The last two years have seen efforts in state and local governmentsacross the country to ban all flavors in e-cigarettes and even to ban all flavored tobacco products. These bans—some implemented and many others wisely turned back—attempt to combat a youth vaping epidemic by adopting a narrative largely constructed by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids and Parents Against Vaping E-Cigarettes, anti-tobacco advocacy groups funded by billionaire Michael Bloomberg. These groups champion unproven tenets that vapor products are a gateway to cigarette use for children and that eliminating all flavored tobacco products will stop children from becoming cigarette smokers.

Apart from being one of my more recent THR heroes, Ethan Nadelmann has been one of the most outspoken critics of the current ‘War on Drugs’. Rolling Stone Magazine called him “The driving force for the legalization of marijuana in America” he has been defending cannabis and drugs his entire career. He is also the founder of Drug Policy Alliance, a New York City based non-profit. Their goal is to “reduce the harms of both drug use and drug prohibition, and to promote the sovereignty of individuals over their minds and bodies”.

I didn’t realize there was another follow up to the 2018 Study with roughly the same name. This was published in October 2020 and once again follows up on 29 of the original 44 smoking adults involved in the study. The aim of the study? “a long-term prospective assessment of respiratory parameters in a cohort of COPD patients who ceased or substantially reduced conventional cigarette use with ECs.”

Long time champions of harm reduction Public Health England have recently released their advice for smokers and vapers during this time of the Covid-19 global pandemic. Unlike the WHO or CDC their information is clear, concise and to the point.

In this advice they cover both smoking and vaping. Here are some of their main points and takeaways as it relates to using less harmful vapor products

  • if you smoke, you generally have an increased risk of contracting respiratory infection and of more severe symptoms once infected. COVID-19 symptoms may, therefore, be more severe if you smoke
  • e-cigarettes (vapes) can be an effective aid to stopping smoking and staying smokefree