CASAA Call to Action!
(From CASAA Vice President Kristin Noll-Marsh)
E-cigarettes and other Tobacco Harm Reduction Strategies: A collection of success stories
Are you fed up with the claim that “there is no evidence” that e-cigarettes, snus, or other low-risk tobacco/nicotine products help people quit smoking? We are, too. It is obviously wrong, since every individual story of how e-cigarettes helped someone quit smoking (especially after many failed attempts using other methods) is such evidence! When CASAA fights against restrictions on e-cigarettes at the state and local level, we almost always win. The main reason for that is because CASAA members turn out and tell the lawmakers about how e-cigarettes were the reason they quit smoking. Most people understand evidence like that!
Did you quit using one of these safer alternatives?
Tell us about your success story! With this in mind, CASAA is compiling these individual stories so that we can back that individual testimony with a large collection and make it impossible for anyone to keep pretending that there is “no evidence.” We know that there are hundreds — perhaps thousands — of you who have succeeded with tobacco harm reduction (THR) using e-cigarettes, snus, or other products and have already written your stories for testimony, letters to the editor or web posts. Thousands more have their own success stories that have never been reported. We want to collect those stories!
If you are someone who quit smoking by switching to e-cigarettes or any other smoke-free tobacco/nicotine product, please go to our testimonials collection page (click here) and tell us your story in your own words.
If you have already written your story, you can copy and paste it and this will only take a few minutes. (There is just one page of quick, simple questions followed by a box to paste your story into.) If you have not already written your story, this is a good opportunity to do so; it will take a bit more time than some of the check box surveys you may have already done, but it is worth it: These personal stories have proven to be the most powerful means of convincing doubters!
For those who are interested in receiving updates about this project or joining CASAA, you will also find information about those in the survey.
Thank you for your contribution to this project. We are confident that it will really make a difference!
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METRO Electronic Cigarettes at KS 107.5 Summer Jam
We’re proud to announce that we are sponsoring the 16th Annual KS 107.5 FM Summer Jam at Fiddler’s Green in Denver, CO. We will be on hand to pass out product and educate everyone that comes through our booth. If you’re in the Denver area on June 7th and are attending Summer Jam, make sure to stop by our booth and get some goodies. We’ll be passing out different e-cig samples as well as offering a contest to win Finite Headphones every 10 minutes and 75 seconds (11 minutes and 15 seconds). Looking forward to a great time and seeing everyone at Summer Jam 2013.
Expand Your Offering. Expand Your Profits.
The Tobacco Industry is a large and booming industry that hasn’t changed much over the course of time. Granted, the FDA has required the Tobacco Industry to do this and do that and has affected everything from advertising to packaging. Essentially though, the industry has stayed the same. Until now.
The electronic cigarette is the game changer that this industry needs.
Being compared to what the energy drink did to the beverage industry a few years back, the electronic cigarette is making waves in the giant ocean that is the Tobacco Industry. With e-cig sales doubling every year since 2008, sales are projected to reach $1 Billion in 2013. “Consumption of e-cigs may overtake traditional cigarettes in the next decade,” predicts Wells Fargo analyst Bonnie Herzog. “And they’ll only evolve and improve as time goes forward — at far less risk. The technology portion of it is sort of like Apple. This is just Version 1.”[1] METRO Electronic Cigarettes offer everything you would need to attract new and current customers. From a variety of P.O.S. display options to a vast array of e-cigs and accessories, the METRO lineup of products will fit perfectly into your existing offering.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated in a recent study that 21% of adults who smoke regular cigarettes had used e-cigs in 2011, up from 10% in 2010. About 6% of all adults have tried e-cigarettes, nearly doubling from 2010, according to the CDC. [2] With rates like these, you can easily see the shift from traditional smoking to that of e-smoking or vaping.
With METRO’s wide variety of packaging and options comes a wider affordability gap. E-cigs are offered in disposable options, as well as cartridges in bulk and designer cases allowing the consumer a plethora of buying options to satisfy their e-cigarette experience. The wide variety of options allows for higher profit margins than that of traditional cigarettes.
There’s never been a better time than right now to expand your current offering to include electronic cigarettes. And don’t just offer one brand. Offer 3 to 4 different brands that have numerous options to maximize your potential consumer purchases. By expanding your offering, you will be expanding your profits. Don’t be left in the smoke, get your slice of the e-cig pie while it’s still hot.
-Lucas
Reduce. Reuse. Reycle. ReVape.
METRO Electronic Cigarette Recycling Program
In today’s world, what you do, what you use and how you dispose of things affects everything around you. It is important to be mindful of those you encounter and your impact on the Earth. From recycling your soda cans to riding a bike instead of driving, these little things actually add up to something much greater and will benefit you for years to come.
When comparing regular cigarettes and electronic cigarettes there is waste for both. However, regular cigarettes produce much more waste than e-cigs do. One regular e-cigarette is equal to about 1.5 packs of traditional cigarettes. That is approximately 30 cigarette butts that will have to be disposed of. The chances of them actually getting properly disposed of or recycled is very low. Cigarette butts actually account for 37% of highway litter, based on the number of pieces per mile of roadway. And while many people actually think cigarette butts are bio-degradable, they are not. The problem is not just the litter, but also the toxicity the butts release into the environment.
Cigarette Butt Highway Litter
Currently, there are various public efforts taking off in starting recycling programs for cigarette butts. Everything from cities paying a penny per butt to fining $100 for littering, proper cigarette disposal is on everyone’s radars.
One way to stay off of the cigarette butt radar is with the electronic cigarette.
Not only do e-cigarettes reduce the amount of waste, you won’t find people just throwing their used batteries or cartridges on the ground. In fact, METRO Electronic Cigarettes actually offer a recycling program for their used cartridges and batteries.
Turn in 3 dead batteries or 3 used disposables and you’ll get one FREE, respectively. Also, METRO offers the consumer to be able to recycle their used cartridges where you get 3 FREE cartridges for recycling 30 used ones.
Do your part and get rewarded with METRO Electronic Cigarettes.
- Lucas
Electronic Cigarette Research Fund by CASAA
In February the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association (CASAA) announced that they would be launching a research fund for electronic cigarettes. Their mission is “to support scientific research work that furthers our missions of protecting access to and educating consumers about smoke-free alternatives and tobacco harm reduction”.
This new research fund does not thwart any of CASAA’s current efforts to protect e-cigarettes in our communities. They will continue to have advocate representatives in each city and state where volunteers become available. Their current political efforts will not be interrupted.
However, since they will not be allocating any current resources to this fund, they are asking for donations. Originally, in February they were trying to reach their goal of $15,000, they have since hit that target, however in order to continue the research it will take an ongoing donation from vapers and e-cig advocates like you. As new research projects are finalized, CASAA will announce what the new funds will actually be funding! It is pretty exciting, really.
If you are interested in helping fund this research, please visit the CASAA Research Fund page. Please note that if you are a current supporter of CASAA, any donations made are not currently supporting these research efforts – separate donations are needed in order to continue to fund both CASAA and the research fund separately.
We welcome you to read more about “E-cigarette chemistry, as review of the research and analysis of its health implications” on the CASAA website. The purpose of this research fund is to disspell all the political spins that have crowded out the science about ecigs.
- Jessica
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Top 5 Electronic Cigarette Industry Influencers
While I would be honored if you remember my name in the electronic cigarette industry as time goes on, I am definitely, by no means, one of the top influencers in the e-cig industry. So, since that is the case, lets talk about those people you definitely want to listen to and watch out for news from! We will start from bottom to top.
5. Paul Bergen – Alberta, Canada
Mr. Bergen is a member of the Tobacco Harm Reduction Institute of the University of Alberta, Canada. He is regularly stepping in to speak on the behalf of e-cigarettes and their users. You will find frequent blogs from him in the News and Opinions section of University’s site. He is also well known for being a myth buster in the e-cig industry. Mr. Bergen is also the co-author of Electronic Cigarettes: What the Experts Say.
When asked about the controversy in the e-cigarette industry, Mr. Bergen had the following to say, “some people…are vehemently anti-smoking and will fight any product that makes smoking more acceptable.” Good point! And we definitely find that to be the case everywhere.
4. Dr. Murray Laugesen – New Zealand
Dr. Laugesen actually founded Health New Zealand and has more experience in the tobacco industry than most – over 18 years! He has worked as a researcher for tobacco policies and cigarettes in general for many years. He written over 40 research papers on the subject of tobacco and cigarettes and also founded End Smoking NZ – a charitable organization dedicated to ending smoking altogether by 2025.
Since the rise of electronic cigarettes, Dr. Laugesen has taken a keen interest. He has become one of the most prominent voices in the industry, to date.
3. Scott Ballin – Washington DC
Coming in at number 3 is Mr. Scott Ballin, from Washington DC. He is active in the tobacco community and a health policy consultant. He also runs the Tobacco at a Crossroads alliance. He has not been extremely involved in research for the electronic cigarette, but he is deeply involved with the policies of it all. He has been VP for Public Policy and Legislative Counsel at the American Heart Association and the chairman for the Coalition on Smoking OR Health.
Mr. Ballin is very outspoken in his opinions of modernizing tobacco laws so that they account for products like electronic cigarettes. He is the current advisor at the University of Virginia on a series of harm reduction dialogues.
2. Professor Michael Siegel - Boston, MA
It is no surprise that Professor Michael Siegel is on this list. If you have followed the e-cigarette industry at all, you will definitely recognize this name! Professor Siegel has made it his life’s ambition (more recently) to debunk all the myths that are spread about e-cigarettes. There is no one who spends more scientific time researching e-cigarettes than this man. He plays a very important role in the e-cig industry, including his highly coveted blog, Tobacco Analysis (if you don’t read it, you should!). His blog always provides readers with the “other side of the story” (since we know there are always two sides).
Siegel is one of the few to stand up to the FDA’s claims about electronic cigarettes and their content of carcinogens, saying that, “based on the same logic (about e-cigs) peanut butter would also have to be banned.” He is often featured in the media defending e-cigs.
1. Professor Carl Phillips – Alberta, Canada
Professor Phillips and Professor Siegel definitely come close to tying. If I could assign #1 to both, I would. Professor Phillips is world renowned as it pertains to tobacco control. He has been a part of the Tobacco Harm Reduction Institute at the University of Alberta Canada. He is a very important voice in the science community that has put a lot of time and research into smokeless cigarettes.
He’s been interviewd on Discovery Network’s Daily Planet and regularly posts on his Anti-THR (Tobacco Harm Reduction) Lie of the Day blog. He’s very vocal about his opinions on electronic cigarettes and is often quoted across the internet in research and studies you will read.
Well, there you have it. Make sure to keep an eye and ear out for these names as you continue your walk through the your life as a vaper!
- Jessica
A special thank you to Ecigarette Reviewed for posting this information for us to read and write about.
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Nitrosamines in E-Cigarettes & Other Products We Consume
The initial analysis of electronic cigarette cartridges in 2009, revealed that the liquid in e-cigarettes contains nitrosamines. This minor finding is what started all the red flags with the electronic cigarette industry over the last few years. But what exactly did the scientists find, you ask? I’m so glad you asked!
- Nitrosamines found were below recommeneded guidelines
- Levels were 14,000 times lower than those found in Marlboro cigarettes
- They were NOT detected in the vapor of e-cigs, just the ingredients
- Nothing else was found – just nitrosamines
So, now you wonder, well what is a nitrosamine? Sounds scary – maybe. Truthfully, you are regularly exposed to nitrosamines through nitrates in your food and your water. Even filtered drinking water contains traces of nitrosamines. For those chocolate lovers out there, even chocolate contains nitrates.
Since nitrates cannot be eliminated altogether, governments have set “allowable” amounts – here in the US, that is 60 parts per billion. To put this into perspective and how it relates to electronic cigarettes and tobacco cigarettes, e-cigs have 8 parts per billion, compared to the 11,190 parts per billion that tobacco cigarettes have. Most nicotine patches also come in at 8 parts per billion.
To read more about this study on nitrosamines, visit the Ashtray Blog’s post on Nitrosamines and Electronic Cigarettes.
- Jessica
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The FDA Wants to See Electronic Cigarettes Go Down in Smokes
In May of 2012 the FDA announced that they would be monitoring all online websites and online advertising of electronic cigarettes. This announcement was said to be in conjunction with their efforts to regulate electronic cigarettes as they do tobacco cigarettes (including the high taxes that go along with tobacco cigarettes). We have now caught wind that “the FDA is proposing a rule to bring new “tobacco” products under their regulation by April 2013,” reports ECigarette Reviewed on February 20 in their PR Newswire press release. This proposal actually happened during the hustle and bustle of the holidays – at a time we were all least suspecting, according to the Tobacco Law blog.
Low blow? We think so. Get us all at a time we aren’t paying attention to the news, on the last business day at the White House before Christmas. Low blow indeed, Mr. President.
Our friends, and advocates, E Cigarette Reviewed, have written a formal press release addressing the FDA, asking them to take an “evidence-based” approach before regulating electronic cigarettes as they do tobacco. In 2009, when electronic cigarettes became a blip on the map, the FDA did a small test on electronic cigarettes – results of which were never actually officially released, only reported on (which you can imagine could be easily skewed without proper backup documentation). The test was so small and inconclusive (which is very unlike the FDA) that e-cig advocates around the country are demanding a better study – a study, as E Cigarette Reviewed asks for, is evidence-based, instead of inconclusive. Tests like this can take years – usually at least 24 months. Since 2009, the FDA has had plenty of time to re-conduct a more thorough test on electronic cigarettes, but instead of doing so, have simply made announcements that e-cigarettes are just as bad, if not worse, than tobacco cigarettes and people should either quit using the FDA’s approved methods or just keep smoking tobacco.
In the press release written by E Cigarette Reviewed, Lindsey Fox points out that the reports by the FDA did return traces of nitrosamines, but the amount found was not reported on because nitrosamines are also found in nicotine patches and gum that are approved by the FDA for “safe and effective cessation”. In rebuttal to the FDA finding diethylene glycol in one single e-cigarette cartridge that they tested, Lindsey points out that diethylene glycol can be found in asprin up to 10 time the quantity that was reported to be found in one single cartridge.
We will keep you posted as we hear more about the FDA and electronic cigarettes.
- Jessica
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The Media Jumps on the Anti-Electronic Cigarette Bandwagon
It is hard enough for smokeless cigarette users to fight the swarms of people that are against electronic cigarettes, now we have to hear our own local news crews twisting the truth on them as well. Will we ever catch a break?
This news anchor (pictured on the left) helps spread the news that electronic cigarettes could actually be worse than tobacco cigarettes. Umm… Lets think about this… how can that be possible?
Dr. Michael Feinstein weighs into the interview with his thoughts on the matter. Saying that people are inhaling chemicals into their lungs that they don’t even know what they are. Even Dr. Green, a lung cancer specialist, from Palm Beach, speaks on the topic, saying there isn’t any information known about their dangers. And also says there is no “real data” on e-cigarettes. Dr. Green also states that the nicotine dosage can “conceivably” be higher than those that you get in a traditional cigarette. Perhaps, but only if you’re over doing it. There is a technique to vaping e-cigarettes and some vape more than others. But still, that’s a personal choice.
At just over half way through the clip, the news anchor states the “this tobacco alternative may even be MORE harmful than traditional cigarettes”, but nowhere in this clip does anyone substantiate this information. No where do they say how they can be more harmful. She even mentions that “authorities” don’t even know what is inside of an e-cig. Well, if they have questions, they are more than welcome to see our ingredients list on our Frequently Asked Questions page. Just a little research would tell you what is inside of a smokeless cigarette.
She then goes on to speak on the topic of Diethylene Glycol and how it was found in a “small sampling” of e-cigs that were tested by the FDA. However, simple research will show you that it is in fact Propylene Glycol that can be found in e-cigs, an ingredient that is recognized as safe by the FDA, per our “Myth about Antifreeze in E-cigs is Finally Solved” blog post.
The fact of the matter is these kinds of stories have to be stopped. This is the information that our communities is receiving on smokeless cigarettes. This is why people are do blindly opposing them – because of news stories like this that don’t even present a half truth!
Please click on this YouTube link to watch the video and post your comments on the matter. Please feel free to also leave your comments below. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter.
- Jessica
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How Can You Help Fight Against E-Cigarette Bans?
Our friends at the Consumer Advocates for Smokefree Alternatives Association (CASAA) have put together a very informative piece that helps us vapers understand how we can help make a difference. Sometimes we think, “I am only one person, what can I do?” But, when we all work together to fight against e-cigarette bans across the nation, we can be a powerful influence!
Right now, e-cig advocate groups are referred to as Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) groups. These groups need our help to fight the legislative battles. CASAA Membership Director, Ron Ward, has put together a brief powerpoint outlining how you can help. The first step is to know your legislative process in your state – every state varies so this might take some research. However, the research and time put into it is well worth it if you want to keep your vaping rights! You can learn more about State Legislative Sessions by visiting Ballotpedia’s page, State Legislative Session.
You can help others in your state by posting your state’s legislative information on the CASAA Forum – make sure to check there first to see if someone has already don’t your state’s research for you.
When you hear of legislation being passed in your state in regards to smokeless cigarettes, you will want to start gathering contact information for administrative offices and relevant legislators. Regional Representatives for CASAA (unpaid volunteers) will use their Forum, Facebook, Twitter, vape club and vape networks to spread the news about legislation in local areas. CASAA asks for your help in monitoring the legislation and making contact to legislators.
After you’ve made contact with your local CASAA Representative, they will be able to help you through the rest of the process. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer representative for your area, please contact CASAA today!
For more information about this important fight for electronic cigarettes and how you can help, visit this CASAA blog post.
- Jessica
Don’t forget to get social with us!
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