American Heart Association Still Clings to Alternative Facts: Claims that Smoking is No Safer than Vaping

Scientists like myself are often frustrated by " denialists " who refuse to acknowledge global warming, disseminate false information about adverse effects of vaccines, or - historically - failed to acknowledge the severe health effects of cigarette smoking. But I never expected this denialism to be coming from within my own movement in public health.Today, it appears that the American Heart Association is still taking a public denialist stance with regards to the health benefits of quitting smoking by switching to vaping. Despite overwhelming scientific evidence that vaping is much safer than smoking and that quitting smoking by switching to electronic cigarettes has dramatic and immediate health benefits, the American Heart Association is still clinging to the false message that smoking may be no safer than vaping.According to anarticle appearing today inThe Daily Mail:" Dr Aruni Bhatnagar, director of the American Heart Association ' s Tobacco Research and Addiction Center, added: ' We just don ' t know if moving to e-cigarettes is good enough to reduce the harm. ' "As theDaily Mail is not necessarily a trustworthy source (note the headline that a single e-cigarette can potentially lead to a heart attack), I confirmed this quote with other sources. Thesame quote appeared in theSan Diego Union-Tribune two weeks ago. It seems clear that the American Heart Association, through its Tobacco Research and Addiction Center, is still clinging to the belief that smoking may be no mo...
Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary - Category: Addiction Source Type: blogs