Unlikely Perspective Of Electronic Cigarettes In An Unlikely Media Outlet

Online, December 21, 2013 (Newswire.com) - The New York Times published a very interesting editorial on Sunday seeking to make a case for tolerating e-cigarettes. The op-ed piece is drawing attention because it was written by two unlikely authors. Amy L. Fairchild is a professor, and James Colgrove is an associate professor, of socio-medical sciences at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia.

The authors raise a great thought about the current opposition to e-cigs. With the tobacco lawsuits of the 80's, the disturbing revelation that tobacco companies had lied to the public about the dangers of smoking and manipulated nicotine levels to ensure smokers stayed addicted to their products, created an insurmountable block to anything related to tobacco and smoking. Any large scale support within the government and science community of finding alternatives or lesser harm cigarettes came to an immediate halt.

What is even more troubling, the authors point out that the American Cancer Society had supported "frank scientific discussion about the possibilities of developing cigarettes that will be less harmful and still satisfying to smokers." After the lawsuits, all efforts ceased and the demand by tobacco opponents was total smoking cessation. The American Cancer Society is now actively pushing for strong restrictions of electronic cigarettes. Is it possible that if big tobacco had not taken the American people down the road of deception, other solutions would be readily evaluated and accepted by the current opposition? The "what ifs" can be debated endlessly, but the past can't be changed. The fact remains that electronic cigarettes have been fighting an uphill battle for public support. Vaping opponents continue to fuel the fire with misinformation and fear mongering. The authors of this op-ed piece has approached e-cigs objectively and from a perspective that the debate has been missing from the start. Other highlights from the editorial include:

- Emotion should not rule out harm reduction, even if eradication of smoking is the ultimate goal. Banning vaping in public won't help.

- If e-cigarettes can reduce, even slightly, the blight of six million tobacco-related deaths a year, trying to force them out of sight is counterproductive.
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