Public Health Argument #3 – vaping is the most successful means to quit smoking

Good Afternoon, My name is _________ and I am a [STATE] resident, taxpayer, and former smoker.   Vaping helped me quit smoking, and I am not alone; even the most vocal opponents of vaping can agree on some basic facts, with regards to the benefits of vaping.   Scientists and Politicians… has been misrepresenting facts and campaigning against Vapor Devices for years now, yet even they cannot escape the simple truth – Vapor products are used overwhelmingly by smokers, the vast majority of smokers who use them either substantially decrease their tobacco consumption or quit tobacco all together, and the rate at which they do so makes Vaping the single most effective tool to combat the scourge of tobacco related death and disease.   In his publication “Background Paper on E-cigarettes Prepared for the World Health Organization” – Dr. Glantz can’t ignore the facts and reports – and all of these statistics are directly quoted from his publication, in his own words: (quoting pages 31 through 33, including page 70)   “88% (of vapors) reported being “ex-smokers,” with an average of 9 quit attempts before using e-cigarettes.   Two-thirds had tried previously to quit by using FDA approved cessation devices and 99% felt the e-cigarettes helped with quit attempt.”   22% of smokers (occasional and daily) at baseline had quit smoking at one-month, and 46% had quit at one year. (Page 31 lines 30-31)   31% (of vapors) reported they were not smoking tobacco cigarettes at the 6 month Survey time point. (Page 33 line 4)   “42% reported that they achieved complete substitution in the first month of using the devices” (page 33, lines 30-31)   “41% and 66% reported no (continued) conventional tobacco cigarette smoking at the time of survey” (page 33 line 19)    “74% of respondents who had used an e-cigarette reported not smoking for at least a few weeks.” (Page 33, lines 10-11)   “It is possible that e-cigarettes even without nicotine act as substitutes for the sensory and behavioral effects of conventional cigarettes. (Page 70, lines 11-12)   and the most relevant to [BILL]; “The majority of e-cigarette users were cigarette smokers when they initiated e-cigarette use” (Page 33 line 16-17) and  “the most common reason given to try e-cigarettes was to use them in places where smoking is restricted.”   To put all of this in perspective; The effectiveness of quitting with traditional Nicotine Replacement Therapy options is 7% – meaning the data presented by Dr. Glantz, a vocal opponent of Vaping, indicates that vapor devices range from 314%-1257% more effective than the other traditional Nicotine Replacement Therapy options.   Even if you ignore scientific facts on the basis of bias towards Vapor Devices, you cannot ignore scientific facts presented by researchers that, if biased, are biased AGAINST Vapor devices. Clearly, even their research shows one inescapable truth; Vaping saves lives, and banning it will have negative repercussions on peoples lives, so I urge you to please vote NO on [BILL] – lives hang in the balance.