The Vaping Industry: Who We Truly Represent

In a recent article published by the Salt Lake Tribune, Representative Paul Ray referred to the vaping industry as being comprised of “scumbags”, accusing it of targeting children. The Smoke Free Alternatives Trade Association (SFATA)—a federal advocacy group for tobacco harm reduction—recognizes that while incendiary language by Representative Ray might win a local media sound bite, the charges he made against the industry were scurrilous, at best, and patently misleading. However, rather than engaging in a back and forth personal attack against state legislators, Nathan Coccimiglio of the SFATA Utah Chapter intend to dispel commonplace myths or scare tactics by properly arming the public at large with the facts. So, let us take this issue by issue, one baseless charge at a time.

First, the vaping industry is not “Big Tobacco” with the vast majority of products being sold by small businesses specializing in smoke free alternatives to combustible cigarettes. Liquid vapor products actually contain zero tobacco and are categorically different than cigarettes. In fact, an empirical study conducted by Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine at London’s Queen Mary University unequivocally found vapor products to be 95% less harmful than cigarettes. Our very mission statement as an industry is to assist adult smokers in transitioning from lethal cigarettes to a proven safer alternative. After all, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1,300 people die daily from the use of combustible tobacco, also responsible for a lion’s share of health care costs.

A cross-section of our local Utah SFATA members would not reveal a cadre of “scumbags” preying upon children, but instead well-educated and respectable members of our community. As an example, Cash Vape—an e-liquid manufacturing company based in Draper—employs graduates from the University of Utah and Westminster College who tirelessly work toward making smoking obsolete. The Utah SFATA Chapter consists of professionals ranging from fire fighters to award-winning entrepreneurs as well who are involved with several Chambers of Commerce in our state to propel small business and tobacco harm reduction alternatives.

Finally, the most offensive and inaccurate claim of all must be addressed. Vapor products are not marketed to, nor do they target children. SFATA recognizes that any use of nicotine products by minors is unacceptable, and we actively lobby the United States Congress to pass age verification laws in our interminable effort to keep these products out of the hands of children. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but they are absolutely not entitled to their own facts. Simply, evidence and factual data do not support the claim whatsoever that vapor products are designed or intended for minor children. The Farsalinos Use Study of over 19,000 worldwide adult vapers found that 81% were former smokers with a median age of 39 years old, and further surveys reveal that only a miniscule 1% of people who have never smoked try vapor products. Clearly, this is an industry that targets adult smokers to offer them a safer, effective alternative to combustible cigarettes. While the recent Utah survey that was cited in the Tribune article in question does show a rise in the use of vapor products among middle and high school students, comprehensive national data compiled by the CDC shows no decline in overall tobacco use between 2011 and 2014, which means minors are still trying many different products. The survey also provides no evidence that minors who experiment with vapor products actually continue to use them. Almost without fail, flavoring options in e-liquids are mentioned among some of our elected and appointed government officials as appealing to children. Again, facts are persistent, pesky things because a study published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research revealed that “candy” flavors are significantly more appealing to adult smokers and vapers than non-smoking teens. To be sure, 75% of adult vapers prefer flavors other than traditional tobacco with fruit flavors being the favorite. So, adults—not children—are the industry target market for flavor options.

In summation, Utah voters should be educated about the vaping industry with fair, balanced, and unbiased reporting of factual data. The SFATA Utah Chapter intends to promote vapor products as safer alternatives to combustible cigarettes for adult smokers. Additionally, Nathan Coccimiglio who head up the local chapter are available for further comment or public inquiry.

To read this article as it appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune, click the following link: http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/3544742-155/op-ed-vaping-industry-shares-utahns-goals