Excellent interview given by Gregory on C-Span. Thank you Greg!

American Vaping Association’s Gregory Conley discusses health concerns related to vaping and e-cigarettes

Hey Phil. It’s just a quick note to say I have been following you from day one over here in UK. I have been vaping for the best part of 9 years now and your channel along with others was the main stay of interest and in some part the obsession that finally kicked my 20 year 20 a day habit. I don’t want to go on about the personal health benefits to myself which to anyone who stopped and took up vaping will be obvious. I just wanted to thank you for your commitment and dedication to help people and educate as best you could and still do. What is happening in your country is an absolute disgrace and my heart goes out to all who won’t have the opportunity I had through greed and corruption. Keep up the fight and God bless you

Time for our government and health organizations to start thinking about not only the children, but how what they’re doing will affect adults as well.

Also time for them to start thinking about another way they can “save the children”… by keeping their parents around longer!

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finally acknowledged Friday that a vast majority of the mysterious, vaping-related lung illnesses are linked to cannabis products — not nicotine.

The outbreak has confused consumers, largely because politicians have placed most of the attention on vaping nicotine. On Sept. 4, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was the first to announce a ban on flavored nicotine vaping, while remaining silent on tainted, black market cannabis oils that are vaped. Massachusetts and New York followed with their own bans on vaping.

You can read the entire article HERE.

I thought you might find this report interesting from Wells Fargo Securities…

Thank you Jen Eldridge.  Notable clips:

“CDC’s Failure to Demand Urine THC Testing of All Outbreak Patients is Inexcusable and is Putting the Entire Nation at Risk
The CDC has irresponsibly botched its entire investigation of vaping-associated respiratory illness (VARI) by failing to recommend or demand that clinicians perform a urine THC drug test on every case patient, and this is putting the entire nation at risk while leading to terrible public policies that are causing immediate harm to thousands of people.”

Read the entire article HERE.

𝗖𝗗𝗖 𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗜𝗠𝗦 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗔 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗟𝗧𝗛 𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗛𝗘 – “Who would ever bet that products used without serious issues for over a decade by more than 20 million people worldwide would suddenly cause an outbreak of acute (sudden, developing within a few days of weeks) lung failure and several deaths only in one geographical region? But there was no outbreak of serious lung failure in any country other than the United States. Why? The answer is simple: conventional e-cigarette products and liquids are not associated with the disease. Simple epidemiology and common sense make this clear: it is impossible for products which have been used for years without any intoxication outbreaks to cause this serious illness only today and only in one region. These cases are not related to long-term use of e-cigarettes, and they are not linked to vaping products that have been available for years.”

Read the entire article HERE.

Crazy what’s going on. Thinking back to better times when all this started. I am however optimistic. I just wanted to say I hope all is well with you. You’re one of the reasons I continue to Vape. I always trusted your opinion and followed your advice with regard to E-liquid’s and devices etc. I was a fan and now I am proud to have you as a friend. The same goes for Dimitris. Please relay that to him. I’m going to keep this short. I just wanted to wish you well, both of you. Hope we all cross paths soon!

VAPOR TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATION FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST
NEW YORK DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH PLANNING COUNCIL TO STOP ILL-CONSIDERED FLAVOR BAN

Washington, D.C., September 25, 2019—The Vapor Technology Association (VTA), the industry’s national trade association, Benevolent e-Liquids, Inc., a New York manufacturer, and Perfection Vapes, Inc., a New York retailer, filed a lawsuit seeking declaratory judgment, a temporary restraining order, and a preliminary and permanent injunction in the Supreme Court of the State of New York for Albany County against the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) and Public Health and Health Planning Council (PHHPC) to nullify the ban in New York State of flavored vapor products and to prevent it from being enforced.

Tony Abboud, Executive Director of the Vapor Technology Association, said, “Not only will the State’s arbitrary and misguided measure do nothing to address the marketing issues about which the State has complained, it is one of the worst examples of government overreach. Banning flavors for vapor products, while leaving all flavored combustible products on shelves can only entice all users to smoke more. In addition, this action completely ignores the fact that the New York State Department of Health has found that the overwhelming majority of the illnesses it is investigating are directly tied to black market THC products and the presence of Vitamin E acetate in those products, something that the NYSDOH said it did not find in any of the nicotine products it tested.”

Abboud continued, “We share the State’s concerns and stand ready to work with Governor Cuomo, the Department of Health and all interested stakeholders on thoughtful and effective laws and regulations that restrict youth access and do not unfairly advantage combustible cigarettes. There are numerous tools that can be deployed to curb youth vaping that also allow legal and responsible vape small business owners the ability to continue to operate in a regulated market selling to adult consumers who rely on access to these life-changing products.”

The VTA in its filing said that the State’s arbitrary and capricious Emergency Rule crosses the line from “administrative rule-making to legislative policy-making.” It violates the clear separation of powers set forth in the New York constitution. Such executive overreach is underscored by the fact that in its last session, the State Legislature considered, and ultimately did not enact, a flavor ban and instead decided to address concerns about youth vaping by raising the minimum age for vapor products from 18 to 21 — legislation that has not yet even had an opportunity to take effect.  The State blatantly ignored the Legislature’s efforts and unilaterally usurped its role in making new policy that will devastate an industry.

Vic Canastraro, owner of Benevolent e-Liquids and Perfection Vapes, said, “We have worked hard to build a business that caters to current and former adult smokers, who are asking us to offer a wide variety of flavored e-liquids to help them successfully transition away from cigarettes. I am deeply concerned about what my customers will do without access to our products.”

The State claims the “concern regarding human exposure to nicotine” is equally applicable to substantially more harmful than combustible cigarettes, yet the Rule places no restrictions on the continued sale of these products, which are also illegally used by youth. The State also failed to consider the significant detriment to public health caused by the Rule and ignored the scientific evidence that shows adult ex-smokers rely on flavored vapor products to break their dependence on combustible cigarettes and are at a significant risk of returning to smoking when flavored vapor products are removed from the market.

Abboud concluded, “The Governor of New York, by edict, is criminalizing lawful retail sales and sending pink slips to the more than 3,100 people who wake up every day to their retail jobs created by the small mom and pop vapor industry. This action could amount to a loss of up to $508 million in wages and benefits, direct economic output of nearly $448 million, and some $130 million in New York state and local taxes. Most concerning, however, is that the tens, if not hundreds of thousands, of New Yorkers who had weaned themselves off combustible cigarettes will return to a habit that is the number one cause of preventable disease and death in the U.S.”

A link to the filing can be found here.