New Study in Pediatrics Shows How Anti-Vaping Researchers are Trying to Fool the Public

A newstudy published online ahead of print in the journalPediatrics purports to provide evidence that e-cigarettes are encouraging youth to smoke. According to the article, " youth who initiate use with e-cigarettes are more likely to start smoking conventional cigarettes. " An accompanyingpress release concluded that " E-cigarettes are encouraging – not discouraging – youth to smoke... " . (See: Dutra LM, Glantz SA. E-cigarettes and national adolescent e-cigarette use: 2004-2014.Pediatrics 2017. DOI: 10.1542/peds.2016-2450.)Using annual, cross-sectional data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey, the study found that the rate of decline in youth smoking from 2009-2014 was no different than the rate of decline in youth smoking from 2004 to 2009. Based on this finding, the authors conclude that experimentation with e-cigarettes did not contribute to the observed decline in smoking.The ultimate study conclusion is that e-cigarettes have led to an increase in the " tobacco market " by attracting youth to " smoke. "The Rest of the StoryThere ' s a major flaw in the study conclusion. And once you ' re aware of it, you ' ll realize that the study is really trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the public.The best way I can demonstrate the trick the study is playing is through an analogy. Suppose we are interested in whether the acquisition of Al Horford led to a decline in the performance of the Boston Celtics. Controlling for a number of psychosocial variables that mi...
Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary - Category: Addiction Source Type: blogs