Anti-Smoking Advocate Claims that Vaping One Cartridge is The Same Thing as Smoking 1 1/2 Packs of Cigarettes

In an article published in the Ft. Wayne (IN) Health Sentinel, the executive director of the Indiana Youth Institute was quoted as stating: "If you used the entire (e-liquid) canister at one time, it would be the same as smoking 1 1/2 packs of cigarettes at one time."

The Rest of the Story

While it may be true that vaping one full cartridge of e-liquid is approximately equivalent to smoking 1 1/2 packs of cigarettes in terms of nicotine intake, it is certainly not true that vaping one cartridge of e-liquid is the same as smoking 1 1/2 packs of cigarettes. While vaping one cartridge will expose you to nicotine, propylene glycol and/or glycerin, flavorings, and potentially to some by-products such as formaldehyde and acrolein, smoking 1 1/2 packs of cigarettes will expose you to more than 10,000 chemicals, including more than 60 known carcinogens, as well as to radioactivity. So the statement that vaping one cartridge is the same as smoking 1 1/2 packs of cigarettes is blatantly false.

Once again, The Rest of the Story has caught an e-cigarette opponent lying about the relative health risks of smoking and vaping. This lie is a particularly damaging one because it insinuates that smoking is no more hazardous than inhaling vapor from a device which contains no tobacco and involves no combustion. The statement seriously undermines the public's appreciation of the severe hazards of cigarette smoking.

Why is it that e-cigarette opponents are apparently forced to lie in order to support their opposition to these products? The answer, I think, is that the truth simply does not support their position. The truth - based on current scientific evidence - is that e-cigarettes are helping millions of smokers in the U.S. to either quit or significantly cut down on the amount they smoke. And they are doing this without undermining smoking cessation, without causing ex-smokers to return to smoking, and without serving as a gateway to youth smoking.

Therefore, in order to craft a tenable position against e-cigarettes, its opponents have no choice but to fabricate evidence, to mislead the public, and to lie in their public statements. Telling the truth just doesn't provide support for their position; thus, the need to distort the science and/or lie to the public.