Tobacco Control Practitioner Tells Public that Cigarettes May Have Fewer Carcinogens and Chemicals than Electronic Cigarettes

If you think you read that headline incorrectly, there's no need to read it again. You did read it right.

In a statement that would immediately result in a racketeering and fraud lawsuit against any tobacco company making it, a tobacco control practitioner - of all people - has told the public that cigarettes may have fewer chemicals and carcinogens than electronic cigarettes.

The tobacco practitioner, who is the tobacco control program coordinator for the Southern Nevada Health District, also told the public that smoking may be no more hazardous than vaping a non-tobacco, non-combusted electronic cigarette.

That's another statement that would bring an immediate racketeering and fraud charge if made by a tobacco company.

According to an article in the Las Vegas Sun:

"Maria Azzarelli, the tobacco-control program coordinator for the Southern Nevada Health District, believes e-cigarettes are threatening decades of anti-smoking campaigns that have changed social norms and perceptions about smoking. ... “At the end of the day, we want people not to get addicted to nicotine,” Azzarelli said. “No one can say right now whether e-cigarettes are a healthier alternative to cigarettes or hookah.” ... “The tobacco industry is taking everything out of their playbook and recycling it because it works,” Azzarelli said. “After lying for decades about carcinogens in cigarettes, are we going to trust the tobacco industry when they say e-cigarettes are safe?” ... “Right now, there needs to be more research,” Azzarelli said. “We need legitimate studies on these things to see if they have fewer chemicals and carcinogens than cigarettes. We need to know more.”"

The Rest of the Story

Let's take a look at each of the three claims that are being made:

1. Cigarettes may contain fewer chemicals than electronic cigarettes.

This is blatantly false. Electronic cigarettes have been extensively tested and the cartridges generally contain about four to six chemicals: nicotine, propylene glycol, glycerin, and flavorings. Electronic cigarette vapor has also been extensively tested and it contains approximately 10 to 20 chemicals. In contrast, cigarette smoke contains between 10,000 and 100,000 chemicals, of which about 6,000 have been identified.

It is therefore fraudulent to suggest that cigarettes may contain fewer chemicals than electronic cigarettes.

2. Cigarettes may contain fewer carcinogens than electronic cigarettes.

This is also blatantly false. Electronic cigarettes have been extensively tested and the vapor contains detectable levels of about one to five carcinogens. In contrast, cigarette smoke contain more than 60 known human carcinogens.

It is therefore fraudulent to suggest that cigarettes may contain fewer carcinogens than electronic cigarettes.

3. Cigarettes may be no more hazardous than vaping.

Numerous studies have shown that electronic cigarettes greatly reduce the carcinogenic risks associated with tobacco smoking as well as the lung disease risks. There is initial evidence that electronic cigarettes also convey a lower risk of heart and vascular disease. There is no question that many vapers who switch from tobacco cigarettes to electronic cigarettes experience an immediate reduction in respiratory symptoms and an improvement in their health.

It is therefore fraudulent to suggest that cigarette smoking may be no more hazardous than vaping.

I cannot honestly recall a situation in the past in which public health practitioners were lying almost every day to the public about a particular health issue. We're reaching the point where not a day goes by without anti-smoking advocates somewhere disseminating false or fraudulent information to the public about electronic cigarettes.

Once again, I believe this need to lie to the public is a result of the ideology in the anti-smoking movement, in which there is simply not room for a behavior that looks like smoking to possibly have positive features or benefits. I believe that concept is just too difficult for anti-smoking organizations to accept. Rather than deal with the facts, then, they have to fabricate information that comports with their ideological life-view.

Ironically, the anti-smoking advocate in this article complains that: "After lying for decades about carcinogens in cigarettes, are we going to trust the tobacco industry when they say e-cigarettes are safe?" Sadly, the rest of the story is that it is not the tobacco industry which is lying now. It is the anti-smoking advocates, especially ones like this who are actually telling the public that cigarette smoking may be no more harmful than vaping.