Cigarettes, e-Cigarettes, NRT and the Illness Industry (big pharma vs big tobacco)

Recently The Motley Fool posted a very scary article.  Why scary?  Well, the business of disease is a very scary and evil industry.

If you've been even remotely following the electronic-cigarette debate, you're aware  that one of the big arguments used to support the possible regulation of the e-cig is the strong belief  that vaping actually brings legitimacy and encourages smoking.   Now, there is another study recently released with groundbreaking data that shows that actually there is a link between the use of the e-cigarette and tobacco cigarettes among kids in the United States.

JAMA Pediatrics is a Journal started in 1911.  One study published in the journal shows "adolescents who have or are using e-cigs are less likely to have given up smoking than those who did not use e-cigarettes."  The conclusion was based on 40,000 adolescents who completed surveys from the CDC.  In a nutshell, they concluded that:

"use of e-cigarettes does not discourage, and may encourage, conventional cigarette use among U.S. adolescents."

Critics out there will say that "while the study does show a correlation between smoking and e-cig use, there is no evidence to show that the use of e-cigs will directly lead to smoking."  [whatever] Unfortunately, this study comes at a time when the FDA is about to regulate the juvenile e-cigarette market within the United States.  [why has it taken so long anyway?]

E-cigarettes are unregulated, which enables companies to aggressively market them and make claims that the e-cigarette is "relatively safe."  This 1940's and 50's style marketing can not be used with conventional cigarettes.  That being said as opposition to vaping is building an unlikely backer is funding the move against these reduced-risk products.

This is where it's going to start getting scary...

One of the biggest forces working against the introduction of electronic cigarettes is big pharma. No big surprise, right?  It's the why that's disturbing.  Big pharma makes it's money from treating disease.  That includes smoking related illness.  If  there is less disease to treat, then profits will drop.  That would be bad news for the companies and shareholders.

Now, let's throw in NRT.  Nicotine Replacement Therapy.  The gum, the patch, the lozenge.  GlaxoSmithKline is the leading marketer of these products.  Clearly, if smokers who are trying to quit turn to e-cigarettes rather than NRT, GlaxoSmithKline will lose money.   Can you see why big pharma would want to use this study to put additional pressure on the FDA to regulate the electronic cancer stick?

If the e-cig was brought under the umbrella of the FDA, they could then require the manufacturers of the e-cig to register and pay fees, list the ingredients in their products [most important part], obtain prior approval for new products, and restrict online sales and marketing to children. [second most important part]

Big Tobacco lied it's ass off for 60 years.  Look, I'm not a huge fan of the FDA as I believe they are in bed with Big Pharma and it's strictly about a government agency regulating a free market to support the largest financial contributers.  This puts peoples lives at risk for the sake of the almighty dollar and that crosses the line from old fashioned healthy capitolism to evil and greed.  That being said, Big Tobacco is the greater of these two evils and must be stopped.  They are buying up e-cigarette companies to hedge thier tobacco bet and marketing smokeless tobacco products as well.   With the lack of regualtion in e-cigarettes, it won't be long before some "doctor" will be doing an infomercial talking about how it's just "vapor."
 
Bottom line, don't get sucked into the hype and don't financially reward evil.  If you're in a battle with nicotine, sooner or later, in order to win, you'll have to cut it off and out.  NRT and e-cigarettes exist because people have allowed themselves a physical and mental addiction.  These people have been sold a bill of goods that they are weak and incapable of stopping smoking by themselves and they they need NRT or e-cigarettes to transition.  I call bullshit!
 
Don't allow yourself to get cought in the loop.  Heroine to methadone to marijuanna to a really bad day and back to heroine then methadone to pot to clean for a while until another really bad day.  See the cycle?
Cigarettes, patch, screw up and smoke with the patch, no patch, cigarettes, gum, off for 6 weeks, bad day, just one, 3 days later buy a pack, back to full time smoker, Chantix, WEIRD F#$%ing dreams, no Chantix, then clean for 4 months... until standing outside a club with your buzz on, bum smoke...  see the loop?  Why?  Knock that shit off!  Stop trying to quit!

Want a fool proof plan?  I mean isn't that what you're after?  People are so much stronger than Big Pharma and Big Tobacco want you to believe.  If you're ready to step up and off the addiction loop, read this book then use this book:  www.StopDontQuit.com

E-Cigarette in Arizona found to contain tar

Stop Smoking Tempe, AZ.  Mesa police arrested a Tempe man for using an electronic cigarette to smoke heroin.  Danika Worthington from the Arizona Republic discovered a court document showing how police found Mark Patrick Newman, aged 24, outside his home in Tempe.  Patrick was sitting in a BMW in the driveway.  Police said it appeared as if he had been smoking.  The cops found black tar heroin in Newman’s sock and an electronic cigarette with a melted black tar substance inside the center console, according to the court document.

The officers also discovered some pot and paraphernalia in the car.  Newman told police he smoked marijuana earlier in the afternoon and was smoking heroin when police arrived, the document says.

Newman was then arrested on multiple charges of possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia AND they hit him with the use of an electronic device in drug transactions.

This little incident occurred on July 2, right after Mesa police pulled Newman over for switching lanes without using his signal   Police found 30 bucks worth of black tar heroin in Newman’s sock. After a K9 smelled around a bit, they found drug paraphernalia used for smoking heroin..

BEST PART:  Newman told the police in July that he smoked three to four times a week but was not addicted to heroin.

CHIEF CONCERN:  The original article uses his full name, Mark Patrick Newman, which leads me to wonder if he will ultimately wind up being implicated in any local serial killings or assassination attempts.  Having a name like Mark Patrick Newman, should be probable cause.  Read this sentence like a news reporter:  "Multiple bodies were found buried in the back yard of a one Mark Patrick Newman."  Or they this one:  "The alleged gunman is one Mark Patrick Newman."  Feeling me on this one?  Either way, I hope Mr. Newmen gets the help he needs!  

WHOLE STORY HERE:  http://www.azcentral.com/community/mesa/articles/20131017mesa-police-arrest-tempe-man-using-electronic-cigarette-smoke-heroin-abrk.html?nclick_check=1

E-cigarette use more than doubles among U.S. middle and high school students from 2011-2012

According to the CDC, More than 75 percent of youth users smoke conventional cigarettes too...

The percentage of U.S. middle and high school students who use electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, more than doubled from 2011 to 2012, according to data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The findings from the National Youth Tobacco Survey, in today’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, show that the percentage of high school students who reported ever using an e-cigarette rose from 4.7 percent in 2011 to 10.0 percent in 2012. In the same time period, high school students using e-cigarettes within the past 30 days rose from 1.5 percent to 2.8 percent.  Use also doubled among middle school students.  Altogether, in 2012 more than 1.78 million middle and high school students nationwide had tried e-cigarettes.

"The increased use of e-cigarettes by teens is deeply troubling," said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H.  "Nicotine is a highly addictive drug.  Many teens who start with e-cigarettes may be condemned to struggling with a lifelong addiction to nicotine and conventional cigarettes."

The study also found that 76.3 percent of middle and high school students who used e-cigarettes within the past 30 days also smoked conventional cigarettes in the same period. In addition, 1 in 5 middle school students who reported ever using e-cigarettes say they have never tried conventional cigarettes. This raises concern that there may be young people for whom e-cigarettes could be an entry point to use of conventional tobacco products, including cigarettes.
 
“About 90 percent of all smokers begin smoking as teenagers,” said Tim McAfee, M.D., M.P.H., director of the CDC Office on Smoking and Health.  “We must keep our youth from experimenting or using any tobacco product. These dramatic increases suggest that developing strategies to prevent marketing, sales, and use of e-cigarettes among youth is critical.”

Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, are battery-powered devices that provide doses of nicotine and other additives to the user in an aerosol. E-cigarettes not marketed for therapeutic purposes are currently unregulated by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA Center for Tobacco Products External Web Site Icon has announced that it intends to expand its jurisdiction over tobacco products to include e-cigarettes, but has not yet issued regulatory rules. Because e-cigarettes are largely unregulated, the agency does not have good information about them, such as the amounts and types of components and potentially harmful constituents.

“These data show a dramatic rise in usage of e-cigarettes by youth, and this is cause for great concern as we don’t yet understand the long-term effects of these novel tobacco products,” said Mitch Zeller, director of FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. “These findings reinforce why the FDA intends to expand its authority over all tobacco products and establish a comprehensive and appropriate regulatory framework to reduce disease and death from tobacco use.”

Although some e-cigarettes have been marketed as smoking cessation aids, there is no conclusive scientific evidence that e-cigarettes promote successful long-term quitting. However, there are proven cessation strategies and treatments, including counseling and FDA-approved cessation medications.
Cigarette smoking remains the leading preventable cause of dis­ease, dis­ability, and death in the United States, responsible for an estimated 443,000 deaths each year.  And for every one death, there are 20 people living with a smoking-related disease.

FROM:  http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2013/p0905-ecigarette-use.html

Are Electronic Cigarettes Safe Or Another Cancer Causing Agent Of Big Tobacco

Reporting from Los Angeles - There may be no such thing as a free lunch when it comes to the e-cigarette.  For smokers in France, a country basically stereotyped with smoking, it may be time to quit smoking.  What will these men do when a piece of their identity is ripped from their ability to live fully?

"The e-cigarette is not an ordinary product," said French Health Minister Marisol Touraine.  "We need to apply the same measures as there are for tobacco."

Interestingly enough, France isn't the only country taking issue with the e-cig.  Many countries have already outlawed e-cigarettes all together.  Countries like Turkey, Brazil, Singapore, Argentina and possible next Italy.  Italian health ministers are recommending a ban on e-cigarettes in public and the sale to minors and pregnant women.

Marisol Touraine also said, "Smoking an e-cigarette is smoking."  I tend to agree with her.  While technically safer than the traditional cigarette, the so called water vapor also contains propylene glycol which is an irritant to the airways and (get ready for this) formaldehyde.  Right!  The liquid that held the two headed pig you saw at the county fair last year.  That formaldehyde.

If you're considering switching to e-cigarettes, hey, why not, it's got to be better than a regular one, but does that make it safe or safe-er?  Standing one legged on a 100 foot ledge is dangerous.  Standing on the same ledge with both feet; still dangerous.

Why should you raise a red flag or at least an eyebrow?  Because Big Tobacco is getting in on the action.  That's why.

Lorillard bought blu ecigs (so Steven Dorf now works for Big Tobacco) and Camel, which was my brand of choice when I was choosing to smoke is selling their e-cigarette called Vuse.

These are the same guys who manipulated nicotine levels to make them more addicting and then denied that cigarettes were addicting.  The same people who hired doctors, actors and opera singers to promote their deadly product.  How long will it be before some Doctor Oz looking guy is featured on an infomercial talking about the "safe and effective" use of the Vuse to quit smoking regular cigarettes?

My advice, is if you're going to stop smoking, then STOP smoking.  Cigarettes, electronic or otherwise are nothing more than a delivery device for nicotine.  So is the patch and the gum.  They even call it that.  NRT.  Nicotine Replacement Therapy.  Sooner or later you're going to have to combat the Nicotine demon.  Rip that sucker off like a band-aid.  Big tobacco has had enough of your money, time and life.

Do yourself a favor and throw 20 bucks at the book that will change your life, how you see yourself as a smoker and give you the tools you need to not quit, but just stop smoking once and for all.

Lorillard Buys blu ecigs (Jeffrey Wigand Was Right All Along)

In April of 2012, Lorillard Tobacco Co., the maker of Newport, sets out to secure it's revenue.  Not that there's anything wrong with that!  But as menthol cigarettes are facing scrutiny by the FDA and may soon be eliminated all together, the third largest tobacco company is looking for their own nicotine replacement therapy in blu ecigs.

Remember the Insider with Russell Crow and Al Pacino?  "A delivery device for nicotine.  Put it in your mouth, light it up and you're gonna get your fix."

So while this is from a movie, based on the experience of Jeffrey Wigand, this is the general feeling inside big tobacco and as I've mentioned before, the clear cut example of why there is no real difference between big tobacco and a man like Pablo Escobar.

But Dave, Big Tobacco doesn't go around killing people....

You sure?

How many deaths annually from tobacco related illness?  Consider chew, dip, cigars, then cigarettes.  The number is massive and way larger than any Mexican Cartel 's activity.

Don't get me wrong here, I think tobacco should remain legal, along with alcohol and I support Peter Tosh on the "marry-ju-wanna" deal.  People should have the right to use any of these products as little or as much as they want.  They also have a right to make an educated decision on how those product will effect their body and mind.

And while the ecig is not as blatantly harmful as a traditional cigarette, it does not mean it will be without consequence.   Remember it wasn't too long ago doctors recommended cigarettes, so before you go puffing away on "harmless water vapor" remember, there may be more to it than that.

Remember that ultimately, you are choosing to feed the hunger of an addiction.  Gotta get your fix, one way or another.  And if you are transitioning off of cigarettes with the ecig, keep in mind, you are only prolonging the inevitable, which is a one-on-one battle with a highly addictive and toxic chemical known as nicotine.

When that day comes you have to get your head right to face this tough opponent and win.  Fortunately, there's a book that will help you get your head right to kick the habit once and for all and for good!  You can get a copy and more information on the book at my website, www.StopDontQuit.com where you'll find out how to stop smoking without having to quit!   
 

Smoking an e-Cigarette is NOT helping you at all!

Sometimes Trying To Quit Smoking Can Blow Up In Your Face (literally)

Imagine enjoying a cigarette after a nice meal with your wife and suddenly BOOM!  The cigarette blows up on you!  Teeth get knocked out, parts of your face are charred and some of your tongue is missing.  You wind up in a burn center...

Well this is what happened to Tom Holloway earlier this week when his e-cigarette lit up like a bottle rocket on the 4th of July, shooting across his home office, starting a small fire and leaving him severely injured.

While this is rare and should never happen to anyone...  allow me to observe that the injuries Mr. Holloway received as a result of him trying to quit with an e-cigarette would have happened either way.  Meaning what?  All this e-cigarette exploding did was speed up the process.

• Cigarette smoking is a known cause and trigger of periodontal disease which results in receding gums, bone loss and eventually tooth loss.  So his teeth were coming out one way or another...

• Tobacco smoking is one of the leading causes of oral cancer and the first step in fixing that is tissue removal.

• Smoking also speeds up the aging process.  You know how meat and fish get smoked?  Consider that and then look at a heavy smokers face...

Seem insensitive?  Sometimes a reality smack down is in order...

Look, here's what set me off: 

"Holloway, a Vietnam veteran, photographer and father of three, reportedly stopped smoking two years ago and turned to e-cigarettes to kick the habit."

This came from ABCNews.com.  What the hell are they talking about?  Kick what habit?  He didn't kick anything!  Jeffrey Wigand put it best when he deemed a cigarette "a delivery device for nicotine."  Mr Holloway simply had not kicked anything and because of switching delivery devices, damn near kicked the bucket sooner than if he'd have simply continued to smoke regular cigarettes!

They did redeem themselves later though when they said, "Electronic cigarettes have become a popular crutch for many who have quit smoking" 

To which I say, here, here!  The e-cigarette is just that.  A crutch.  At some point you will need to go it alone and stop!

So what did we learn today?  E-cigarettes are just as dangerous (if not more so) then regular cigarettes and sooner or later you're going to have to go cold turkey.  Stopping smoking is like pulling off a band-aid.  It's no fun either way, but it's better to do it fast and get on with it.

Need help ripping off the band-aid?  Try my book!  Get your copy at www.stopdontquit.com or on this blog!