Monday's CNN Opinion page featured an on electronic cigarettes from Harold Wimmer, the president and CEO of the American Lung Association. In the piece, Wimmer argues that Big Tobacco companies are using electronic cigarettes to create "new nicotine addicts" and that they are enticing youth with flavors such as bubble gum and cotton candy.
The SAMHSA article is full of ridiculous statements and poor reasoning, such as the conclusion that electronic cigarettes are repeating the Big Tobacco story because their ads use celebrities:
"“The majority of our patients are over 65, and they have expectations that cannot be ignored in terms of personal appearance,” hospital chief executive David Brown said in an interview. “We have the ability as an employer to characterize our process and to have a policy that says what’s best for our business and for our patients.” Employment lawyers say Citizens Medical Center’s hiring policy isn’t against the law. Only the state of Michigan and six U.S. cities — including San Francisco and Washington, D.C. — ban discrimination against the overweight in hiring."
Financial interests in Big Pharma must now be recognized as conflicts of interest for any organization or individual who is offering opinions about national strategy, policy, or regulations regarding electronic cigarettes. Therefore, the authors of all scientific articles regarding electronic cigarettes must disclose any financial interests with pharmaceutical companies. Furthermore, organizations must also disclose any financial ties to Big Pharma when they offer recommendations regarding electronic cigarette policy.
The Lie: Wimmer implies that the tobacco companies are promoting electronic cigarettes as being safe, and he links to one electronic cigarette company web site () as support for this statement.
Christopher Snowdon reported the details of the story back in February. He wrote:
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