New Electronic Cigarette Study Gets Slammed In the Media January 27, 2015 09:51
Written Audio/Video Transcription:
Greg Gutfeld: The New England Journal of Medicine ran a letter linking e-cigs to cancer and the panicky media gobbled it up like a hot brownie. But, how sturdy is this research? What might happen if you tapped lightly on their findings?
[B-roll]
Yeah. Under closer scrutiny, this blockbuster collapsed faster than Michael Moore in a spin class. According to experts, the researchers found that vaping produces lots of formaldehyde, but only if you overheat the system. Meaning, if you use the device wrongly in a way that a user can't even tolerate, then it's harmful. This would be like concluding that broccoli is deadly if you eat 300 pounds of it in one sitting. This would be like saying that driving a car is deadly if you floor it in reverse on a narrow cliff while doing Jell-O shots in your underwear. The point, if you create an unrealistic climate for harm, you create the harm you seek, which allows researchers to elevate the risk and that lands them in a prestigious journal.
As Reason magazine's Jacob Sullum points out, the study author, James Pankow, is already backtracking telling NBC, "We are not saying e-cigs are more hazardous than cigarettes" and told Reuters they should have provided more context, admitting the authors just wanted to get it out.
Aww, science - what used to be about facts is now about fame, and the casualties are folks trying to quit a bad habit and get healthy. It makes you wonder what the New England Journal is smoking.
I got to credit Leonard Gilroy, the Director of Government Reform from Reason, and Jacob Sullum from Reason, for doing a lot of good work on this. I'll go to you Julie because we've never talked about this before.
Julie: We've never talked about vaping. That's true.
Greg Gutfeld: No, we haven't. And I have a theory that e-cigs don't necessarily look that cool, but by making them sound dangerous, they're turning it into an even cooler thing, which is precisely the opposite.
Julie: So, you think this was an industry study planted in the [inaudible].
Greg Gutfeld: [laugh] Yes.
Julie: You're right. You're right. I actually think vaping looks really creepy. I agree with you.
Greg Gutfeld: Oh, I think it's good. Look.
Julie: Oh, you vape?
Greg Gutfeld: I vape every day.
Julie: Oh.
Greg Gutfeld: I haven't had a cigarette in a year and three months.
Julie: Why can't you just quit like a normal person?
Greg Gutfeld: This is -- I did quit.
Julie: Because I quit overnight. I just decided I wasn't going to…
Greg Gutfeld: You're a weirdo.
Julie: If you have no discipline --
Greg Gutfeld: -- Why am I talking to you?
Julie: If you have no discipline, you know, this is disgusting. Just quit.
Greg Gutfeld: You are telling me I have no discipline. You support a president who pays his taxes every time it wakes up.
Julie: But, I quit -- [inaudible] when I woke up.
Greg Gutfeld: How dare you?
Julie: I woke up in 2005.
Greg Gutfeld: You, get out of here.
Julie: I'm done. I'm out. Are you going to throw this vape [inaudible]?
Greg Gutfeld: This show stinks. [laugh] Eric, the study --
Eric: -- that guy over there?
Greg Gutfeld: -- that guy over there -- the guy Kimberly's mad at. This study, to me, seems like it was rushed out as politicians were pushing for a ban, that Cuomo is pushing for a ban right now.
Eric: But -- and why? And who is telling Cuomo you need to ban [inaudible]? The tobacco industry. I'm sure there's some sort of monetary -- money tie -- there's a string somewhere with a tobacco lobbyist saying, "We really need to ban vaping because look at this study. Look how bad it is for you" because as -- it's cheaper than smoking. Is it not? Am I right?
Greg Gutfeld: Yeah. Yeah. I've saved 25 bucks a week.
Eric: So, even when the tobacco companies buy the vape companies and now they own it, they're still not going to turn the profit they would if you were smoking two or three packs a day. It's much more revenue friendly to them to have you smoke a cigarette instead of a vape. So, this is the way government and politics works. They want something done. They hit the lobby. The lobby hits the politicians. And, then, they back it up with some study that has probably been funded somewhere, someway, somehow. Am I wrong?
Julie: No. You're right. Actually, I don't know about Cuomo, but you're right about that. Yeah, for sure.
Greg Gutfeld: I've said this --
Greg Gutfeld: Okay. Answer, young lady.
Female: Because I think that the opposition to vaping, actually, it doesn't necessarily have to do with the lobbyists per se. It's just that -- there is such a visceral reaction against smoking and blowing that in my face that people are holding onto past perceptions about smoking and they don't realize what this is and how it is helping people.
Greg Gutfeld: It is.
Female: I mean you've taken like five years off your face just by not smoking.
Greg Gutfeld: Thank you for that. Where have I put it?
Female: Well, and that's the other thing. People are worried that, if they quit smoking, that they'll gain weight. This is a great way for you to stop smoking and not feel like you're going to gain weight.
Greg Gutfeld: I think -- I don't know if that's the case, but I'll buy that. Kimberly, I've said this before. If vaping had maybe been around 30 years ago, we'd have a lot more family members probably around because they would have stopped smoking and replaced it with something that doesn't have all the tar.
Kimberly: I think it's a great alternative I'm sure to just not even ever starting it or picking it up. But, if you do and you care and you want to make sure you're around for your family members, try it. Why not? I mean the science is there that it's good. It's a good alternative. It's healthier, and safe, and that's what you should be going with.
Greg Gutfeld: There might be risks involved. You need to do research, but the research has to be real. It has to accurate.
Female: It has risks in everything.
Greg Gutfeld: Yeah. There's risks in everything. That is true. And on that note, we're going to go to a break. Coming up…