E-cigs may be cleaner, but not necessarily safer says Mid-Atlanic ALA, timeleader.com (PA) 19 Feb 2014

http://timesleader.com/news/extras/1201037/E-cigs-may-be-cleaner-but-not-necessarily-safer

If it’s Deborah Brown, president and CEO of the American Lung Association of the Mid-Atlantic, the story behind electronic cigarettes isn’t all that rosy.

“No brand has been submitted for evaluation of their safety,” Brown said. “In some initial lab tests in 2009, the (Food and Drug Administration) did find some detectable levels of toxic, cancer-causing chemicals, including an ingredient used in anti-freeze

……

The association claims the e-cigarette industry is using marketing tactics of the tobacco industry by using celebrity spokespeople to glamorize its products, making unproven health claims, encouraging smokers to switch instead of quit, and creating candy- and fruit-flavored products to attract youth.

….

“We are faced with a deep-pocketed, ever-evolving tobacco industry that’s determined to maintain its market share at the expense of our kids and current smokers,” Brown continued.

ALA pretends to be anti-smoking but recycles all the lies about smokeless tobacco

http://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/about-smoking/facts-figures/smokeless-tobacco-products.html

The page is not dated.  Accessed 3 Feb 14.  Most recent reference is 2008 (though it feels like it was written in 2002).

Every single health claim in this is a lie.  Note also the rhetoric about stopping smoking at the end, when the page is devoted to discouraging people from stopping smoking.

 

Smokeless Tobacco Products

Smokeless tobacco causes significant health risks and is not a safe alternative to smoking cigarettes. It contains the same addictive chemical (nicotine) that is in cigarettes, which can lead to addiction and dependence.¹  The amount of nicotine absorbed from smokeless tobacco is 3 to 4 times the amount delivered by a cigarette.² 

Key Facts About Smokeless Tobacco Use:

• Smokeless tobacco contains 28 cancer-causing agents (carcinogens) or known causes of human cancer. It also increases the risk of developing cancer of the oral cavity and pancreas.³
• There are two main types of smokeless tobacco used in the U.S., chewing tobacco and snuff. Chewing tobacco comes in loose leaf, plug and twist form. Snuff is finely ground tobacco that can be dry, moist, or in bag-like pouches. Most smokeless tobacco users place the product in the cheek or between their gum and cheek, suck on the tobacco and spit out or swallow the juices, which is why smokeless tobacco is often referred to as spit tobacco.⁴
• However, several tobacco companies have started to develop and test market new smokeless tobacco products such as snus, a product that does not require the user to spit and tobacco products that dissolve when put into the mouth.⁵
• In 2006, the five largest smokeless tobacco manufacturers spent over $354 million on advertising and promotion, the highest amount ever recorded.  The majority of these dollars (57.5%) were spent on price discounts to smokeless tobacco retailers or wholesalers to reduce the price to consumers.⁶

Smokeless Tobacco Use in the U.S.:

• In the U.S., an estimated 3.3 percent of adults are current smokeless tobacco users; use is much higher among males than females (6.5% vs. 0.4%).  Amongst specific populations, American Indian/Alaska natives have the highest use (7%) followed by white males (4.3%).⁷
• An estimated 7.4 percent of high school students are current smokeless tobacco users. Smokeless tobacco use is much more common among male then female high school students (13.4% vs. 2.3%). It is estimated that African American high school students use smokeless tobacco (1.2%) less than White (10.3%) and Hispanic (4.7%) students.⁸ 
• An estimated 2.6 percent of middle school students are current smokeless tobacco users.⁹ 

The American Lung Association has more information available on quitting smoking and our programs to help you do so, our advocacy efforts to reduce tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke, and tobacco use trends on our website at www.lung.org, or through the Lung HelpLine at 1-800-LUNG-USA (1-800-586-4872).

ALA declares ecigs “deadly” and denigrates harm reduction, KOAM Oklahoma, 11 Mar 13

Another from the SteveVape archive

http://stevevape.com/oklahoma-proposes-ecig-tax-ala-against-it/ outsources to http://www.koamtv.com/story/21577607/oklahoma-lawmakers-consider-tighter-regulations-for-electronic-cigarettes

The Oklahoma proposal also would tax e-cigarettes like regular tobacco.  However, Oklahoma’s American Lung Association is against the bill’s new regulations writing:  “…it would effectively have the state of Oklahoma endorse and promote deadly products as ‘harm reduction’ solutions.”

Note, the first line of this (by the reporter) is wrong — the proposed tax on e-cigarettes was quite a lot lower than existing taxes on other tobacco products.  But this seems not to relate to the ALA quote, which seems to want nothing short of a ban.  Does not explain why they opposed the tax when a ban was not on the table, though.

ALA, utsandiego.com, 28 Jan 2014

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/Jan/28/e-cigarettes-lively-discussion-la-mesa/?#article-copy

Ewin spoke to the city’s recent “F” grade given by the American Lung Association in its recent “State of Tobacco Control 2014 – California Local Grades.” Lemon Grove and Santee also were graded “F,” with El Cajon earning a “B.”

Debra Kelley, regional Director, Programs & Advocacy for the American Lung Association in California, also spoke at La Mesa’s meeting, decrying the devices.

“This product is completely unregulated,” Kelley said. “Nicotine known to cause birth defects. All kinds of carcinogenic vapors are going into the air. A lot of people will say it’s water vapor, but that’s just not true.”