Thread by @vaper_the

A fisking of the opinion piece by Michelle Jongenelis (from the doghouse of @DrOliviaDoll1) in Fairfax media. No public link known (it appeared in a variety of regional newspapers around #Australia).

"THE recent death of a US man who contracted a serious lung disease after taking up #vaping comes as no surprise to many #PublicHealth advocates."
No mention of #BlackMarket, unregulated #cannabinoids, despite 6 US regions involved, explicitly mentioning it.

"Contrary to the messages being disseminated by the vaping industry (an industry now largely owned by #BigTobacco), .."
Wrong! Neither the majority of companies, nor vape sales, involve products ownership by the #TobaccoIndustry.

"..#eCigarettes are not harmless.."
It is only those in #TobaccoControl who are accusing the #vape industry, who use the term 'harmless'. Those in the industry are even barred from claiming 'less harmful' (though it's intuitively obvious it would be).

"..and the short-term risks associated with #eCigarette.."
Most of which are based on #nicotine in studies related to #smoking #cigarettes. No valid comparison.

"..use have been documented in the scientific literature for many years."
Oh, so is 'many years' the same as '#LongTerm'? Can #THR advocates now start talking about the long term effects of #vaping?

"Evidence is beginning to emerge on the long-term harms of #vaping and the news isn't good."
Say it enough times & you might convince yourself that you're not pleased by this opportunity for propaganda. You won't convince me (or anyone that reads your opinion piece) though.

"Cell damage,.."
Temporary stress on living cells is often healed within hours or days. But most #InVitro studies report results from drowning cells in #eLiquid.

"..lung disease,.."
The only plausible cases of #lung damage so far come from liquids mixed using a lot of lipid content or contaminants. This can be alleviated by (legalising, in the case of #THC &) regulating what can go into #eLiquid. That can't be done in an illicit market.

"..and cardiovascular disease.."
Again, we come back to studies of #nicotine in #tobacco #smoke. Otherwise that greatest effect from nicotine comes from temporary effects akin to exercising, seeing a scary move or having sex.

"..have all been linked to #eCigarette use."
Correlation does not equal causation, as everyone (even @ProfGlantz), should know. Such claims fail to account for #vapers being former #smokers.

"Let's not forget about the increasing number of #eCigarette explosions that have resulted in hospitalisations for the loss of a body part, third degree burns, and facial injuries."
Let's not ban phones, computers and other devices that use high capacity lithium batteries.

How about instead, we regulate #vape products so that mechanical mods are only sold to people who understand Ohm's law and consumers are educated about battery safety ('don't put them in your pocket w/out insulation')?

"Calls to poison control centres have also increased.."
An increase sounds scary, but a ratio does not indicate the overall scale (or not) of the problem. It contains little useful information, but much propaganda value.

"..as a result of young children swallowing #eLiquid."
#ChildProof caps for any container with #nicotine. But it wasn't 'e-liquid' implicated in any deaths, it was the higher strength #nicotine used to MAKE e-liquid (very low use in markets where it's legal to sell #nicotine).

"Deaths of babies and children exposed to toxic levels of liquid #nicotine have been reported."
As happened recently in Victoria, #Australia.

It should be noted that if the mum concerned had access to pre-mixed #nicotine based #eLiquid, she would not have need to have concentrated nicotine in her home, nor to mix her own e-liquid. It was during mixing that her toddler had access to an open bottle.

"Should #Australia be worried?"
Hell yes! But for the fact that #nicotine is illegal for possession in Australia, which turns something from being mostly harmless into something which (considering both black market and home mixing) has considerably more ..

..potential for harm for both users (the ex #smokers) as well as bystanders (the toddler just mentioned).

"The answer is "yes". #ECigarette use is growing rapidly in popularity."
.. Are you going to mention /#smoking/ at any point?
You know, the thing you are /supposed/ to be reducing the health harms of?
The thing that kills 2 out of 3 of the consumers?
Ring any bells?

"National data show that ever use of #eCigarettes among adults increased from 4% in 2013 to 9% in 2016.

It isn't just smokers using the devices, with #vaping among non-smokers also increasing significantly."

Again, ratios are not that informative, especially with emerging/disruptive technologies. If the uptake of #nicotine #vaping by non-smoking #youth in the #US ↗️ from 0.3% to 0.6% or the same in the #UK ↗️ from 0.2% to 0.4%, you might say that it has increased 100%,..

..but the numbers would still be so low that it may well be that #youth who would otherwise #smoke, have turned to #vaping instead.
And yes, those 0.4% & 0.6% numbers are actual representations of the level of use. 0.6% means 3 youths in 500.
How many drink?
How many /smoke/?

"Our youth are particularly vulnerable. The marketing tactics used by the #TobaccoIndustry to promote #tobacco #cigarettes are now being used to promote #eCigarettes.
You mean, the same tactics as employed in advertising for just about /any/ consumer good on the market? 🙄

"What can we do about it? We need to become informed consumers."
The term "we" clashes with "consumers" as it implies inclusion of the author. But the actual consumers of #vaping are more informed without the propaganda & #FUD of #ANTZ.

"It is also important that the #Australian Government maintain the current strict regulation of #eCigarettes.."
Strict regulations lead to #BlackMarkets what are manifestly less regulated and safe.

" ..and introduce federal legislation banning flavoured e-liquids..
Again, the vape industry has gone to lengths to find alternatives to flavorants that are not safe for inhalation. Banning flavors will see not only more DIY mixing, but using flavors sourced from the supermarket.

It would also largely kill the appeal for #smokers to switch.

"..and recreational use of these devices."
Get. Completely. Stuffed. I don't want a bland medicine. I want a pleasurable alternative.

"If the #vaping industry would like to market their products as "therapeutic", .."
Strawman. They don't. They want to sell a consumer product to people who want to buy it as an alternative to #smoking.

"..they should be subject to the same conditions as every other therapeutic good and submit their product to the @TGAgovau for immediate and independent testing."
Oh, and the TGA has already said they're not about to approve anything submitted by the #TobaccoIndustry, ..

.. who are about the only ones that could afford the application.

"Let's not allow decades of hard work fighting for our right to live in a #SmokeFree world go up in smoke."
Let's not allow #TobaccoControl's failure to end #smoking get in the way of alternatives that consumers actually enjoy!
-fin-

@DrOliviaDoll1 @threadreaderapp unroll

@DrOliviaDoll1 Well I wasn't blocked by @DrOliviaDoll1 (Mike Daube, the miserable, cowardly, dog's scrotum) /before/ posting that thread. 🤣
Mike had already claimed he would not post on social media, but he only meant as himself. He pretends to be a dog these days.

https://twitter.com/threadreaderapp/status/1168052460335882240