Lung Association Recommends Smoking

"Until the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determines that e-cigarettes are safe for consumers, the American Lung Association urges consumers not to use these products." -- Letter from Charles D. Connor, President and CEO, American Lung Associatioon

Why is the head of the organization that is dedicated to lung health urging me to stop using the tool that has kept me smoke-free for over a year?

Does the American Lung Association (ALA) have any evidence that it is safer to inhale tobacco smoke?

It can’t be the carcinogen levels. A day’s supply (about 1 ml) of the 16 mg liquid contains 8 ng/g of TSNAs—about equal to the amount in an FDA-approved nicotine patch. Compare that to the whopping 11,190 ng/g of TSNAs in the most popular brand, Marlboro cigarettes.

It can’t be the number of toxins. In addition to the “chemical found in antifreeze,” conventional tobacco cigarettes contain arsenic used in rat poison, hydrogen cyanide used in gas chambers, formaldehyde used to embalm dead bodies, polonium radiation dosage equal to 300 chest X-rays in one year, and many more harmful substances that you will not find in the liquid or the vapor.

It can’t be the tar, carbon monoxide, and particulates. These are only found in smoke. If I go back to inhaling these substances along with my nicotine, I’m fairly certain that the wheezing that kept me awake at night and the productive morning cough will return. I also suspect that my recently regained ability to laugh out loud without triggering a coughing fit will disappear

I could understand the ALA taking the stance, “Until more is known, the American Lung Association cannot recommend the products.” However, in view of the known negative health consequences of inhaling smoke, it seems unethical to urge consumers not to use the products.

The ALA cannot ignore the fact that hundreds of thousands of users report that they are using the products as a complete replacement for their tobacco cigarettes. It also cannot ignore the fact that the health effects reported by users have been overwhelmingly positive. Not one serious adverse event has been reported. Meanwhile, 440,000 Americans per year die of smoking-related diseases.

We know that the FDA is not quick to pronounce any product “safe.” During those years, how much damage will be done to the lungs of the continuing smokers who heed the ALA advice?

No Brainer

A Face Book poll called "The Smokeless Cigarette" has been created.


The question reads:

An artificial cigarette is invented that produces no first- or second-hand smoke; and 10000+ smokers try it, stop using tobacco, and stop wheezing and coughing. Should the invention be PULLED OFF THE MARKET until it can be proven safe and effective?

NO
YES

When put in this way, it sounds insane, doesn't it? It is utterly astonishing that the the American Lung Association joined with the Cancer Society, Heart Assn, and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids to prevail on the FDA to take electronic cigarettes off the market!

No doubt, they mean well, but they will cause untold harm if they get their way.

They say that electronic cigarettes have not been proven safe and effective. Well, more than 12,000 people have signed a petition asking the FDA to keep these available. Read some of the comments. You will see story after story. People are able to substitute inhaling vaporized nicotine from an electronic cigarette for some or all of their tobacco cigarettes. Many are reporting improved health. Even their doctors agree! You can see the petition and the signatures at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/kee...ttes-available,

So the users say that they ARE effective. Who would know better? As for safe, unless the CDC, FDA, AMA, ALA, ACS, AHA, etc, have been telling us big fat whoppers all these years about the dangers of tobacco smoking, just about ANYTHING would be safer to be using instead, no?

There are still 40+ million American smokers, many of whom would give up tobacco in an eye-blink if they knew that there is something out there that will allow them to do so without giving up being a productive, functioning, happy human being.

American Lung Association Mission

“The American Lung Association is committed to helping all Americans who want to break their addiction to nicotine.” Apparently this means that the ALA is NOT committed to helping people who want to stop smoking tobacco, UNLESS they are willing to give up nicotine.

The mission of the American Lung Association is to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease.

There is not a single word in that mission statement about nicotine prevention. Nicotine is being studied for use in treating a multitude of disorders and prevention of such terrible diseases as Parkinson’s. Scientists now suspect that smokers who can’t quit require nicotine to keep neurobiological problems under control.

Tens of thousands of smokers report being able to replace some or all of their smoked cigarettes with nicotine vapor inhaled by using an electronic cigarette. The vast majority of these folks state that they are no longer coughing, wheezing, and/or hacking up phlegm. That sounds like an IMPROVEMENT in lung health, doesn't it?

But the ALA wants electronic cigarettes banned.

Most of the e-cigarette users tried all of the FDA-approved nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products, but were not able to quit smoking. This may be because the NRT products provide sub-therapeutic doses of nicotine. Perhaps one reason e-cigarettes succeeded where other products failed is because they provide enough nicotine to keep such conditions as depression, anxiety, and attention deficit disorder under control.

Still, the ALA wants electronic cigarettes banned.

Many, many e-cigarette users state that they will probably return to smoking tobacco if electronic cigarettes become unavailable.

Nevertheless, the ALA wants electronic cigarettes banned.

How many lives of e-cigarettee users will be cut short if the ALA gets it way? How many more lives might have been saved if e-cigarettes remained available and more smokers were able to substitute them for their tobacco cigarettes?

Would someone please explain how the campaign against electronic cigarettes helps the ALA fulfill its mission.