Why is Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, II who is the AG for the Commonwealth of Virginia smart? Simple. He understands what many public health organizations don’t seem to grasp…….vaporization is different than combustion.

When asked by Christopher Peace, Member, House of Delegates, for an official advisory opinion on the subject of using an electronic cigarette in places where smoking has been banned, the Virginia AG responded with, “First, an e-cigarette does not involve the ‘inhaling, or exhaling of smoke.’ Smoke is defined as ‘the gaseous products of burning carbonaceous materials made visible by the presence of small particles of carbon'” and went on to say, “Second, an e-cigarette is battery powered and is not ‘lighted’ as that term is commonly understood.” He concluded that, “Accordingly, it is my opinion that using an e-cigarette does not fall under the definition ‘smoke’ or ‘smoking’ for the purposes of § 15.2-2820.” If you want to read the full opinion piece, click Virginia Attorney General’s opinion of electronic cigarette use in non smoking areas.

Hard to argue with that logic….for most people. But in a Washington Post article about the AG’s opinion on electronic cigarettes, Keenan Caldwell from the American Cancer Society stated, “Allowing them would really be turning back the clock on what we’re trying to do in Virginia to create smoke-free workplaces and environments that promote health.”

Let’s be clear. Electronic cigarettes don’t produce smoke anymore than a boiling pot of water produces smoke. So it is unclear how NOT banning a product that produces NO SMOKE is “turning back the clock on what we’re trying to do in Virginia to create smoke-free workplaces”.

Motives are fun to guess, but let’s look at some facts. According to this online article from PreventCancer.com about the American Cancer Society, “for every $1 spent on direct service, approximately $6.40 is spent on compensation and overhead. In all ten states, salaries and fringe benefits are by far the largest single budget items, a surprising fact in light of the characterization of the appeals, which stress an urgent and critical need for donations to provide cancer services.”

So who pays the salary of people like Keenan Caldwell? Many individual donors of course, but there are some substantial donations of over 1 million dollars coming from corporations such as Novartis Corporation (maker of Habitrol and Thrive), Pfizer Inc, (maker of Nicotrol®NS and Nicotrol® Inhaler), Walmart (sells NRTs in their pharmacy), and Walgreen Co. (sells NRTs in their pharmacy).

Coming out against the electronic cigarette as a public health organization while being funded by corporations who make and sell competing products is suspicious at best.

8 thoughts on “Virginia Attorney General is Smart

  1. If you follow the money trail far enough, particulary through the 1998 tobacco settlement, you may find that many of these “anti-tobacco” groups are largely funded, directly or indirectly, by big tobacco companies.

  2. I was a 49 year cigarette smoker. I tried ecigs just out of curosity one day and I haven’t touched a traditional cigarette since. I’m 62 years old and and a retired State Trooper. I also served my country in the U.S. Marine Corps so that imbeciles like Keenan Caldwell from the American Cancer Society are free to voice their opinions.

    I will not, I repeat will not, obey any ban by the Federal Gov’t or State Gov’t on Electronic Cigarettes. They are life savers not killers like the tobacco products. Back when I was young we used to call people like Caldwell, “Radical left wing, pinky finger waiving, communist A_ _ Hole_”s. I’ve paid my dues to God, Country and State and so I earned the right to make that remark. What the hell did he serve in “The panty hose club of America”????

  3. I am 43 and have numerous health issues that I was born with. I have been using a E-cig for a year and a month. I quit a 3 pack a day habit. I am now off all breathing treatments, all oxygen. My lung doctor cannot believe how much better I am. I urge any smoker to find a reputable company and try the E-cig. It will be the best thing you will do for yourself.

  4. I don’t think this attempt to ban e-cigs is a Right or Left issue. They are 95% safer than tobacco cigarettes and no more harmful than NRTs. We need politicians on both sides of the aisle to realize that and take their hands off e-cigs.

  5. I smoked for 50 years and tried everything to stop. Nothing worked until I tried the Nicotrol inhaler. If I did not have this i would still be smoking which would be harmful and unwanted.
    This and the E-Cigarette have increased quitting smoking by huge numbers and do not contain the 500+ ingredients cigaretes do. There is no first or second hand smoke, smell and is harmless.
    Why would anyone want to take away something so beneficial to the health of thousands of people?
    Again it is the misguided idea that government should control EVERYTHNG even when it is something people want and need for their benefit. Please spend your time on important thngs like our financial crisis and let people enjoy their right to choose.

  6. Keenan Caldwell is a Dip$hit. Read my lips, moron: E-cigs do NOT, I repeat – I repeat – do NOT! produce smoke!!! DUH! How stoopit can one get?? So. That means his so-called ‘reasoning’ that it would turn back the clock on smoke free workplaces is FLAWED. Look up in the freaking dictionary the definition of ‘smoke’ and then while you’re at it – provided you can pay attention long enough – also look up the definition of ‘fog’, ‘steam’, and especially ‘vapour’. (Provided you can actually comprehend what you’re reading).
    I V-A-P-E (not SMOKE) e-cigs. I love my e-cigs. I hate analog tobacco cigarettes. I stopped SMOKING analog cigarettes and began VAPING e-cigs 3 1/2 months ago. I was a 2 pack a day smoker. I had a horrible hacking snot-filled smoker’s cough. My wife was worried about me.
    On my second day of vaping, my smoker’s cough disappeared completely. Has not returned. I can taste and smell everything again. I breathe better. My wife no longer says I STINK like stale tobacco smoke. My fingers are no longer yellow-brown stained.
    How can something like this cause ‘smoke’? How can e-cigs hurt me? To all you idiots who say they don’t help people stop smoking – take a second look.
    *and to the US Marine who served our country and posted above – “Thank you for your service to our country. You did a good job and served with the best unit around. HLT, SGT, US Army RET”*

  7. I’ve just converted to an e-cig, so far so good it’s already an improvement on the drugs etc. – why do these politicians fail to understand the basics of the equation, here – if I can’t use an e-cig I’m going to use a “real” one. By forcing people to use a product that they have publicly stated is lethal, are they not as liable as the tobacco companies for the fatalities?

Leave a Reply
