Thursday 19 December 2013

Passive vaping and New York's health fascism

I wrote about some emerging research showing no link between passive smoking and lung cancer:

The article describes a large prospective study that "confirmed a strong association between cigarette smoking and lung cancer but found no link between the disease and secondhand smoke." 

And, in writing about this I noting that the authors were back-pedalling rapidly on the reasons for smoking bans - 'denormalising' smoking rather than protecting health.

Today, in a development that further reveals the willingness of the Church of Public Health to act without evidence, New York City Council is deciding whether to apply the same controls to e-cigarettes as apply to regular cancer sticks:

In late November, a month after banning the sale of the devices to people under 21, the City Council surprised the sector by introducing a bill that would treat electronic cigarettes like their tobacco counterparts, prohibiting use in restaurants, bars, workplaces and even parks.

There is no evidence to support the main contention of the ban's proponents - vaping looks like smoking so will act to promote the latter. Nor is there evidence that there are any significant health risks that result from vaping let alone from 'passive vaping'. But this doesn't stop New York's nanny-in-chief:

At a recent public hearing of the bill, Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley challenged the notion that e-cigs are healthier than tobacco smokes...

Dr Farley knows this is a lie, just as the tobacco controllers have known since the day they proposed smoking bans that passive smoking is at worst a very minor risk factor in lung cancer. What is even worse is that, by effectively banning vaping, New York will remove the incentive for smokers to switch to less harmful e-cigs. And that means more deaths.

....

3 comments:

Junican said...

May I recommend a little reading for regarding the NYC proposal?

http://antithrlies.com/

Professor Carl Phillips analyses an article by "Cheryl Healton (the former head of the leading anti-tobacco organization, American Legacy Foundation — a fact that is omitted in the introduction of her in the blog in question — and now head of the public health program at NYC)

She supports NYC proposed extension of the smoking ban to ecigs. 95% of the article is the usual anti-tobacco propaganda, while the other 5% is junk science.

The Zealots have been getting away with half truths for so long that they are now openly lying. When will our leaders wake up?

Unknown said...

Farley et al are able to lie with impunity by using clever little tricks of language and statistics. They know what they're doing, and it *is* lying, but they're able to use the "shred of truth" defense and get away with it.

Sad.

:/
MJM

V smoke said...

They are the real safe alternative to smoking , that don't cause nay health risk and are safe
V Smoke