YBP SM downloads
You’ve been played
If health authorities, nonprofits, and governments are saying the same thing, it must be true…
…or is it?
After years of begging these agencies to support harm reduction for smokers, they have made it clear that their objective is to regulate vaping out of existence.
A misinformed public supports eliquid flavour bans, vaping taxes and nicotine caps.
Because they control the narrative about vaping through media and official channels, the public is anti-vaping.
We believe an informed public will support harm reduction.
All we have to do is get them to the truth and we can turn anti-vapers into supporters!
We have a plan!
VAEP has designed simple things that anyone can do to direct people to our website where they quickly and easily learn the truth about vaping.
Choose your group: vapers, vape shops or distributors.
New to vaping?
If you are not part of the vaping community or just starting vaping, we suggest you visit our Basic Vaping Information section and learn what everyone should know.
What vapers can do
What vapers can do
Change public opinion
It’s simple! All we need to do is utilize the millions of vapers out there to display our QR code everywhere!
As with all marketing, if people see our advertising everywhere, they will eventually visit our website where they will quickly learn the truth about vaping.
3 simple things every vaper can do to invite their people to learn the truth about vaping: uploads, sharing and VAEPmail.
1. Uploads
Promote the truth about vaping 24/7 with images.
Change your profile pictures and banners on multiple social media platforms.
Explore the wide selection we have designed for you. Express your style and get people to our website. Add a description to the images explaining why you are promoting VAEP and a link to our website.
Make your comments in social media stand out!
Use our Shareables to prove your points by adding them as an image to your comment. Each Shareable has our web address which invites readers to visit and learn the truth about vaping.
Right mouse click on the QR code and save it to your phone.
If people ask you about vaping, just pull up the image and have them follow the link. Email or message it to people in your life who need to learn the truth about vaping.
2. Sharing
Spread the truth about vaping by sharing our information with the people in your life.
Shareables gallery
Visit our Shareables gallery and search our 189 Shareables by categories or by words in the description. Then, share the Shareable directly to your social media platforms. Sharing from our gallery provides link to the back to the gallery where people can learn the truth about vaping.
VAEP.info
Invite the people in your life to learn the truth about vaping by linking them to our Basic Vaping Information section. This section provides all the key information about vaping. It features our Shareables and consists of 6 pages: Cigarettes, Quitting Smoking, Vaping, Outcomes, Flavours and Nicotine. Everything is in conversational English and links to the references are provided.
Social media
Find us on your favourite social media platforms under VAEPinfo. Set the settings to favorites and check back often to make sure you get our posts and share them to your feed. Every post you share to your feed has a link to our website so your followers can learn the truth about vaping.
Subscribe
Every vaper knows about the censorship, such as shaddow banning, on social media platforms. Sign up to our text and email list to make sure you are up to date on what we are doing. Forward the emails/text to people in your life that are misinformed and help them learn the truth about vaping.
3. VAEPmail
Spread the truth about vaping with our products sold in our store.
Decals
Provoke curiousity everywhere you park your vehicle and invite the public to our website to learn the truth about vaping. Put these decals on the passenger side rear widow so those walking on the sidewalk will see it.
Stickers
Turn any surface into an invite to visit our website! These eye catching stickers will attract attention to our QR code and a click away from learning the truth about vaping.
VAEP signature tees
Our new tees feature our web address and our QR code! Send us a photo of yourself in our new signature tee to YBP@VAEP.info and if we post it to our social media, we will send you a coupon for 10% off your next purchase at VAEPmail, our online store!
Vintage merchandise
Our retired URL, VAEPworld.com, will always direct you to our new website. We have a whole bunch of merchandise with our retired URL. We are selling it at 50% off! You can buy more attire to promote your community learning the truth about vaping.
Perspective vapers
Vapers
It’s simple! All we need to do is utilize the millions of vapers out there to display our QR code everywhere!
As with all marketing, if people see our advertising everywhere, they will eventually visit our website where they will quickly learn the truth about vaping.
Change public opinion
After years of begging authority to support harm reduction for smokers, they have made it clear that their objective is to regulate vaping out of existence. Because they control the narrative about vaping through media and official channels, the public is anti-vaping.
A misinformed public supports eliquid flavour bans, vaping taxes and nicotine caps. We believe an informed public will support harm reduction. All we have to do is get them to the truth and we can turn anti-vapers into supporters.
Uploads
Change your profile pictures and banners on multiple social media platforms to a wide selection we have designed for you. Help us get around censorship and get people to our website. Add a description to the images explaining why you are promoting VAEP and a link to our website.
Make your comments in social media stand out! Use our Shareables to prove your points by adding them as an image to your comment. Each Shareable has our web address which invites them to visit and learn more.
Upload our QR code to your phone and share it with others.
Right mouse click on QR code and save. If people ask you about vaping, just pull up the image and have them follow the link. Email or message it to people in your life who need to learn the truth about vaping.
Uploads
Shareables gallery
Explore our Basic Vaping Information section. Find something that will resinate with someone who is anti-vaping in your life. Share the link via text, email, social media or messenging.
VAEP.info
Explore our Basic Vaping Information section. Find something that will resinate with someone who is anti-vaping in your life. Share the link via text, email, social media or messenging.
Social media
Explore our Basic Vaping Information section. Find something that will resinate with someone who is anti-vaping in your life. Share the link via text, email, social media or messenging.
Subscribe
Explore our Basic Vaping Information section. Find something that will resinate with someone who is anti-vaping in your life. Share the link via text, email, social media or messenging.
Sharing
Spread the truth about vaping by sharing our information with the people in your life.
Shareables gallery
Visit our Shareables gallery and search our 189 Shareables by categories or words in the description. Then, share directly to your social media platforms.
Website links
Explore our Basic Vaping Information section. Find something that will resinate with someone who is anti-vaping in your life. Share the link via text, email, social media or messenging.
Social media
Subscribe
Subscribe to our email or text updates. It’s possible that VAEP could get cancelled or deleted from social media because, let’s face it, it happens to organizations that challenge the official narratives.
Perspective YouTube
YouTube digital downloads
Create awarness about our campaign to everyone who goes to your profile or sees your profile photo in their feed.
Just right click the image, download and then upload to your YouTube profile.
Profile photo
YouTube banner
More platforms
Perspective Instagram
Instagram digital downloads
Create awarness about our campaign to everyone who goes to your profile or sees your profile photo in their feed.
Just right click the image, download and then upload to your Instagram profile.
Profile photo
More platforms
Perspective LinkedIn
Twitter digital downloads
Create awarness about our campaign to everyone who goes to your profile or sees your profile photo in their feed.
Just right click the image, download and then upload to your Twitter profile.
Profile photo
LinkedIn header
More platforms
Perspective Facebook
Facebook digital downloads
Create awarness about our campaign to everyone who goes to your profile or sees your profile photo in their feed.
Just right click the image, download and then upload to your Facebook profile.
Profile photo
Facebook group cover photo
Facebook personal profile cover photo
This image is a little larger than recommended but it shows the logo on mobile.
Facebook business page cover photo
More platforms
Perspective Digital Resources
Digital downloads
Get around the censorship and promote learning the truth about vaping!
Spread the word 24/7 by uploading our social media banners and profile pictures to your accounts. We have several designs for you to choose from.
Choose your social media platform.
YouTube
Perspective Twitter
Twitter digital downloads
Create awarness about our campaign to everyone who goes to your profile or sees your profile photo in their feed.
Just right click the image, download and then upload to your Twitter profile.
Profile photo
Twitter header
More platforms
Perspective
The lenses we look through determine our perspective on the world around us.
The lenses are made of the information we come across like what’s said on the news or what’s on a government poster or what our friends say.
The public’s perspective about vaping has been formed through lenses that are:
clouded with fear-mongering,
obscured with deception,
and smudged with half-truths.
For 6 years, VAEP has been helping people form their perspective on vaping through the clear lens of truth.
All of our information is based on credible sources such as studies, statistics and surveys. Plus, we link to those sources so you can read them for yourself!
We make it easy for you to spread the truth about vaping!
Vapers
Vape shops
Manufacturers
Rectangle Shareables
Rectangle Shareables Gallery
If you are sharing to Facebook or Instagram, you may want to use our square Shareables.
Search for Shareables by choosing a category or by words in the descriptions. Share directly from the gallery to several social media platforms or right mouse click and save to your device.
No popcorn lung
Remember all of the headlines saying that vaping causes popcorn lung?
It was a lie.
Do you feel deceived? You should.
You can trust VAEP for accurate information on vaping. Our resources are referenced and easy to understand!
Canada youth smoking vs vaping
In 2018, the term "youth vaping epidemic" was declared by the FDA.
Based on 2017 stats, the number of youth that were smoking was the same as the number that were vaping.
Yet, authority said nothing about a youth smoking epidemic.
Youth are in it for the high
Of the 20,000 high school students surveyed that reported they had ever tried vaping, 1 out of 3 admitted they used cannabis in a vaping device.
Youth are abusing drugs which isn't a reason to oppress harm reduction for smokers by banning flavours.
Youth do stupid things
Commercial industries aren't responsible to the stupid stuff teens do.
Teens abuse alcohol & drugs. Breweries & BigPharma aren't responsible for teen alcohol & drug abuse.
They also abuse vaping. Vape shops aren't responsible for teen vaping abuse.
Who promotes harm reduction?
When authority describes a product, the public believe it's accurate because they trust authority.
When you compare the definition of an e-cigarette from a dictionary vs the CDC, it's very clear that the CDC (authority) has distorted the definition.
Who are vaping?
The data shows us that SMOKERS are vaping and not nonsmokers.
15.5% of current smokers are using vaping to quit.
11.7% of former smokers are using vaping to stay quit.
The 0.4% of vapers that never smoked could have become smokers without vaping.
Vaping normalizes quitting smoking
In a study, it was explained to children that vaping helped smokers quit and the children became supportive of vaping despite the action looked similar to smoking.
Children support the concept of tobacco harm reduction, so, why don't health authorities?
Vaping is an NRT only better
Nicotine replacement therapy is safe, because nicotine has very few side effects.
Smokers are experts at self-dosing nicotine through inhalation.
Vaping allows the smoker to continue to get nicotine through inhaling without the toxins found in smoke.
Vaping is less harmful
Citizens have a right to life which means they have a right to all the information to make informed decisions about preserving health.
They also should have access to and be able to utilize harm reduction to protect health such as condoms and vaping.
Vaping is a small fraction of the risk
Smoking has over 7000 chemicals; 1500 of them we know cause diseases and 69 cause cancer.
Vapour has very few constituents and all of the disease/cancer causing chemicals are virtually eliminated.
This is why vaping is a fraction the risk of smoking.
Vaping increases success by 300%
Everyone knows that quitting smoking is hard but because vaping mimics the behavour, it increases the smoker's chance of quitting smoking.
42% of smokers who vaped & smoked for 2 years, quit smoking.
Only 15% of those who didn't use a vape quit.
Vaping improves chronic disease
Smoking is a risk factor for many chronic diseases because of the harmful chemicals in cigarette smoke.
Switching to vaping virtually eliminates these harmful chemicals & chronic diseases improve for many.
Which means they needed less pharmaceuticals.
Vapers want to keep flavours
Young people are being recruited to push the flavour ban.
These young people are not made aware of the importance of flavoured eliquid for adult smokers like their parents.
Vaping may also be preventing their friends from becoming smokers.
Using illneses to ban harm reduction
The 2019 vaping-related lung illnesses were from illegal drugs.
Why would politicians use the illnesses to "hammer all e-cigarette makers" yet e-cigs are nicotine & help smokers quit?
BigPharma profits from smoking diseases and they lobby politicians.
USA youth ever vaped vs smoked
In 2018, based on 2017 stats, the term "youth vaping epidemic" was declared by the FDA.
But in 2017, the number of youth that were smoking was pretty much the same as the number that were vaping.
Yet, they said nothing about a youth smoking epidemic.
US reduced youth smoking uptake
Since vaping has been mainstream, naturally, youth are experimenting with it because they try all adult taboos.
As a result, US youth smoking rates are dropping faster than ever before!
Looks like vaping is interrupting the next generation of smokers.
US youth daily smokers
When youth started experimenting with vaping, their smoking rates dropped dramatically.
To become a smoker, the person has to smoke up to 100 cigarettes to become addicted and a lifelong customer.
Is vaping interrupting that process?
US vaping epidemic
"Youth vaping epidemic" was coined by the FDA in 2018.
This is the breakdown of youth use in the prior month, during 2017:
- 3% used 1-2 days
- 1% used 3-5 days
- 1% used 6-9 days
- 1% used 10-19 days
- 1% used 20-29 days
Not an epidemic.
Top 9 toxins
"People smoke for nicotine but they die from tar." -M. Russell
WHO identified the 9 most toxic chemicals found in tobacco smoke.
Vaping significantly reduces or eliminates these toxic chemicals!
Note: formaldehyde is found in all exhaled breath.
Shareables
Shareables
VAEP makes it easy to share vaping truthsVAEP Shareables are images utilizing graphics, colour and text to quickly teach people about vaping. Each Shareable provides the reference on the bottom.
Our gallery has all 189 Shareables that you can search by category or by words in the descriptions. Save them to your device or share directly from the gallery..
We have 2 Shareable shapes to choose from!
This square shape works best on Facebook, Instagram and Tumbler.
This rectangle shape works best on Twitter, LinkedIn and Snapchat.
Square Shareables
Square Shareables gallery
If you are sharing to LinkedIn or Twitter, you may want to use our rectangle Shareables.
Search for Shareables by choosing a category or by words in the descriptions. Share directly from the gallery to several social media platforms or right mouse click and save to your device.
San Fran Ban
Harm reduction started during the 80's AIDS crisis.
The gay population started using condoms to lower their risk.
Ironically, a city with a high gay population banned harm reduction for the most preventable cause of disease & death of its constituents!
American Lung Association
The thing about a trusted source of information is that once that source is found to be deceiving about something, they lose credibility.
The American Lung Assoc. was founded in 1904 & their mission has changed as it now includes anti-harm reduction.
Canada youth smoking vs vaping
In 2018, the term "youth vaping epidemic" was declared by the FDA.
Based on 2017 stats, the number of youth that were smoking was the same as the number that were vaping.
Yet, authority said nothing about a youth smoking epidemic.
Who promotes harm reduction?
When authority describes a product, the public believe it's accurate because they trust authority.
When you compare the definition of an e-cigarette from a dictionary vs the CDC, it's very clear that the CDC (authority) has distorted the definition.
USA youth ever vaped vs smoked
In 2018, based on 2017 stats, the term "youth vaping epidemic" was declared by the FDA.
But in 2017, the number of youth that were smoking was pretty much the same as the number that were vaping.
Yet, they said nothing about a youth smoking epidemic.
Devastating health effects
The American Cancer Society (ACS) makes hundreds of millions of dollars a year because people get cancer which ensures funding and donations to ACS.
Vaping has o.5% the risk for cancer compared to smoking.
ACS doesn't want smokers switching to vaping.
Fake news
The UK is pro-vaping because their health community reviewed the science on vaping & concluded the obvious: vaping is a fraction the risk of smoking & helps smokers quit.
The lies about 2019 lung injuries in the US, even misinformed the people in the UK.
Robert Redfield quote
Despite the overwhelming evidence that vaping is minuscule in harm compared to smoking, health authorities such as the CDC are saying very scary things about it.
They even blame vaping nicotine for a death unrelated to vaping nicotine.
Once a liar...
Mackie deception
PROMOTING HARM:
In 2019, Dr. Mackie, gave interviews on the vaping-related lung injuries.
He wrongly blamed the injuries on vaping nicotine; the injuries were from vaping street level drugs.
How many vapers went back to smoking because of what he said?
THC carts contaminated
Vitamin E acetate found in black market THC cartridges was the cause of the lung injuries in 2019.
It was not found in the nicotine eliquids that the patients were vaping.
Media and health authorities convinced the public it was the nicotine eliquid.
US reduced youth smoking uptake
Since vaping has been mainstream, naturally, youth are experimenting with it because they try all adult taboos.
As a result, US youth smoking rates are dropping faster than ever before!
Looks like vaping is interrupting the next generation of smokers.
Vape shop in UK hospital
Since 2016, the UK has been successfully helping smokers quit by promoting a tobacco harm reduction strategy: vaping.
A vape shop was opened in a hospital to encourage smokers to switch.
Vaping, but not smoking, is permitted on most hospital grounds
Quote Cancer Research UK
Every scientific method available has been used to analyze vapour for toxins.
Every method used has found that vapour is not toxic nor harmful to bystanders.
Yet, authority is not sharing this information with the public.
Who is authority serving?
First case of EVALI in Canada
Lipoid pneumonia is caused from inhaling fats such as mineral oil.
Commercially available eliquid in Canada is regulated by the Canadian government and oils are not allowed to be put into eliquid.
But that didn't stop Mackie from blaming eliquid.
Payments for tobacco prevention
Since 1998, 4 tobacco companies make annual payments to state gov'ts due to the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA).
Gov'ts argued they needed the money to cover smoking damages & prevention.
Conveniently, the MSA doesn't specify how to spend the money
Quote British Lung Foundation
Lung diseases are VERY profitable for pharmaceutical companies.
These companies fund universities, politicians, health-related nonprofits, health authorities and media.
What motivation would all these agencies have to deceive the public about vaping?
Lung injuries primary cause
Lung samples of people who were diagnosed with EVALI (2019 vaping-related lung disease) were analyzed.
All of the samples tested positive for fat based substances found in illegal THC cartridges.
These substances aren't found in nicotine eliquid.
MSA bonds
Cigarettes have a "sin" tax to offset the cost to society such as hospital visits & disability claims.
Vaping doesn't cause the damage smoking does so if smokers switch, smoking costs are reduced.
Gov'ts tax vaping which deters smokers from switching.
Misleading media
Why doesn't the public know the truth about vaping?
Why is every nonprofit, health authority and expert in North America is saying the exact same narrative about vaping without any debate even though there is new science every day?
Mainstream media
Deceptive authority
Ms. Hinshaw is wrong about nicotine eliquid causing the 2019 lung injuries.
Otherwise, those injuries would have been occurring since vaping started.
It was street drugs and the injuries stopped when they were taken off the street.
Kellie Ann
Kellie Ann
Our founding member
I started smoking before my teens. I didn’t enjoy smoking. It harmed my health and made me stink, but what bothered me most was I was powerless over my addiction.
I tried everything to quit. Sometimes, I would quit for a few months or even a few years, but one drag and I was a pack-a-day smoker within a week.
In 2013, bought a vape online and I haven’t had a single urge to smoke since. Vaping freed me from the grip of tobacco addiction when all else failed!
I wanted to understand what I was inhaling, so I read hundreds of scientific articles on vaping. As a result of my Bachelor of Science in Nursing, I am trained to interpret science and form an educated opinion. I am satisfied that vaping is not only exceedingly less harmful than smoking but it is an appealing alternative to current smokers and is preventing future smokers.
After talking with people about vaping, it became clear that what they thought they knew about vaping was either incomplete or just outright incorrect. They were learning misinformation, half-truths, information out of context, and worse, they didn’t know very important information. I became concerned that the public and my colleagues lacked the facts to make informed decisions about vaping.
During my years as a hospital RN, I have provided care, including palliative, to hundreds of patients with smoking-related diseases. These diseases destroy the patient’s quality of life and negatively affect their friends, family and society.
Smoking-related diseases are 100% preventable.
I formed VAEP to help people learn the truth about vaping. Smokers have a right to know, and so does the public.
-Kellie Ann
Education
Education
You have a right to make informed decisionsLearning sections
Quickly gain comprehensive understanding of the major areas in vaping. Sections consist of several pages, each on a specific topic. You choose which topics you want to learn about.
Basic Vaping Info
Learn from the science, everything you need to know about vaping as a harm reduction strategy. This section covers cigarettes, quitting smoking , tobacco harm reduction, vaping outcomes, flavours and nicotine.
Vaping & Lung Injuries
From August to September 2019, an outbreak of vaping related lung injuries occurred in the USA. The cause was illegal THC cartridges and had nothing to do with vaping nicotine. Authority and media did not tell the truth.
About us
About us
We are driven by ethics
Our vision
To make the truth about vaping common knowledge throughout the general population
Our vision
To make the truth about vaping common knowledge throughout the general population
VAEP is a grass roots nonprofit founded by a registered nurse to help people learn the truth about vaping.
After reviewing the scientific evidence, we format the information in a way that anyone can understand it.
VAEP is founded on nursing principles such as:
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self-directed learning from credible resources.
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teaching others so they can make informed decisions.
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respecting a person’s right to make their own decisions.
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Our Mission
Through advocacy and education, disseminate to the general population accurate and comprehensive information about vaping. Ensure smokers can make an informed decision about vaping as a smoking alternative.
Our objectives
Unify the growing numbers of knowledgeable vapers and their passion for vaping by engaging them in the development and implementation of a population education campaign.
Create support for the effective utilization of vaping within non-vaping populations such as government, non-profit organizations and healthcare agencies by providing access to vaping information and facilitating informed decision making within those groups.
Our Mission
Through advocacy and education, disseminate to the general population accurate and comprehensive information about vaping. Ensure smokers can make an informed decision about vaping as a smoking alternative.
Our objectives
Unify the growing numbers of knowledgeable vapers and their passion for vaping by engaging them in the development and implementation of a population education campaign.
Create support for the effective utilization of vaping within non-vaping populations such as government, non-profit organizations and healthcare agencies by providing access to vaping information and facilitating informed decision making within those groups.
Our team
Mark Prociuk DC, BN
Vice chairman
Rick Siba
Secretary
Alan Fox
Consultant
Bio
In 2009 I purchased my first electronic cigarette and stopped a 2 pack a day habit overnight, I knew then that this was the future of smoking as we know it. After months of research I was convinced and got into what was then the fledgling beginnings of the vape industry and opened a store. VAEP, based on the tireless work of Kellie Ann has been one of the best sources of plain language information for answering the questions of people that come to my store looking for a reduced harm alternative to smoking and also an invaluable aid to dispelling the misinformation surrounding electronic cigarettes.
Jon Moreau
Consultant
Bio
I began smoking at age 15. I found my first vape in a gas station in 2010 and became a dual-user, both vaping and smoking – every less cigarette you have is a victory.
In February 2015 I found the device and liquid combinations that really worked for me(the technology kept improving)and just a few months later became a regional business development manager for Canada’s largest vape wholesaler. Fast forward seven years and I’ve visited hundreds of vape shops across multiple provinces and heard countless stories from people who have taken control of their addictions and vastly improved their health.
In keeping with nursing principles, our corporate code of ethics is based on medical bioethics.
Nonmaleficence
to not cause harm or minimizing the possible harm to reach a beneficial outcome. It prohibits causing offence, suffering, or deprivation. Nonmaleficence includes respect for confidentiality and privacy. VAEP considers potential harm and its effects in the decision-making process and in the outcomes of its actions.
Beneficence
to act in a way that aims to benefit others. Examples would be preventing harm, reducing harm, protecting rights or improving a situation for others. Beneficence also means to create a safe, inclusive and supportive environment on our social media. Beneficence is the objective of all of VAEP planning and actions.
Autonomy
to respect a person’s right to make their own decisions and support their decisions. This prohibits manipulation and coercion. Autonomy includes giving people all of the information they need to make an informed decision. Promoting autonomy requires VAEP to stay current in credible evidence and providing that evidence without bias.
Justice
to treat people fairly without discrimination or prejudice. It’s a respect for people’s rights and distribution of resources evenly. Justice prohibits favoritism towards individuals or groups; bullying of anyone at any time; and abuse of any nature. We at VAEP are mindful to communicate respectfully and to facilitate inclusiveness whenever possible.
Cigarettes
Cigarettes
The most deadly form of nicotineVAEP Shareables are images utilizing graphics, colour and text to quickly teach people about vaping. Each Shareable provides the reference on the bottom.
Everyone knows smoking is very bad for health
Smoking is the most preventable cause of disease and death in North America. The harm from tobacco is overwhelmingly due to its combustion. When a cigarette is burned, the smoke contains over 7,000 chemicals. Hundreds of these chemicals cause diseases and around 70 cause cancer.
The reality
Up to 600 chemicals are added to cigarettes
Over decades, scientists were paid millions of dollars to experiment with adding chemicals to tobacco to create the modern cigarette. Many of the chemicals in cigarettes enhance the effects and delivery of nicotine. Some chemicals are addictive in themselves.
The fear-based narrative claims there is a vaping epidemic
An epidemic is a widespread disease that affects many people. Globally, smoking kills 17,000 people every single day and over 200 million people suffer with chronic smoking-related diseases! These diseases and deaths are 100% preventable. A safer source of nicotine lets smokers eliminate the disease causing chemicals found in cigarette smoke.
Once addicted, smokers have very poor quit rates
Before vaping, about half of smokers tried to quit every year but annually only 2.5% of smokers quit long term. Despite the financial cost, health consequences and social shaming, most smokers are hopelessly addicted and continue to harm their health.
The reality
Up to 600 chemicals are added to cigarettes
Over decades, scientists were paid millions of dollars to experiment with adding chemicals to tobacco to create the modern cigarette. Many of the chemicals in cigarettes enhance the effects and delivery of nicotine. Some chemicals are addictive in themselves.
The fear-based narrative claims there is a vaping epidemic
An epidemic is a widespread disease that affects many people. Globally, smoking kills 17,000 people every single day and over 200 million people suffer with chronic smoking-related diseases! These diseases and deaths are 100% preventable.
Once addicted, smokers have very poor quit rates
Before vaping, about half of smokers tried to quit every year but annually only 2.5% of smokers quit long term. Despite the financial cost, health consequences and social shaming, most smokers are hopelessly addicted and continue to harm their health.
Smoking kills
The suffering effects more than the smoker
When breadwinners of a family become disabled, the medical costs and the loss of income ensure their children can’t afford post secondary education.
Long before they die, smokers suffer with disease
The toxins in cigarette smoke cause intermittent illnesses and slowly deteriorates a smoker’s health to eventually cause chronic disease.
Smoking destroys quality of life
Retirement with chronic disease can mean dragging around an oxygen tank, loss of ability to golf and the inability to play with grandchildren.
Treating chronic disease is expensive and time consuming
They become reliant on pharmaceutical drugs, healthcare and medical devices to continue functioning.
Smoking is everyone’s problem
Social cost of smoking
Reducing the cost of smoking to the taxpayer is everyone’s best interests. Public costs include disability, health care, fires and loss of productivity.
A safer source of nicotine lets smokers eliminate the disease causing chemicals found in cigarette smoke, rendering these costs obsolete.
Youth and smoking
Smokers start in their teens
The tobacco industry relies on youth experimentation for their next generation of smokers. The pharmaceutical industry relies on smoking for future customers.
It’s a numbers game
Youth become smokers because they inhale smoke from chemically laden cigarettes. Cigarette smoke is so addictive that after just 2 cigarettes, over 10% of youth have trouble saying ‘no’ to the next one. After 100 cigarettes (4-5 packs), 94% have trouble saying ‘no’.
Help the parents, help the children
One of the most influential relationships a child has is with their parents. Parents’ lifestyle choices influence what their teenager will experiment with. Parents who smoke are modelling a self-harming behaviour. Parents that quit smoking are modelling a self-caring behaviour.
For more information on youth and vaping, please visit our VAEP Shareables gallery and choose the “Youth” category.
Next page:
Gov’t and MSA payments
State governments & the MSA
On November 23, 1998, all but four state governments entered into the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) with the 4 big tobacco giants.
These tobacco companies committed to pay out around $200 billion over twenty years to the state governments. Payment amounts are based on annual cigarette sales.
What would motivate authority to villiainize harm reduction?
Money.
Vaping nicotine is proven to help smokers off of cigarettes and keep them off.
If smoking rates drop because of vaping then the states get less money from the MSA. Therefore, successful uptake of vaping threatens to reduce the amount of the MSA payments.
Ignoring the purpose of MSA
In the first section of the MSA, this agreement was made “to avoid the further expense, delay , inconvenience, burden and uncertainty of continued litigation” by the state against the tobacco industry for expenses occurred to Medicaid as a result of smoking.
Unfortunately, the MSA did not make clear provisions for how the MSA money is to be spent and very little of it is being spent on the intended purpose.
MSA protects the 4 tobacco companies
Since the 4 tobacco giants entered an agreement to pay the state though the MSA, other tobacco companies are to be penalized by the state for doing business because the state doesn’t get a cut of their sales. So, since vaping helps smokers get off of cigarettes (which would lower MSA payments) the FDA catigorized vaping as tobacco and the states can ‘dilligently enforce’ laws against them.
It’s important to note that vaping is no more tobacco than vitamin C is an orange.
Spending money before they had it
Some of the state governments issued bonds based on the projections for future MSA payments. Unfortunately, they underestimated the rate at which smokers would stop smoking which means the payments were lower than they banked on. The actual payments were too insufficient to pay the bonds when due.
S&P bond ratings sound alarm
The S&P Global Ratings rates publically trading securities such as bonds. Ratings range from AAA to D which indicates the reliablility of the security to pay out when due. They assessed the immerging vaping industry as reducing the amount of smokers and therefore the ability of what is backing the bonds (MSA payments) to cover the pay out. This means the governments that issued the bonds have to find money elsewhere to pay the bonds out when due.
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What went wrong in the USA
What went wrong in the USA
Governments, health authorities, medical professionals, anti-smoking groups and health-related nonprofits utilized mainstream media to repeatedly claim that vaping was injuring people without specifying that the injuries were caused from illegal THC cartridges.
Over and over again, they included vaping nicotine in their conversations, statements and announcements. A false narrative that blamed vaping nicotine for the lung injuries spread throughout the public and the health community.
CDC contradicts their evidence
As a national health authority, the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a responsibility to report on the facts. Their publications influence medical policies in the USA and all over the world. During the lung injury outbreak, despite the growing evidence that vaping street-level drugs were the cause, the CDC continued to allude that vaping nicotine was to blame.
FDA vs CDC accuracy
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the CDC advised the public about the facts on the lung injuries. Both released reports on Sept. 6, 2019. It is very clear, when reading the titles of the two reports that the CDC chose a fear-based narrative about vaping nicotine and omitted the cause of EVALI. It’s important to note that the word “e-cigarettes” means vaping nicotine.
Health-related regulatory bodies
During the outbreak, health-related regulatory bodies, such as the American Medical Association (AMA), joined the CDC in avoiding identifying the causality of the outbreak. They continued to scare the public about vaping nicoine with the fear-based narratives they have been promoting for years. As a result, health professionals continue to be misinformed about tobacco harm reduction.
State officials & harm reduction
Utilizing the outbreak, Gov. Baker discouraged the smokers in Massachusetts from switching to vaping. He banned most flavours which are essential to helping smokers detox and withdrawal from cigarettes by making vaping appealing. He added a tax which makes vaping more expensive for the poor which have the highest smoking rates.
Fake news
The United Kingdom (UK) promotes vaping for smokers. They are different than most of the world because they independently reviewed the science on vaping before the global narrative that Canada has adopted was dictated. The deceptions about EVALI were so pervasive that even their citizens became misinformed!
The lies are working
The misinformation campaign through authority and media has convinced the public that vaping nicotine is the source of EVALI. Within 15 months, an increase of 13% of the people wrongly believe that vaping is MORE harmful than smoking, The public now demands eliquid flavour bans and other restrictions on tobacco harm reduction (vaping).
For over 20 years, RealClearPolicy has been reviewing US domestic policy and analyzes “the most pivotal information on the day’s need-to-know issues”. They reviewed how the CDC handled EVALI in their article titled, Heads Should Roll at CDC after Botched Vaping Investigation.
Filter is a nonprofit, their mission is to …”advocate through journalism for rational and compassionate approaches to drug use, drug policy and human rights”. Their critique of how CDC handled EVALI is titled, Vapes and Lung Disease: The CDC’s Lesson in How Not to Handle an Illness Outbreak.
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Expert warnings
Expert warnings from the UK
Since the 2016 publication of ‘Nicotine Without Smoke‘, UK health authorities have been promoting vaping as a smoking cessation aid for their citizens.
The UK health community understood that the cause of the 2019 vaping-related lung injuries (EVALI) was not from vaping nicotine. Yet, North American experts were saying it was. Scientists, health authorities and doctors in the UK issued statements and reports to help people learn the truth.
“Complete madness”
Dr. Britton calls out the deception
When asked about the USA authority’s reaction to EVALI (which was to blame vaping nicotine), Dr. Britton said that their reaction was “complete madness.”
Smoking experts in the UK spoke out against the misinformation spread about EVALI and continue to encourage smokers to choose harm reduction.
Quotes from experts
Prof. Newton reassures smokers
We can argue that authorities in Canada and the USA have grossly mismanaged the response to EVALI. They continue to discourage smokers from harm reduction and therefore encouraging continued smoking, smoking-related diseases, disability, and premature death.
Dr. Leonard observes misinformation
Smoking kills over 40,000 Canadians and over 480,000 Americans every single year! How many North Americans have been diagnosed with a chronic smoking-related disease because they didn’t know they had an effective and safe harm reduction option?
Dr. Shahab addresses false belief
Smoking is the primary cause of preventable disease & death in North America. Yet, health authorities and nonprofits in Canada and the USA, wrongly blame vaping nicotine as the cause of the lung injuries and as a result demand stricter restrictions on tobacco harm reduction.
Dr. Aberegg sums it up
It’s important to note that dispite being surrounded by deceptive health authorities, Utah heath authorities and community remained objective with the evidence. Dr. Aberegg identifies the obvious reason why EVALI patients would omit illegal drug use when self-reporting: people are simply afraid to say they used illegal drugs.
Repeated fear provoking narrative
The pervasive message in North America is that we have to ban vaping because their is a ‘youth vaping epidemic’.
In Great Britain, vaping is recognized as a significant harm reduction strategy and is promoted by their public health. Yet, less than 2% of 11-18 year olds vape more than once a week.
WHERE is the youth vaping epidemic in Great Britain?
Teens mess with stuff they shouldn’t
Youth experiment with adult activities, this is why 52% vaped “to give it a try”. Cigarette smoke is far more addictive than nicotine vapour and far more harmful. Since smoking tastes gross, perhaps the flavours in eliquid are preventing youth from becoming smokers.
CALL TO ACTION
Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs wrote a referenced paper about EVALI. It is the perfect document to enlighten health professionals about how they have been deceived about EVALI and vaping.
Canada gov’t THC cartridges
Canadian government & THC cartridges
The Canadian federal government controls the sale of cannabis products and makes revenue through a cannabis federal excise duty.
On October 19, 2019, during the EVALI outbreak, THC cartridges were approved for sale in Canada. Remember, the lung injuries were caused from illegal THC cartridges.
Health Canada acknowledges the cause
In December 2019, Health Canada was questioned by CBC News about the cause of EVALI because the Canadian government approved the sale of THC cartridges during the EVALI outbreak. Health Canada clearly communicates that they understood EVALI was being caused by illegal THC cartridges and not from vaping nicotine.
Myths or facts
In late February 2020, the CDC closes the case on EVALI because they had identified the source, took action and the injuries stopped occuring.
However, over a year later the Health Canada, Vaping-Associated Lung Illness, page states: “The cause or causes of cases in Canada is still under investigation.”
Protecting THC cartridges revenue
March 2021 Health Canada website: “In Canada, most cases of vaping associated lung illness do not appear to have been associated with the use of THC-containing products.”
When reading this statement, consider that Health Canada relied on patient self-reporting during a time when THC carts were all black-market. They did not conduct biopsies, product analysis nor toxicology screening.
Hiding the truth
As of March 2021, the Government of Canada’s webpage on EVALI mentions nicotine 5 times but only mentions vitamin E acetate just once.
This is the source of information that all provincial health authorities and all Canadian health professionals would consider to be the most current, unbiased and accurate.
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What went wrong in Canada
What went wrong in Canada
Governments, health authorities, medical professionals, anti-smoking groups and health-related nonprofits utilized mainstream media to repeatedly warn the public that vaping was injuring people without specifying that the injuries were caused from illegal THC cartridges.
Over and over again, they included vaping nicotine in their conversations, statements and announcements. A false narrative that blamed vaping nicotine for the lung injuries spread throughout the public and the health community.
First case of EVALI in Canada
Dr. Chris Mackie, the medical officer for the Middlesex-London Health Unit in Ontario, declared the first of the 19 EVALI cases in Canada. His diagnosis was lipoid pneumonia caused by vaping nicotine. Countless headlines, articles, TV news programs and experts created fear about vaping nicotine.
Enduring false causation
For weeks, Dr. Mackie continued to blame vaping nicotine for the lung injury during interviews with media. As a result of this deception, anti-smoking agencies, health authorities and health-related nonprofits across Canada demanded banning flavours in eliquid and make nicotine vaping less attractive to smokers.
The science is clear
Several years earlier, a 2016 study “Respiratory infections and pneumonia: potential benefits of switching from smoking to vaping” concluded vaping nicotine cannot cause lipoid pneumonia. Water-based vapor cannot cause an oil-based lung injury.
First case of EVALI in Canada
Dr. Chris Mackie, the medical officer for the Middlesex-London Health Unit in Ontario declared the first of 19 cases in Canada. His diagnosis was lipoid pneumonia. Countless headlines, articles, TV news programs and experts created fear about vaping nicotine.
The science is clear
Several years earlier, a 2016 study “Respiratory infections and pneumonia: potential benefits of switching from smoking to vaping” concluded vaping nicotine cannot cause lipoid pneumonia. Water-based vapor cannot cause an oil-based lung injury.
Enduring false causation
For weeks, Dr. Mackie continued to blame vaping nicotine for the lung injury during interviews with media. As a result of this deception, anti-smoking agencies, health authorities and health-related nonprofits across Canada demanded banning flavours in eliquid and make nicotine vaping less attractive to smokers.
Anti-harm reduction advocates
Daily, health experts were featured on mainstream media spreading fear about vaping nicotine. Experts repeatedly referred to vaping as causing the injuries without specifying that it was illegal THC cartridges that was hurting people. They repeatedly include vaping nicotine in their discussions!
Recommends inhaling nicotine
Dr. Tereza Martinu, respirologist, was a guest on media. She admitted that vitamin E acetate was found in all the American EVALI lung biopsies & is used in THC concentrates. However, she suggests that inhaling nicotine through vaping as the cause of the lung injuries. Then she encourages smokers to use nicotine inhalers.
Trying hard to blame harm reduction
Question: since vaping has been around for 10 years, why the sudden outbreak of EVALI? Dr. Martinu’s answer was there was such an increase in vaping that there are now enough cases to see it. She failed to give the percent of increase or the time frame because there wasn’t a significant increase in vaping to warrant the outbreak.
Deceptive authority
With endless resources and funding, the government is fully capable of reviewing the evidence on vaping. Yet, they are still deceiving the public by blaming vaping nicotine specifically for EVALI. Why are Canadian health authorities so misinformed about vaping? They must be aware of the billions of dollars it costs to treat smoking-related diseases.
Fake news
The United Kingdom (UK) promotes vaping for smokers. They are different than most of the world because they independently reviewed the science on vaping before the global narrative that Canada has adopted was dictated. The deceptions about EVALI were so pervasive that even their citizens became misinformed!
The lies are working
The misinformation campaign through authority and media has convinced the public that vaping nicotine is the source of EVALI. Within 15 months, an increase of 13% of the people wrongly believe that vaping is MORE harmful than smoking, The public now demands eliquid flavour bans and other restrictions on tobacco harm reduction (vaping).
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What happened
What happened
Suddenly, there were hundreds of cases of severe lung injuries in areas around the USA. All the patients had vaped.
Yet, millions of smokers had been vaping nicotine for more than a decade without any cases of severe lung injuries.
Vaping history of 15 years with no lung injuries
In August of 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced they were investigating an outbreak of lung injuries.
Over 2800 cases were identified, causing 68 deaths in the USA; in Canada there were 19 cases and no deaths.
76% of the patients were under 35 and 66% were male.
The investigation and resolution
Injuries were isolated to North America
Vaping nicotine is a harm reduction strategy used by millions of smokers all over the world. Since the injuries only occurred in North America, it was clear the injuries were being caused by something other than standard nicotine eliquid.
Patients admitted illegal drug use
Almost 100% of the injured patients reported using illegal THC cartridges. Despite the evidence, the injury was named EVALI (E-cigarette or Vaping product use-Associated Lung Injury) implying the cause was vaping nicotine.
Lung biopsies found vitamin E acetate
To identify the substance causing the injuries, lung samples from the patients were analyzed. The fat-based substance, vitamin E acetate, was identified as causing the injuries. This substance can not be dissolved in water-based nicotine eliquid; they would separate in the container.
Vaping products used were analyzed
The patients surrendered the products they were vaping to help identify the cause of the injuries. Nicotine eliquids contained no unexpected or harmful chemicals but 9 out of 10 illegal THC carts contained vitamin E acetate which is used as a cutting agent.
EVALI patients use of vaping products vs vapers without injuries
Vaping habits of 66 vapers that suffered with the lung injury were compared to the vaping habits of 519 vapers that didn’t have the lung injuries. The injured vapers clearly showed a significant increase in THC vaping, illegal THC use and purchased the illegal brand that was associated with the lung injuries. This study further confirmed the safety of commercial nicotine eliquid.
Public warnings from the FDA
The Food and Drug Administration issued warnings that were specific to the injuries. To best ensure the public can make informed decisions about safety, the more specific information about the dangers, the better. The FDA issued warnings that were based in the evidence discovered.
Lung injuries declined rapidly
Word spread on the street that illegal THC cartridges were making people sick. Law enforcement busted several illegal THC cartridge makers and distributors. A legal thinning agent, ‘Honey Cut’ was removed from the market. The injuries declined.
Law enforcement seizures
Confiscated illegal THC cartridges from 2018 and 2019 found that the vitamin E acetate was only detected in the 2019 cartridges and not the 2018 cartridges. This shows that the causative agent was recently introduced into illegal THC cartridges.
More on what happened
Utah Department of Health warnings
The media featured health experts and authority figures that blamed vaping nicotine for what was causing EVALI. Utah Department of Health were one of the few health authorities that told the public the truth.
Cannabis was/is still illegal
Because illegal drug use has legal consequences, patients living in areas where a drug consumed is illegal, sometimes lie about what they have taken because they are afraid of being charged. Even though, initially, THC cartridges were illegal in Canada, authorities didn’t verify the patients’ self-reporting by testing lung samples, performing toxicology screening nor analyzing the patients’ vaping products used.
Buy products from legitimate sources
Since May, 2018, eliquid with or without nicotine has been regulated by the Canadian federal government. Prior to 2018, (and currently in the USA), the vaping industry self-regulated product manufacturing safety. No serious lung injuries from vaping commercial nicotine eliquid have been reported. Vaping nicotine is less than 5% the risk of smoking and therefore, a significant harm reduction strategy for smokers.
Wording matters
When we say “smoking” we mean smoking cigarettes. When people smoke something else, we specify such as smoking a pipe or smoking a joint. When we say “vaping” we mean vaping nicotine. When people vape something else, we specify such as vaping nicotine-free eliquid or vaping THC carts (cartridges).
Warnings were not specific enough
North American health authorities such as the CDC recommended people stop all vaping and did not specify the injuries were caused from THC cartridges. Cannabis users were left at risk because “vaping” commonly means vaping nictoine NOT vaping THC carts.
Utah activated vape shops
With a disease outbreak, it’s important to notify the public, especially the population at risk. Vape shops across Utah were utilized to get the word out about the cause of EVALI & ensured their customers could make informed decisions about harm reduction for not only smoking but drug use.
