Why Anti- Smokers Hate E-Cigs

Over at the Rest Of The Story blog, Dr. Michael Siegel looks into why anti- smoking zealots are so down on vaping and e- cigarettes. A curious thing for him, being an anti- smoking zealot himself who feels e-cigs are a very effective form of harm reduction. He comes up with four main reasons. He elaborates on them back at his blog:

"First, the concept of using a cigarette-like device that delivers nicotine without using or burning tobacco as a smoking cessation strategy came from outside the tobacco control movement. We did not think of it."- A proprietary conflict, so to speak, but probably some truth to it. 

"Second, electronic cigarettes represent a philosophical and ideological threat to the tobacco control movement because they involve a strategy in which a behavior which looks like smoking is embraced as a method of quitting smoking. This is completely beyond the mindset of 95% of tobacco control practitioners,..."- Agreed. Common with most people. If it looks bad, it is bad.

"Third, electronic cigarettes also represent a philosophical and ideological threat to the tobacco control movement because they involve a harm reduction rather than an abstinence approach."- I've noticed this myself from the medical community.

"Finally, electronic cigarettes also represent a philosophical and ideological threat to the tobacco control movement because they challenge the entrenched principle that nicotine is the sine qua non of smoking addiction."

Some good insights. Especially since they come from someone within the anti- smoking community. One thing he doesn't address is following the money, as someone pointed out in comments to his post. 

Anti- smoking organizations get lots of money from tobacco sales, but what are these groups going to do when that source of revenue dries up? We're already seeing that in this state's attacks on e-cigs. It comes from a steady decline in tobacco sales revenue as people quit or greatly reduce smoking by switching to e-cigs. 

They need another source of revenue and lay the groundwork for that by attacking e-cigs. While e-cigs aren't yet punitively taxed as tobacco is, they're trying their best to demonize them so the public might be more willing to. 

Not a bad strategy to attack those least able to defend themselves- a steadily declining and generally lower income demographic. The doctor is right in his observations, but he also needs to follow the money.