Fox News Channel’s Shepard Smith unloaded on “vaping” lobbyist who argued e-cigarettes are a safer alternative than tobacco.
The heated discussion took place Wednesday on FNC’s “Shepard Smith Reporting” with Shepard Smith and came after President Trump announced a plan to ban flavored vaping products.
What’s been largely left out of the discussion surrounding the safety of vaping products is that most of those who’ve been diagnosed with lung disease as a result of using the products were using unregulated THC substances (more on that below).
That fact wasn’t touched on by Fox’s Smith when he laid into Executive Director of the Vapor Technology Association Tony Abboud who argued that vaping products are safer than tobacco.
“Actually, that’s not true, because I have a Google machine and access to the research … there are no long-term studies to back up claims that vapor from an e-cigarette is less harmful than conventional smoke,” Smith challenged. “So why do you push that line?”
“American Lung Association says, ‘e-cigarettes are not safe and can cause irreversible lung damage and lung disease.’ That’s what they say,” Smith added.
Abboud pushed back against Smith’s “correlations” and listed several studies that suggest e-cigarettes are safer than tobacco products and noted that the American Cancer Society hadn’t yet made a determination about the “safety” of vaping products.
“Even the FDA has looked at that significant harm reduction potential that e-cigarettes have,” Abboud argued.
Smith turned up the heat and accused Abboud of working in an industry that is addicting “a whole generation of kids” and went for the jugular.
“Do you have a problem being in an industry that addicts children to nicotine?” Smith asked.
The two battled over Trump’s plan to ban flavored vape products with Abboud insisting kids who chose to smoke will go back to tobacco if the ban is put in place.
Smith jabbed, “Now a bunch of kids are addicted to vaping. It is unfortunate that the kids have gotten addicted to nicotine, isn’t it?”
What Smith didn’t bother to bring up, is that the so-called vaping epidemic that’s reportedly leading to scores of users being afflicted with lung disease has a dirty little secret.
Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb vowed to address the “epidemic of youth e-cigarette use” in 2018 amid rising health concerns.
Upon a closer and more recent look, however, it appears most of the incidences of lung disease come from THC-related products that were bought off the streets.
Critics of a proposed ban argue that this revelation was late to transpire, in part, because of the THC element and the possible illegal activity that may have been involved.
In other words, kids weren’t going to rat themselves out to their doctors, let alone their parents.
“We know some of this is associated with T.H.C.,” Gottlieb told the New York Times in August.
“I think this is probably going to be associated with illegal products,” Dr. Gottlieb continued. “It’s not like the major manufacturers have suddenly changed their ingredients,” he said. “It’s probably something new that has been introduced into the market by an illegal manufacturer, either a new flavor or a new way to emulsify T.H.C. that is causing these injuries.”
According to the New England Journal of Medicine, the vast majority of illnesses were marijuana-related, and believe Vitamin E that’s used as a thickening agent may be the culprit.
Indeed, the New England Journal of Medicine study found that 84 percent of those who were sickened by vaporized inhalants reported using unlicensed marijuana-related products. Those who have surrendered their counterfeit marijuana aerosols for testing confirm Gottlieb’s suspicions.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a warning in August to stay away from bootleg or street vape products in response to the findings. And those who are concerned about the risks are recommended to stay away from all vaping and e-cigarette products until further conclusions are drawn.
In the meantime, Trump’s announcement drew a varied and swift response, especially from small-government advocates:
Whomever advised Trump on this vaping ban should be fired forthwith and Trump should forget it was ever proposed.
It was tainted THC cartridges, not flavored vape juice or cartridges that killed people.
Enough with the knee jerk regulation.
— John Cardillo (@johncardillo) September 12, 2019
Trump is banning vaping because that’s what Melania wants, proving yet again that every law or policy initiated by a First Lady is bad and stupid. Which makes sense because First Ladies have no business getting involved in any of this. They weren’t elected.
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) September 12, 2019
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