AMA calls for total ban on all e-cigarette, vaping products

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

AMA calls for total ban on all e-cigarette, vaping products

By LINDSEY TANNER
November 19, 2019

The American Medical Association on Tuesday called for an immediate ban on all electronic cigarettes and vaping devices.

The group adopted the sweeping stance at a policy-making meeting in San Diego. It aims to lobby for state and federal laws, regulations or legal action to achieve a ban, but the industry is sure to fight back.

The AMA cited a surge in underage teen use of e-cigarettes, which typically heat a solution that contains nicotine.

“It’s simple, we must keep nicotine products out of the hands of young people.” Dr. Patrice Harris, AMA’s president, said in a statement.

The doctors’ group said a separate health issue also prompted its action — the recent U.S. outbreak of lung illnesses linked to vaping. Most of those sickened said they vaped THC, the high-inducing ingredient in marijuana, not nicotine. Officials believe a thickening agent used in black market THC vaping products may be a culprit.

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/fb92709abf944e8f980321ebc8b96622

[Newest Reality]

1. I protest.

Having looked at studies about vaping in the past, it is a far better alternative to smoking for many reasons. Banning things point blank like that just creates a black market and I am curious as to why the AMA would react in such an unreasonable and hysterical manner.

Vaping has been around, I think, since the 60's. It is not new. It has gained popularity in the last couple of decades. Overall, the results were not anything like we are seeing with these new adulterants, (which seem to apply mostly to THC cartridges as stated) and is more recent.

What would be more practical, (without the "save the children" excuse) would be to test and regulate the vaping liquids, at the very least. Better education about addiction and preventative propaganda would be a better approach. Sometimes people who have not had addictions don't know what they are getting into and the expenses they will incur are another factor that could demotivate them to vape.

The motivation here seems to be unclear, anyway. While they base in on a crusade geared towards younger people, they then bring in the THC-related illnesses. What is going on here?

Any actions taken should be fact based and researched, not reactionary.

The outbreak has “shined a light on the fact that we have very little evidence about the short- and long-term health consequences of e-cigarettes and vaping products,”

Not so fast! That is a disingenuous or biased statement that is only partially true, to say the least. What is the modus operandi of the AMA here? They are not acting in good faith concerning the research community and studies involved so far.

https://vaping3d60.com/learn/vaping-studies/

There are at least two dozen new studies on vaping published every week. Many of them are about vaping and health. They range from medical studies on vaping health risks to analysis of e-liquid or constituents in vapor to research on vaping and nicotine addiction. Some are released with a lot of fanfare, and create a huge media stir — often because of alarming claims by the scientists or, more often, by the university press office or outside groups.

No vaping research concludes that vaping is “safe”. Anytime you inhale a foreign substance or use a drug like nicotine, there is some risk built into the activity. The scientific consensus is that vaping is, by and large, safer than smoking cigarettes. But beyond agreement that vaping poses fewer risks than smoking, opinions on the possible health and side effects of vaping vary widely.

https://spinfuel.com/effects-of-vaping-5-prominent-studies/

(emphasis mine)

There are many studies online to peruse.