Absurd Arguments

There’s an interesting post from the Tobacco Harm Reduction blog which points out the absurdity on banning something because it won’t be used. (See It’s more about options given than options taken.)

The post follows an argument from Stanton Glantz that smokeless tobacco should be banned because it won’t become popular. (Stanton’s the one who thought Avatar should be banned because it has a cigarette in it).

I mention the post because it it reminds me of another argument from the anti-smoking movement.

They have argued that e-cigarettes should be banned on the basis that they do not contain enough nicotine and therefore won’t satisfy smokers.

There are several problems with this line of thought:

1. As we have pointed out before, part of the very success of the e-cigarette is that, unlike most smoking cessation aids, it replaces smoking stimuli rather than merely replacing nicotine (in a way that is often unsatisfying). In fact, some of our customers choose to buy our zero nicotine kit because they want to continue smoking but without the nicotine!

2. As the Tobacco Harm Reduction blog points out, banning something because it might not become popular is absurd – products should be allowed to find their own success or otherwise.

3. If just a few people switch from smoking to e-cigarettes, that would still be a benefit – and one which is not paid for by the state.

4. For thousands of smokers, e-cigarettes have already become a preferred option. We don’t know how many people have tried them and not switched (and it’s true that the market is dogged by low quality devices) but any look at the e-cigarette forum shows there are thousands of happy users.

5. Other arguments against the e-cigarette is that it contains nicotine, which some anti-smokers have suddenly decided is the root of all nicotine. (In contrast, the UK NHS states that nicotine does not cause smoking diseases – that’s according to the MHRA document which argues the e-cigarette can save lives and should therefore be regulated into non-existence.) So why is a smaller dose of nicotine suddenly a problem?

We remain convinced that the real reason for the opposition to the e-cigarette is a financial conflict of interest – for the e-cigarette is a very real threat to the profits of both the pharmaceutical companies and tobacco companies.

Tags: absurd arguments, e-cigarette, nicotine

Related posts:

1. The E Cig Phenomenon
2. New Electronic Study Great News for E-Cigarette Smokers

absurd arguments, e-cigarette, nicotine anti-electronic cigarette campaign