candy-flavored cigarettes!!!' that less than 5% of the current smoking population used, restricting advertising further, and flatly refusing to educate the public on the concept of Reduced Harm Tobacco Products.

Tell me, please, how burying the truth, that not all tobacco products carry the same risk, is this protecting the public?

As smoking rates have declined and restrictions on smoking have multiplied, the industry has introduced new smokeless tobacco products and significantly increased marketing for them. Some of these products look like candy, are flavored like candy and have colorful packaging like candy. They are easily concealed in settings such as classrooms.
Even as the FDA begins to exercise its new authority over tobacco products, the industry concocts new schemes to thwart the regulations.

Far be it from me to criticize what the CFTK is telling me (no, wait.....I WILL criticize) but it sounds like the tobacco industry is simply trying to re-invent its product lines to REDUCE the harm of combustible cigarettes - just as countless other industries have done when society or technology makes their products unfavorable or obsolete.

And speaking of these new.....candy-like nicotine products....has anyone had a chance to look over the new Nicorette Mini-lozenges? Why aren't our friends at CTFK denouncing THESE products as well...after all, they come in mint flavors, a convenient package, look like a breath mint, contain nicotine, and are available OTC.

Where are the crys of 'WE MUST PROTECT THE CHILDREN FROM THIS POISON-LACED CANDY!!!'

Oh yea, that's right...they're not being denounced because they are made by our friends at Big Pharma, and they have NOTHING but your health on their minds, don't ya know......

Pffffft! The bias is screaming to our population.

The tobacco industry spends nearly $13 billion annually -- $35 million every single day -- to market its deadly and addictive products.

So? How much money is dumped into advertising campaigns for new drugs, which later have to be pulled from the marketplace because of 'unforeseen adverse side-effects.' How much money is dumped into advertising for alcohol - another highly-addictive substance sold for legal consumption to informed adults, for food products with a high-level of allergens, for automobiles that kill millions of people every year, for........well, you get my point.

I, for one, am tired of the 'damned if they do, damned if they don't' mentality of the anti-smoking crowd. Their mission has changed for the worse.

They are hell-bent not on protecting the innocent public, but punishing the guilty Tobacco Giants. Can you see the harm in this shift in thought?

Dr. Gupta Mentions E-Cigs in his Blog

2010-06-03T18:18:00.001-05:00

There was an article today in Dr. Gupta's blog regarding my toys - one that I simply was moved to reply to....and I wasn't the only vaper who was so inspired. Before I forget - here's the article: Paging Dr. Gupta

And here's my response to his article.

Well, I'd say the FDA has certainly gotten fair value for the dollar on that alarmist press release they put out last summer. The misinformation simply continues to spread like wildfire – and everything points back to the source of things as that press release. Not the STUDY – the PRESS RELEASE.

I am not a member of CASAA. I do not get any financing from any E-Cig manufacturer, anti-smoking charity organization, tobacco manufacturer, or government agency. I am simply a consumer of these products.

Personally, I think its a shame and a tragedy that the PRESS RELEASE is what is so devastating in defining both professional and private public opinions on the E-Cig. If anyone were interested, they can find information on these products readily available on the web, and you can easily confirm that information with several different sources. But, alas, it is not the case...it is simply easier to take one small piece of misinformation and run with it.

I remember when research in this country used to mean something...that people, both in their private lives and their professional ones, would take the time to examine the situation from multiple angles BEFORE voicing a solid opinion.

Nowadays, its degenerated into nothing more than knee-jerk reactions and the parroting of misinformation created by those who would control the masses with emotionally-laden alarmist statements.

Smoke Free Wisconsin Needs Education

2010-05-18T22:47:00.001-05:00

SmokeFree Wisconsin does not like the PV (big surprise, there) and they have a habit of not publishing comments that are unfavorable to their position on their blog. I've since become inspired again to leave a comment on their blog regarding their last entry against E-Cigarettes. Any bets on whether or not they'll allow it to be published?

Nonetheless, the words were, in my opinion (and I'm the author, so I'm biased here) powerful, and I thought I'd share them with you even if SFW doesn't feel the need to.

The post, and reply, are here:

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2397141130780617925&postID=1917467756665836296&page=1&token=1274240879376_AIe9_BFMZLr8yak8lKCZ2DhMs6rdtiibYXtk9efgSbQBQOfIPoJ2T_CQ_pyZL_B_LcTj-HJ7ql3cRYR8QcFY8VXFaa8XwRGlCOeAD3zkVQNjGNzaPAXqRW3EyhuWZlk4TlwhYsie-cAPmd_NKHy21PIWcGlM3D42_jVNmprIDT2Keh_v7I82Yx8h9l-djLT9pP_-RIMDoeMmoTAI5T9KTjgUS75JQsyiXkXTW814FnCptQbF9yLJwFXhRy0b7vA-lCkVeX_uJRi4

Basically, they are lauding CTFK's disgust at the Honorable Judge Leon's ruling for PV's in January.

And this would be my reply:

Ok, Erich. I've got a few things to point out in your Feb. 8 response to John Richards.

First and formost - disconnect E-Cigarettes from the Tobacco Giants. Completely. The E-Cig is C.O.M.P.E.T.I.T.I.O.N. to Big Tobacco. They'd like nothing more than to see a product that works for the bulk of smokers as an alternative to their deadly products removed from the market and buried completely.

Second, nicotine is not the bad guy here. Nicotine gets a bad rap because of it's traditional delivery device: Cigarettes. If nicotine was so dangerous, so horrible a chemical, would it be approved for usage by the Pharmaceutical Giants? Nicotine helps increase cognitive function, can help adults with AD/HD self-medicate their disease, and shows promising in lessening the impact of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. http://www.forces.org/evidence/hamilton/other/nicotine.htm

Third, you state that these products have not been proven better or healthier. Again, there are studies, including the one by the FDA, that show that the E-Cig is, indeed, safer than the product they are intended to replace: CIGARETTES.

http://vapersclub.com/safe.html This website provides plenty of information on E-Cigs. I implore you to browse this, and come to an informed opinion of the product instead of relying on half-truths and media 'spin.'

Thank you for your time.

A New Cessation Device brought to you by Pharma

2010-05-16T09:15:00.000-05:00

Someone pointed me in the direction of this rather interesting article:

http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2010/03/11/New-cessation-therapy-more-like-smoking/UPI-18501268337795

This Pharma house is working on developing a new nicotine delivery system - all well and good, that's what a Pharma house does, continuing to develop new chemical compounds to help us all live longer, more productive lives. But I'm reading between the lines, here, and coming up with some interesting conclusions all on my own.

...have been developing a method to deliver nicotine to the lungs that recreates some of the familiar sensations pleasurable to smokers.

"We wanted to replicate the experience of smoking without incurring the dangers associated with cigarettes, and we wanted to do so more effectively than the nicotine replacement therapies currently on the market," Jed Rose, director of the Duke Center for Nicotine and Smoking Cessation Research, says in a statement.

Bully for them. A 'safer' smoking experience is what they're after, one that emulates smoking without the actual combustion, delivers nicotine deep in the lung, and gives the smoker the feel of smoking. As an aside, I'll also read into this statement admission that the current NRT's on the market have room for improvement.

Got news for them: the Electronic Cigarette already does these things, and does them well.

Let's take a look at what's in these, though:

http://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/news/20100227/new-nicotine-inhaler-may-help-smokers-quit

The device they came up with does not use fire or heat. Instead, as the smoker draws air through the cigarette-shaped device, a chemical called pyruvic acid is drawn into contact with nicotine, creating a cloud of nicotine pyruvate vapor.

Ok. Pyruvate acid. What are the known dangers of that? Let's check the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet)

"Potential Acute Health Effects:
Very hazardous in case of skin contact (irritant), of eye contact (irritant), of ingestion, of inhalation. Hazardous in case of skin contact (corrosive), of eye contact (corrosive). Liquid or spray mist may produce tissue damage
particularly on mucous membranes of eyes, mouth and respiratory tract."

Yea, I think I'd really like to be putting that in my lungs.

The new inhaler was studied by Health New Zealand, http://www.healthnz.co.nz/ - last year for Dr. Jed Rose - the results of that study are soon to be published, giving documentation needed for the Pharma House to gain approval for it through the FDA. The picture on HNZ's website shows a large, vapor-spewing device. The product hasn't even been manufactured as a cigarette-sized delivery device yet. Statements included in the study claim that the inhaler will be on the market within 3-5 years - fast-tracked through the approval process by the weight of Big Pharma.

So Pharma is developing a device that will LOOK like a cigarette, create a visible vapor LIKE A CIGARETTE, and will deliver nicotine in the lungs LIKE A CIGARETTE.

Sounds an awful lot like the PV's we use today. Where are the anti-smokers? Why aren't the ALA, the ACA, the CTFK, ASH and others denouncing these products? Oh, My, God, these might tempt children to try them. This might re-normalize the ACT of smoking. Current smokers might be confused by these cigarette-shaped objects, and light up in a non-smoking area, flooding the area with their 2nd, 3rd, and 4th hand smoke! These may become a gateway to regular tobacco use!

Not surprisingly, I hear nothing.......It's amazing what the right amount of money and influence can bring you, and these anti-smoking organizations get a LOT of money from the Pharma industry.

I'm very tired of the Corporations eliminating their competiton by using our Government as the bully to do its dirty work.

FDA brings out the big 'NAMES' in its court case

2010-05-12T22:18:00.002-05:00

Not surprisingly, the FDA has brought some of its bully 'friends' to file amici briefs in its continuing court case which seems poised to determine the fate of the electronic cigarette in this country.

The American Academy of Pediatrics

The ACS (American Cancer Society)

The Cancer Action Network

The AHA (American Heart Association)

The American Legacy Foundation

The ALA (American Lung Association)

The AMA (American Medical Association)

The CTFK (Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids)

The Public Citizen

I have to ask: Why now? Why did these large, impressive, very public groups take it into their collective heads to NOW file in support of the FDA - a year after this case was first brought to light?

I think someone has switched tactics. Earlier in the year, there were bills in a few states introduced, quietly, which would have banned the sale of electronic cigarettes at the state level. These bills were worded almost identically in each of the different states - essentially granting the power to regulate them as drug-delivery devices to the FDA, circumnavigating this limbo the products find themselves in right now with the Federal court case.

Well, we vapers are a vocal bunch, and are tired of having our right to make informed decisions taken away from us. To date, none of these bills have passed into law.

I was fortunate enough to be part of the grass-roots movement supporting PV's. I went to IL on the day that state's bill was being discussed in the Health and Human Services committee, and I watched these committee members faces as they had the wool literally removed from their eyes regarding these products.

I watched a paid lobbyist for the ALA sit in that hearing chamber, I saw her body language change from confident to surprised to shaken to desperation to defeat, and I heard her LIE through her teeth when she spoke of the dangers of these products.

I watched vapers from MO, IL, and WI stand in front of that committee, and speak with eloquence and passion about PV's. Confident, they spoke the truth, and the truth rang genuine in their words.

By the time we left that conference room, there was no doubt in my mind that the fate of that bill was sealed - and I was right. It was not brought up for a vote. It died in that committee.

Shortly after that victory in IL, the above-mentioned three letter ass-ociations filed their want to appear as friends of the FDA. They are, for the time being, content to put all their mighty weight and pull behind the Federal court case, and not try to pick off the states one by one.

Each and every organization in the list up above has put their names and reputations on the line. They have shown themselves to be not, as their mission statements so boldly proclaim, for the betterment of public health, but for something else, something dark and unable to face the light of day.

These groups are anti-smoker, not anti-smoking. It is the action of smoking that they are campaigning against. Why else would they look at a product like the PV, and declare "we don't know what's in them," in one breath, and "The FDA found carcinogens and antifreeze in them," in the very next breath???

Gee, don't the two statements contradict each other?????

Facts are:

the ONLY way these charities recommend a person quit smoking is a product manufactured by the Pharmaceutical Giants, who just happen to pour a TON of donations into these organizations each year. (Can I say it without sounding facetious? Don't bite the hand that feeds you?)

The FDA study performed last year proved that PV's are multiple magnitudes safer than the product they were designed to replace: cigarettes.

They refuse to measure these products against cigarettes. Hell, they even refuse to measure these products against traditional pharmaceutical NRT products. They are hell-bent to establish a standard that these are measured against: abstinence of all things tobacco or emulating tobacco.

The only way they will allow people in this country to consume nicotine is if the experience is NOT enjoyable. How DARE we enjoy ourselves!

It's time to stop the madness. The ride needs to end, and the carnival needs to be packed up and move on to another show. the bearded lady needs to be shaved, the midgets need to grow up, and the barkers need to award the big prize.

I'm taking my money and putting it in a better place - and right now, anyplace is better than donating to these organizations who would rather I return to smoking than enjoy my PV, smoke-free for over a year!!!

Thinking Again

2010-03-16T07:52:00.000-05:00

I am tired. Tired of the virulent hatred surrounding a practice I enjoy: Vaping.

There are bills now sitting on the dockets in MD and IL to ban the sale and distribution of any product not "approved by the FDA" to consume Nicotine. Now, not only does this push consumers to believe that cigarettes are approved, but it eliminates any and all competition to the US (and, to a certain extent, the world) nicotine market, forcing those who enjoy nicotine into inneffective pharma products or deadly (and overtaxed) tobacco for their fix.

It will force the practice of vaping underground. That's where all quality control goes out the window, folks...with black-market nicotine solutions being sold out of back-alleys. Where people are growing their own tobacco and extracting the nic out of it who have NO idea what they're doing.

And why are we going down this road? Power, control, money. The FDA released that press release over 6 months ago, and we're still feeling the impact of their ill-wishes. Their own limited testing found that PV's are magnitudes safer than cigarettes. Yet, their press release stated:

These products contain Propolyne Glycol, an ingredient found in asthma inhalers.

These products contain trace elements of carcinogens, comparable to the amounts found in FDA-approved NRT's.

These products contain nicotine in varying amounts, to appeal to a wide demographic of committed smokers.

These products come in a wide variety of flavors which may appeal to a large proportion of adult smokers, to tempt them away from deadly tobacco and in to a reduced-harm product that minimizes their risks of damage to body functions from repeated consumption of tobacco.

all in the wording, people. Had the FDA released their little press-bomb using positives instead of negatives, we wouldn't now be struggling to keep our right to make adult, informed decisions on what we put in our bodies. Shows you just who is pulling their strings, doesn't it?

Legislators jump on electronic cigarette BAN wagon

2009-12-11T22:45:00.000-06:00

I've got to give credit where credit is due...this was written (very WELL written) by Kristin at ECF and VapersFourm - and I just had to share it. It's an excellent piece, and I think anyone and everyone interested in the struggles we are going through in our quest to secure our right to vape should read, as it offers a multitude of logical reasons WHY this product is the subject of so much demonization.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2477984/legislators_jump_on_electronic_cigarette.html?cat=9

Let's talk about something....... Interesting

2009-11-23T20:58:00.001-06:00

Now, unlike some people, I like to think. I do it often enough to occasionally get myself into trouble.

What am I thinking about tonight? As I sit in my various chat rooms, watching the other people type, goof, and make obscure sexual comments (and I toss a few of my own out, too), I think of how much technology has changed our lives....some changes for the better, some for worse.

Our world has grown so much smaller with the advent of the internet. I have friends I've never met face to face in just about every state in the US, and several across that big ol' puddle of water some call the Atlantic Ocean. These people are just as real to me as any I've met in person, their personalities come across clear in their typed words. I laugh with them, cry with them, feel their pain as they feel mine. These people are close enough to influence me intellectually, spiritually, emotionally.....yet they are not close enough to touch physically. How quickly these alternate bonds form!

Without the internet, I would never have had the knowledge necessary to find an alternative that successfully enabled me to quit a 20+ year addiction to tobacco..... a neat little Chinese devise known as the E-Cig, or Personal Vaporizer, which through research led me to many of my online friends. I wouldn't have found a cause worth fighting for, and would still be living with the wool pulled firmly over my eyes as to the political situation and the true corruption of our government.

Now, not everything is all peaches and light, though, when it comes to technologies advances. We have virtually everything at out fingertips, now, a little electronic brain we can carry around in our pockets, and we've become lazier because of it. When was the last time you actually memorized a phone number? Or looked up the spelling of a word in a dictionary?

I think I'm done thinking for tonight on the wonders and pitfalls of the internet. Care to join me in a thought next time?

Hiatus Over?

2009-11-17T19:21:00.000-06:00

I have been woefully remiss in this poor blog of mine, while the debate rages on in the world.

The lawsuit, the FDA vs. Smoking Everywhere/Njoy has stalled, with a decision sitting on the Honorable Judge Leon's desk for over 2 months now. Spokespersons on both sides of this decision are already planning their appeals if the judgement goes against them. Up for stakes: the ultimate classification of the PV.

This should have been a relatively simple case.....did the FDA have the jurisdiction to impound shipments of PV's and supplies at the time they acted? Did they follow the guidelines laid down on them by Congress before they acted? Therein lies the ultimate question.....forget about the FSTCA (Family Smoking and Tobacco Control Act) passed after this legal question was put before the court, forget the anti-smoking terrorist groups such as ASH spreading their hate-filled and blind rhetoric in their crusade to turn all nicotine users into this generation's societal pariahs, forget about the alarmist tactics of the press and the sensationalist advertising of the multitudes of PV sellers out there simply trying to make a quick buck. None of these things should matter to the court.......except..... DID THE FDA FOLLOW THEIR PROCEDURES BEFORE THEY ACTED?

This case has instead turned into the circus of the year.....at stake, the legal status and classification of the personal vaporizer, electronic cigarette, and all things vaping.

I have to wonder, as a spectator and a consumer, what is going on behind the scenes here? Why is the FDA taking such a hard (all or nothing) stance against these products? They have plainly said that these products are NOT approved, NOT legal, and if they win their court case, they will step up enforcement procedures, including more seizures, impounds, fines, and the shut-down of all small US resellers of these products. Period. Endgame. Ttttthat's......tttttthat's.......tttttthat's alllllll, folks!

If they lose their case, they have sworn to appeal the decision.

The FDA's hatred of these products is shown over and over by their actions....top of the heap, here:

1) They tested the products, then held on to the results for 2.5 months, only to issue a press release with very slanted (against the PV) details.

2) Any manufacturers who have approached the FDA have gotten the run-around on their questions regarding proper procedures for approval.

3) The specious and patently ridiculous arguments against the PV, such as a 'gateway' to traditional tobacco, appeal to children, 'we don't know what's in them,' and they haven't been tested..... each argument, which, once you do a little research, are easily dismissed, by me in earlier blog entries, and by others.

Why can't the FDA see the promise these products have? This product, yet in its infancy, has the potential to solve all the problems of social smoking. There is no second-hand smoke. There is no smoke at all. No butts or ashes littering the ground......a risk factor that is 1000's of times less than traditional tobacco products, and one that's acceptable to the majority of smokers who have adopted its use.

Will PV users be forced underground by ignorance and blind hatred? Only time will tell how far this court proceeding goes.

Unity - A Rallying Cry - Then and Now

2009-09-06T10:39:00.001-05:00

Unity - Then (originally posted on April 2, 2009 on ECF)

It's a shame the anti's preaching against us are blinded by their hatred of the habit we came to leave behind. They refuse to allow the truth to set them free, opting to take the easy road and willingly pull the blinders over their own eyes.

I feel sorry for Big Pharm - greed motivating them to manipulate the government into barring this new product in the name of "public safety." The ugly reality: chaining us to the most deadly product sold in this country for a few more splinters of profit pushing their innefectctual products. They refuse to spend their ill-gotten funds to embrace this new technology, taking the easy road and burying it instead.

I'm horrified by Big Tobacco: focused on making their product more addictive, not seeing the connection between killing off their customer base and slitting their own throats. It's more comfortable to continue to produce their deadly product than absorb this new technology and make it their own.

Big Government will take the easy road, as always, and be swayed by those who have the loudest voice, the biggest number of votes, and yes, the deepest pockets. Their easy road is to appease the greatest number of citizens, and ignore the minority.

Why????

Human beings have a love/hate relationship with change....it's our nature. We embrace change as necessary, get excited over something different and new, but fight that change because we're forced away from the comfortable and familiar. Pharm, Tobacco, the Anti's and Big Brother are fighting that change, wanting comfortable and familiar. Smoking is evil, anything that looks like smoking is evil.

Being angry does nothing. We must educatate them....It's a monumental task. The enemy is on our doorstep. The field of battle is prepared, the line has been drawn in the sand, and the battle is upon us not on a field of our choosing.

We need unity-ONE purpose-ONE goal-ONE MILLION voices raised with ONE message.

Only then will we succeed in defending our rights.

Unity - NOW

I remember, way back in April, when I posted Unity. The words I wrote way back then, in my new-found exuberence, spoke from the heart. We needed to be united in one voice, one message, one goal.

My, how we have fallen....

The campaign waged against all vapers by BT, BP, and BB have been concerted, pin-point, surgical strikes.

This was never a struggle against wether or not PV's would become mainstream, natural outlets for cigarette users addicted to nicotine. This was never about importing a new toy from China. This was never about legality, and this was never about the health and safety of the American Public.

This struggle was about the little dogs (us) having the audacity to bark in absolute joy over a new-found bone.

Power. Control. Greed, and Corruption. How quickly do these infective words spread their sickness.

I look at the aftermath of this battlefield from a shattered castle wall, and weep at the distruction. Once fertile fields are now bare patches of ground soaked with blood. The corpses of the dead are stacked like cordwood, the living having abandoned them to the flies and carrion-eaters.

Our community is broken apart - riven by suggestions from the unholy trinity and our own vicious infighting over Power, Control, Greed, and Corruption.

Even now, with the assassins within the walls, we can't resist the urge to throw venomous barbs at those we once called friends, once embraced in a comonality of purpose and goal.

And BT, BP, and BB sit back and watch this final implosion from their palaces of gold and silver.They light up their cuban cigars, sip champaign from crystal goblets, and dine on fine exotic treats gleaned from around the globe as they congratulate each other on a fine victory against 'these upstart free-thinkers.'

Damn, we're good. We certainly showed them, didn't we, what we're made of.

I need a cigarette.

2009-08-25T18:40:00.000-05:00

This is an excellent blog, written by Dr. Michael Siegel, on the political and social ramifications of anti-smoking vs. the e-cig.

I highly recommend everyone keep this blog followed.

http://www.tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/

Fellow Blogger with commentary on the FDA Press Release

2009-07-25T16:48:00.000-05:00

This commentary closely mirrors my own, and I deemed it necessary to share...enjoy!

http://www.getvapure.com/news/fda-and-anti-smoking-groups-are-committing-medical-malpractice-on-a-massive-scale/

FDA's Press Release - actual results

2009-07-25T13:31:00.000-05:00

This just shocked me - I can't believe I missed it before.....

This is the test results from the FDA - the link directly off their website...

http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/ScienceResearch/UCM173250.pdf

Simulated Use: Nicotine and tobacco Specific Impurities by Head Space GC-MS (HSGS-MS) and sparging apparatus HSGC is likely to be less sensitive than the GC-MS technique that takes advantage of injecting all of the soluble components and then volatilizing them at 280 C; however, the head space analyzer can beset to a specific temperature to mimic what may be volatilized during use of the products.
The temperature of the heating element in each e-cigarette was determined by inserting a thermocouple and then activating the e-cigarette by drawing air through it. These temperatures ranged from 40 to 65 C. HSGC-MS analysis was conducted at 60 C to simulate the temperature that would be encountered during activation of an e-cigarette.

This is a direct quote from the PDA given in the link - essentially saying that the testing used 2 different machines to test the liquids.
The biggest difference in these machines is the ambient temperature they run at.

-The head space machine can be set to operate at different temperatures - and was set for the test at the median point operating temperature of the working unit, or 60 C.
-The GC, or Sparging unit, operates at a fixed temperature of 280 C.

Hmmm - what I find incredibly odd is the temperature differences in the 2.

Head space unit - 60 degrees C.
Sparging unit - 280 degrees C.

Ummmm - that's quite a difference.... and can anyone out there tell me what happens when you overheat any substance? You CHANGE ITS CHEMICAL STRUCTURE!

now.... guess which test they used to determine the presence of DEG in the liquid?

Here, let me help - here's another quote from the PDF:

Whole Cartridges: Diethylene Glycol An aliquot of each methanol extract prepared in the Detection and Quantitation of Nicotine by HPLC-UV analysis was transferred to a vial for GC-MS analysis. Samples were screened on an Agilent 6890 with a 5975 MSD operated initially in full scan ode and later in SIM mode using the chromatographic parameters from a USP monograph procedure (Reference 5).

Bingo! I'm going to go ahead and say it, folks - THE FDA SKEWED THEIR OWN TEST TO GET THE RESULTS THEY WANTED.

Fair and impartial? I think NOT!

FDA's Press Release, July 22, 2004

2009-07-24T19:57:00.000-05:00

First, here's the post put on the FDA website regarding their "testing" and statement from such:

http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/PublicHealthFocus/ucm172906.htm

Let's start with the date of their testing: May 4th, 2009. Hmmm - the last time I looked at a calander, it was July 24th, a full 2 months and change from their report. Why did they suppress this information for all this time? Why bring it out now? If they had concerns over this product, don't you think they would have made this announcement then? After all, they are supposed to be concerned over the greater public health.

Now, let's take a closer look at a couple of the statements in their press release, which, coming from the FDA, went country-wide within hours of its release:

These products are marketed and sold to young people and are readily available
online and in shopping malls. In addition, these products do not contain any
health warnings comparable to FDA-approved nicotine replacement products or
conventional cigarettes. They are also available in different flavors, such as
chocolate and mint, which may appeal to young people.

Ah, yes, the good old "think of the Children" arguement..... tired old tripe. Personally, I would like to see some hard facts that prove their accusation here. I can show you some cold, hard facts that disuade their arguement - NJoy, one of the larger retailers of E-Cigs in the US, conducted a survey of their consumers, and they came up with a median age of 40, committed smokers all, for their consumer base - a far cry from "marketing to children." And, chocolate and mint flavors? Hmmm - I like chocolate, I like mint, and I'm right in NJoy's median age. These are nothing but poor, shoddy arguements engendered to produce hysteria and breed mistrust of these products in the general population.

The FDA’s Division of Pharmaceutical Analysis analyzed the ingredients in a
small sample of cartridges from two leading brands of electronic cigarettes. In
one sample, the FDA’s analyses detected diethylene glycol, a chemical used in
antifreeze that is toxic to humans, and in several other samples, the FDA
analyses detected carcinogens, including nitrosamines. These tests indicate that
these products contained detectable levels of known carcinogens and toxic
chemicals to which users could potentially be exposed.

Taken at beginning face value, with just a quick scan and not a lot of time to analyze it, this statement should send shivers down your spine. Ooooo - scary. They're vaping antifreeze! Toxic! Carcinogens! But think..... look....... read between the lines of this statement. Note how limited this is - and how misleading. Here is, to quote a famous orator, the rest of the story..

diethylene glycol, a chemical used in antifreeze that is toxic to humans

What they fail to mention is that in their testing, they found only 1 out of the 19 cartridges sampled to be contaminated with this particular compound, and then, the concentration was less than 1%. Further, they also fail to mention that DEG is occasionally found in trace amounts in PG, the bulk of what's in the nicotine juice. This has not effected the FDA's label of "Genenrally Regarded as Safe" on PG.

This is called spin. The careful crafting of a statement designed to lead the reader to an opinion that you, the writer or producer of the statement, wish them to have.

the FDA analyses detected carcinogens, including nitrosamines.

And the rest of the story on this comment? If you were to test the FDA-approved NRT gums, lozenges, and patches, you would find comparable concentrations of the same nitrosamines, because the nicotine comes from the same source - tobacco.

Can anyone say double-standard? Methinks I smell a rat.

And, doing further research, the control subject they used in these tests? They used the Nicotrol inhaler as their control subject - a product designed by big Pharma, intended for short term use only, and only available by prescription. Not, in my opinion, a comparable control. Instead, logically, I would think the control subject, the product that the PV should be compared against, is the product it is designed to replace......cigarettes. Is that too much to ask for?

Face it, America.... the regulatory agency that is responsible for your health and well-being in regards to the foods you eat and the drugs you take, who is supposed to be a neutral, "justice is blind" kind of agency, is using deceptive and manipulative practices to sway your opinion to one they wish you to have, just like the big corporations in their advertising practices. They are NOT acting in the best interest of public health, irregardless of what the "company line" may be. That begs the question of who's interests they ARE protecting.

To say that I am disgusted with my government at this point would be an understatement. To say that the FDA has an irrational fear of the E-Cig, and an unspecified, unstated goal to an unnamed entity is as clear as the writing on this page to me. This blatent skewing of available data, of suppressing accurate information to allow the American Consumers to make quality, informed decisions, is as irresponsible and dangerous as yelling "fire" in a crowded theatre.

Washington's Public Face - Social Dynamics (part 2)

2009-07-04T08:36:00.000-05:00

Political Correctness, the craze of the 80's and 90's, was a simple enough concept. "We, as a people, no longer wish to offend." Beautiful, masterful, and almost utopian in its simplicity.

We had such strange connotations such as "vertically challanged" dwarves, "people of color," or "African Americans," for our black citizens, and "cellulite gifted" obese people.

Comedians wrote about it. Joked about it. Everyone was coming out with a new example of political correctness. There were even books rewriting children's fairy tales to "clean them up" as to not offend, frighten, or give the children ideas of the true nature of the world around them. In fact, 'Politically Correct Fairy Tales' can still be found in bookstores all over the country or online at such outlets such as half.com and amazon.com.

Deep underneath the surface of this, however, another insidious cultural shift was taking place which would have long reaching and devistating concequences for us as a country.

With the advent of political correctness, no longer would our elected leaders be able to firmly stand their ground, confident in their convictions, look the world in the eye and say "we're doing this, piss on you!" because we could no longer stand to offend. It started the trend that we could no longer speak our minds or be true to ourselves, but had to sanitize and sterilize our own thoughts. This shift in thinking was subtle, erroding the superiority of the majority, and the patriotism of being an American. It was the start into the trend of majority guilt.

Fast forward to today, and see the concequences....We now are a nation divided, split assunder by warring factions all demanding to be pandered to. Washington now flits to one small subsect to another, desparately trying to please everyone, and ending up aggravating everyone. We've gone from sticking to our guns to sticking it to the people we're trying to govern. From action on a solid plan for the good of the many, to reacting to the needs of the few whining with the loudest voice of the day.

Political Correctness, in all its glory, is the pregnancy of the nanny state mentality we've given birth to today.... the belief that the government has to direct and mandate each and every decision for the masses, instead of guiding them to make their own decisions.

Why?

We've become a nation obsessed with image. Symbolism over substance. If it looks good, that's all that matters. Washington has taken this one step further, their particular brand of symbolism being throwing money at each and every special-interest group who has the balls to come to Washington and complain. After all, they have to be seen to be doing SOMETHING. Action, whether right or wrong, is all that matters.

But this is a slippery slope. You can't continue to throw money at half-baked, poorly planned directives without the money running out at some point.

You have to know where I'm going with this, people......

The will of the people is being ground into the dirt, replaced by the will of the corporations who, quietly at first, but now quite openly, have been bailing out our government. They have allowed Washington to continue to keep its image, but at the terrible cost transcending money: the erosion of our basic civil liberties. Now, we exist to serve the interests of the monolithic industries, and we have a government far too concerned with its image to protect the rights of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness - these same gifts procured for us at staggering costs by our forbears.

Image. Glammour. The glossy cover of the magazine. The rest of the magazine is all blank pages, and we have a cizenry well on the way to being too naive to notice. Welcome, then, to the shell country of the United Corporations of America.

On this, the 233 anniversary of the birth of our nation, I would like to offer a little history lesson.

Some of the most powerful words ever spoken, penned, and set in stone as a governing statement are "...the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness..." Right there, larger than life on our Declaration of Independence, these words were a challenge to our oppressors, and our promise to our citizens. Our founding fathers went to war with England over these words. They fought battles, made life-altering sacrifices, counted staggering losses, and endured unimaginable hardships over the right to speak these words.

Their belief in these words forged a juggernaught of incredible strength of conviction, and gave birth to a democracy that has endured through the ages - our America, the land of the Free and the home of the Brave! A country of proud and opinionated people of all races and backgrounds, come together for the purpose of being free to pursue whatever goal we have the audacity to dream, within a loose framework of rules put in place to guarantee the continuance of our nation and the safety of its citizenry.

How low have we fallen, America. We need to wake up, shake off the dependence we're being force-fed, and state, as one voice, that our government needs to work FOR us, the PEOPLE, and not be allowed to perish from the Earth.

Revolutionary thoughts, for a revolutionary day. Enjoy your holiday.

Social Dynamics and the Demonization of Smoking (part 1)

2009-06-18T21:02:00.000-05:00

Smoking is evil.
Smoking will kill you.
Smoking also kills those around you with second-hand smoke.

These 3 declarations are the silver bullets in the smoking gun (pun intended) held in the arsonal of the anti-smoking groups arrayed against anyone excercizing their rights to choose, of their own free will, to smoke or to not smoke.

The campaigns of the past 20-30 years were necessary for a number of reasons. The corporate tobacco companies did, indeed, bend or downright break the rules of common decency in pursuit of the almighty dollar. That needed to be (and has been) exposed as snake-oil salesman skullduggery.

Tobacco consumers did need to know exactly what risks they were taking in their vice. Public awareness did need to be increased on the potential dangers of second hand smoke, and rules did need to be put in place for the betterment of the common population. All these goals have been met, or are on their way to being completed.

For that, I say, the anti-smoking leagues have done their jobs well. Children, even before formalized schooling, are coached on the dangers of smoking. They are bombarded with this message continually, each and every day of their lives. Adults, young and old alike, are aware of the risks inherent in this product and its usage.

So, what's all the continued screaming and yelling about???

After all, this is still a free country.....at least it was the last time I checked. I still can choose where to go to work, what to do at that job in terms of personal effort, and wether I want to buy a house with my hard-earned money or blow it all on new hats. I can choose to ingest alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, an aspirin, or a Monster Burger (Can I have a double order of the special cardiac-arrest chili-cheese french fries with that, please?). I can decide wether to allow my weight balloon to 210, or sweat it down to 150. Good choices and bad alike are arrayed as in a buffet, with me at liberty to pick and choose from amongst the options.

So now, why, when a new innovation hits the marketplace, am I being told that I cannot do this, because the Government (of which I was part of the process to elect) tells me they don't know precicely what it will do to me? Why has this been barred from the menu when so many other choices, equally bad, remain?

The reasons are vast in their multitudes, as to why my beloved PV's are on the front line, heading for a marketplace removal by my Government. Some are headliners, shoved into the public's eye for effect, and far more are behind the curtain, cowering from discovery. The first, strongest, and most effective reason is public perception, brought on and stroked to a fever-pitch by the anti-smoking groups. From my declarations above: Smoking is Evil. This sentiment has been woven tightly into the weave of public perception, and smokers have gone from admired all the way down the social ladder to reviled and persecuted.

Smokers, people. I'll say it again: SMOKERS. The consumers. The users of the products. These are the people that society has chosen to vilify.....NOT the corporate tobacco giants. These monoliths continue to prosper and whisper in the ears of our elected leaders. Altria will have advisory members on the board of the FDA as they hammer into place new regulations regarding tobacco and nicotine products. The Kennedy/Waxman bills, recently passed by both chambers of congress (and due to cross Obama's desk soon) saw to that. Small wonder that many are calling this legislation the "Altria Earnings Protection Act."

Why? Tell me, why have the consumers been handed this heavy bill to pay, and not the giants in the industry?

Why can't innovation and brilliance be allowed to find another, cleaner, safer, better alternative????

I don't have the answers here friends, but I'm very good as coming up with the right questions and my own theories.

There are a lot of sub-issues and behind-the-scenes power plays arrayed in the Tobacco Wars. Lots of money, too....but I'm not going to follow the money trail yet. That one's been done to death, and starts to take on a "conspiracy theory" twist that I've no wish to follow.

So.....

Sub Issue #1 - the anti-smoking groups.
Very few people realize this, because it came about in a time before the infomation explosion that is the internet, but back in the 70's there was formed a group of people who disliked smokers. Mainly, yes, I'll admit, because smokers were demanding their rights to smoke, anywhere they wanted, irregardless of who they bothered with their habit, and the govenrment was on THEIR side.

This group was called ASHES - the American Society to Harass and Embarass Smokers. Their goal - pretty self-evident in their name - the prohibition of tobacco and the demonization of all who use it.

And, to give fair notice, there is NO evidence on the Web to corroborate this.... I've done extensive research on this small fringe group, and turned up nothing...nada...zilch, but I wasn't surprised. This happens all the time: fringe groups like these usually start very small and very QT - then when they gain momentum, they shift their public image to one less aggressive, and bury the origins.

The only reason I know about this group is because I happened to be exposed to a news article when I was growing up regarding it. This small group and their hard-core hatreds of smokers is the forerunner of today's anti-smoking groups.

And, 30 years later, they've nearly realized their goals. Smokers are 2nd class, sub-humans with few rights and many faults, ready to be tossed aside to moulder in the stinking gutters, pitifully begging passersby "hey, buddy, got a light?"

Now, because of the way our Government wishes to present itself to its American voters, there won't be an outright prohibition of tobacco, but that's going to be:

Sub Issue #2: Washington's public face

Stay tuned......

Vapor War: the irrational War on Electronic Cigarettes in Slate.com

2009-06-04T19:15:00.000-05:00

First and foremost, here is the link to the news article found within the electronic pages of Slate.com, and the basis of this blog post of mine.

http://www.slate.com/id/2219690

I do wish to commend Slate for a well-constructed piece. This article brings home several questions all consumers of Electronic Cigarettes are asking. Unfortunately, the ones with the answers we seek, namely our government officials in the FDA, are not offering up any answers except the standard tripe statements which have had all of us consumers on edge for the past months, some I've already addressed earlier in this blog, and some more yet to be debunked.

An excerpt from the article:

The American Lung Association, along with the American Cancer Society Cancer
Action Network, the American Heart Association and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, recently called for e-cigarettes to be removed from the market. The groups say e-cigarettes have yet to be proven safe and that kids may be attracted to the products, some of which come in flavors like chocolate and strawberry.
"Nobody knows what the consumers are actually inhaling," says Erika Sward,
director of national advocacy at the American Lung Association.

The boldface emphysis is mine, and what I want to take a closer look at. Nobody knows what we are actually inhaling? I know. That's an easy answer - Do I win the Double Jepardy Trophy???

Let's just take a look at the old ingredient label, shall we? Totally Wicked is based in the UK, and takes its certification standards seriously. I trust them to manufacture a quality product to UK standards. In my bottle of E-juice, there are exactly 16 ingredients....in order of volume, the top 4 are:

Propylene Glycol - 65%
Glycerine - 20%
Water - 10%
Nicotine - >3% (let's say, for the sake of argument - 2.5%)

Can we add? These 4 ingredients are 97.5% of the contents of my bottle. Flavoring ingredients, such as tobacco leaf oils, are mixed into this cocktail - making up the remainder of the contents. Take a look at a box of cheese crackers, or a can of spaghetti sauce, or any of the other stuff sold in this country as a basic foodstuff, and tell me that you can understand all of those ingredients! By this comparison alone, my e-juice is a simpler formula than anything else I eat or drink, and certainly simpler than any commercial cigarette out there, with it's 4000+ chemicals, 60 or so of which are known carcinogens. And tell me, for that matter, where is the ingredient list on a pack of cigarettes? Hmmmm?

But, what are these 4 big ingredients? Let's take them one by one.

Propylene Glycol (PG) - the biggest chunk of stuff in my vape, is used in various preparations, including theatrical smoke machines, prescription inhalers and cough syrups, and is an additive in cigarettes and food products, such as artificial flavors. PG is GRAS (generally regarded as safe) by the FDA, and the MSDS shows only minor throat irritation by inhalation.

So, the largest portion of the product that I am inhaling is already used in other vaporization techniques, in inhalers used by asthmatics, and in the food I eat. Does this sound like a dangerous substance?

And, there's more. Back in the 1940's, a scientific study was conducted using a military base and a children's hospital ward. The experiment was on the properties of PG as a germ killing air sanitization substance. You guessed it, they vaporized PG and pumped it into the air in the children's ward and the military bases' barracks, monitoring the occupants for various symptoms. Here's the link: http://www.ajph.org/cgi/reprint/36/4/390.pdf Their conclusion: PG vapor in the air does not comprise any health risks, and was shown to reduce the amount of airbourne infectious agents already present in the air. A germ-killing vapor.

Curiously, in the 60+ years since this study, there have been no studies to prove this suposition wrong. In 2007, the EPA re-registered PG for an air sanitizing agent in hospitals, restaurants, restrooms, mass-transit facilities, and others.

Conclusion - of the liquid in my PV, the bulk of it is approved by various government agencies already as an inhalant, and may actually be beneficial in killing germs already in my body.... Oh, yea, let's ban this dangerous stuff - FAST!

Vegetable Glycerin (VG) - this is the next biggest chunk of stuff - and is used, again, in food products all over the world.....the glycerin I have seen, and purchased, in a craft store was marketed to extend cake frosting. It is made from vegatable oils. Again, for commercial sale to anyone with a couple of bucks, this is a food product and, as such, is safe for human consumption. Dangerous? Unknown? I'm thinking the answer to that one is, again, NO.

Water (good old H2O) - Unless you are on the bandwagon to ban dihydrogen monoxide, the only danger to water is drowning if you jump in over your head....

Nicotine - The studies on what nicotine does to the body are long, complete, complex, and easy to find. Nicotine is an approved drug by the FDA for usage in smoking cessation as an over the counter product.

The flavoring ingredients I'm going to not worry about at this point, as their concentrations in formula are too low to investigate.

Well, there you go. This is what we're inhaling. Simple, logical, easy. And, in my opinion, its certainly cleaner than walking down the street during rush hour and inhaling the exhaust fumes from a bus or car.

My question to these "public health groups" is: I want to know why you have a hard time connecting the dots? I'm not a research scientist, a chemist, a "smoking cessation expert." How is it that I can do a bit of research and come up with this, and you can't.

The answer, of course, is these bully organizations don't want to connect the dots, they want to remove the product. Period. Which means, the agenda they have put forth to the public is not the agenda they are following.

Follow the logic, if nothing else.

E-Cigarettes: The Gateway Arguement

2009-06-01T20:07:00.000-05:00

Another of the arguements I continue to hear from "professional" cigarette cessation experts is: "This product will become a gateway to real cigarettes for teens and young adults."

Never mind the "teens and young adults" portion of this arguement....I've gone over that before. But - the gateway...... Oooooo. Sounds scary, doesn't it. This word is yet another carefully engineered term created and used to manipulate the consumer in a direction that they (the "expert") want you (the uninformed consumer) to take.

Is the E-Cig a gateway? NO. Unequivocably not. But I'm willing to back my statement up with my experiences, instead of insisting you take my word for it.

I purchased my first PV kit in March. 1 atomizer, 2 batteries, and some smoke juice. I vaped on this for a week. Loved it. Had no want, desire, or need for a traditional tobacco cigarette. This was my Holy Grail, the thing I had been waiting for since I first lit up in the 80's. Then, disaster: 1 week to the day, I burned up my only atomizer. Replacements were on order, but not shipped yet......Oh, God, what could I do?

I smoked. Went back to the nasty tobacco cigs. Without hesitation. I had to have my hand to mouth, my little cloud, the cylinder between my fingers when I drove, for this is the driving force behind my personal addiction, far greater than the nicotine I'm inhaling. I will say now, with passion: Those were the worst 2 days of my life!

Now, the FDA is fixing to ban this wonderful new toy of mine, because they are afraid that I, using an electronic gizmo, will entice someone else to smoke cigarettes? That this will become so attractive to a non-smoker that they will feel the irristible urge to light up?

Come on.....pull the other one. The only way this could possibly become a gateway is if they now pull it off the market. The genie has been released from the bottle. If they pull this product, they create the gateway - a self-fulfilling prophecy. Period.

This is an invasion of my personal liberty to do what I will with my body as long as I'm not harming anyone else. Tell me, what do you think will happen to me, what will I do, if they do, indeed, pull my alternative off the market, in the name of protection? I'm sure you can connect the dots here....

I could fill this page with other consumers' stories that mirror mine.....the e-cigarette-forum and petition both are full of such personal experiences. Many have gone further on their journeys than I have, and have cut to zero nicotine solutions. What's going to happen to them? What will they be forced back into in their pursuit of happiness?

Granted, there are some who don't share my own experiences.....there are some who find this product not quite my Nirvana, but simply a substitute for their own addiction.

But, almost universally, there is the same sentiment: going from an E-Cig to traditional tobacco cigarette is the same as going from Lobster to Fish Sticks.

Care to try another arguement?

Anti Smoking Arguments: Think of the Children!

2009-05-28T12:23:00.000-05:00

Most people, when they don't understand the basic concept behind something, will come up with very soft arguments or statements engineered to tug at the heartstrings of those who are undecided. There has been a -not very- subtle smear campaign against all tobacco harm reduction products lately. One of the most "compelling" arguements they use is to "think of the children".....this product, with its fruity flavors and "gizmo" appeal, will bring new, young, and impressionable minds into the deadly embrace of smoking tobacco. They usually follow this up with a stated goal that there will be "Not one more generation of Americans addicted to tobacco!!!"

Nothing could be further from the truth, but who will argue against a demonized device given this horror story up front....not many.

But, the argument can be deflated, given the following thoughts:

You say you are afraid that these devices would entice children to the habit of smoking cigarettes...I say, unequivocally that nothing could be farther from the truth. First, the median age for users of this device is 40 years of age, far away from the age that children start smoking.

Second, these children would have to have the initial start up cost of $100-$150. Not impossible, I know, but it would knock a substantial percentage of children from the risk.

Third, there is a long learning curve on these....I have been using my E-Cigarette for 3 months, and still have to fight with the different components.....which are an emerging technology, and prone to equipment failures. This would remove even more children from your risk zone, as they would not be willing to put the time, further money expenditures for failed equipment, and aggravation factors into a new gizmo when they can just go down to the local gas station and buy a pack of tobacco cigarettes for less than $10.00.

Fourth, there is all the regular maintenance on the device, with filling and replacing the stuffing in the nicotine cartridges, cleaning the atomizers, and charging the batteries. Again, what young teen is going to go through all this work when tobacco cigarettes are so much easier to use and obtain?

Fifth, the multitudes of E-Cigarette users in the US have used these as an alternative to tobacco, and will not willingly go back to tobacco for various reasons, taste and general feelings of better well-being immediately coming to my mind. This is not, and should never be considered, a gateway to tobacco, as cigarettes come up lacking in many areas of our enjoyment of this product.

I believe your fears that this is an enticement device to lure children to the dangerous habit of smoking cigarettes are unfounded, and if you give this some thought and research, you will find many positives in this technology, which, even though in its infancy, has been the one device many ex-smokers have used as a cleaner alternative to traditional tobacco.

I have included some links that might be helpful to you in your deliberation of this sensitive issue:

This petition is a collection of many true-life stories of people who have found this technologyhttp://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/keep-life-saving-electronic-cigarettes-available

This is the site of Smokefree Pennsylvania, the director of this organization is Bill Godshall, and an advocate of the E-CigaretteTobaccofree.org

Waxman and Kenedy Bills, Altria and the FDA

2009-05-25T15:50:00.000-05:00

H.R. 1256 (Waxman) and S. 982 (Kennedy) Family Smoking and Tobacco Control Acts

I am trying to get information of 2 flawed Tobacco Control bills in the right hands before they are voted in by the Senate and signed into law. These 2 bills would sign the death warrant on current cigarette users by misinforming them of safer alternatives to smoking-including E-Cigarettes, or by allowing the FDA to remove these products from the US marketplace outright.

I would ask that everyone ask their elected officials: Oppose this legislation unless/until it is amended to allow currently marketed smokefree tobacco/nicotine products to remain on the market, and
- Support tobacco harm reduction amendment(s) for smoke-free tobacco/nicotine products that are consistent with provisionsin S.579, Burr/Hagan - and H.R.1261, Buyer - bills.

Highlights on HR 1256 and S 982 Tobacco Control Acts

These bills were Sponsored by Altria/Philip Morris, manufacturer of Marlboro cigarettes. You have to wonder over the logic behind a corporation pushing for legislation that would put further restraints on the way they manufacture and advertise their products, right? I must ask the question, why? I believe I have found the answer in the following:

These bills would grant the FDA Regulatory control over traditional tobacco cigarettes -But not the ability to halt sales of tobacco cigarettes. Altria's position in the US nicotine market would thus be secured by this regulation. And

The FDA would have Complete control over new smokefree tobacco and/or harm reduction products, holding these to pharmacological testing standards to be marketed in the US instead of mirrored against the product they are intended to replace (cigarettes), and can halt sales/importations.

Reading between the lines, here, this bill will eliminate Altria's competition in the nicotine marketplace by blocking the sale and import of cleaner competitors' products, like my beloved E-Cigarette. Beautiful move by one of the corporate giants in America, but very underhanded to manipulate a govenrment agency to protect their market share.

Ask your representative today to demand changes in the S.982 Tobacco Control Act until it incorporates harm reduction measures!!!

What is a personal vaporizor???

2009-05-25T15:08:00.000-05:00

Just what is a personal vaporizor? Some call it an electronic cigarette, or E-Cig. It is a product first produced in China in early 2004, by inventor Hon Lik, to mimic the act of smoking. In fact, the company, beginning as Golden Dragon, changed its name to Ruyan, which means "like smoke" in Chinese as enthusiasm for their product began to grow. To date, they have a small footprint in the USA, but I have hope that they will continue to increase their presence.

Yup, you guessed it, I am a current user of these products, and they have allowed me to entirely cease smoking cigarettes after more than 20 years of trying - and failing - to quit this habit.

How do they work? There is a liquid solution of propolyne glycol, vegatable glycerine, water, flavorings (food grade flavors) and nicotine. I leave the nicotine last on my list, because, one, it is the smallest ingredient by volumn in the solution, and two, it can be totally removed without harm to the user, the devise, or the end result of the product. This liquid solution is called e-juice, niquid, juice, smoke juice, or variants thereof. With the exception of the nicotine (optional!!) all the ingredients in this juice are GRAS (generally regarded as safe) by the FDA and already included in the multitudes of food and pharmaceutical products sold in the US.

The juice is loaded into a small cartridge of polyfill batting, and is loaded into an atomizer. The atomizer in turn is attached to a small rechargable battery with either an automatic (activates by sensing airflow) or manual (you push a switch) activation switch. Once the atomizer has been fired up, the juice in the cartridge vaporizes in the high temp. You then inhale the vaporized "smoke" as you would a cigarette.....There you go, you're vapin', baby!

I have used this new toy of mine exclusively since March 10th, 2009. It has completely replaced my old cigarette habit.....I no longer smoke the tar or carcinogens associated with burning leaves and paper and glue. This is a clean alternative for my continued enjoyment of recreational nicotine consumption - cleaner because I am no longer inhaling burnt carbon smoke, no longer providing smoke of any kind to the atmosphere, no longer throwing spent butts or ash out in my trash or my car window.

I urge any smokers out there who are ready, willing but not quite able to quit their tobacco habit to look into these products.....2 good resources, and ones I will often quote on my blog as it comes to fruition are: The Electronic Cigarette Forum at http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/ and the Electronic Cigarette Association at http://www.ecassoc.org/ There are links to both of these websites at the right-hand side of my blog.