In a press release issued to the media houses by the Washington governor, the state's Secretary of Health is quoted saying active smoking is not as hazardous as vaping. He says, "many kids believe that electronic cigarettes are safer, though, scientific evidence shows they are not." Really!
This is an unfortunate statement from the state's Secretary of Health. What exactly is the evidence suggesting that electronic cigarettes are more hazardous than traditional cigarettes? In fact, there is no such evidence, and even the tobacco companies don't claim that their cigarettes are as safe as electronic cigarettes. Should any tobacco company makes such a claim, the anti-smoking groups would immediately attack them. Ironically, anti - smoking groups are silent when a public health official makes preciously the same claim.
The statement is not only reckless, but it is also damaging the health of the public. The secretary is trying to convince smokers that their smoking habit is not worse than vaping. He discourages many smokers from using electronic cigarettes to quit smoking, and convincing ex-smoker who quit through electronic cigarettes to revert to smoking. Nonetheless, what is the point of using the electronic cigarettes, if they are just as hazardous as the real thing? Why is the secretary so afraid to acknowledge the truth: that electronic cigarettes are safer that traditional cigarettes?
Sometimes you might to be moved to question whether the secretary is inept to tell the difference between nicotine and thousands of chemicals plus nicotine and a couple of chemicals. In fact, he is so much entrenched in the ideology that anything which looks like smoking is awful and therefore cannot be allowed in any way.
Sadly, the secretary is relying on arguments that are similar to those used by opponents of methadone. This undermines many years of education on the hazard of smoking and does deep public damage, simply because he is largely driven by ideology, instead of scientific evidence.
