Popcorn news & dated tropes.
| class | disinformation |
| category | ad nauseam |
| motivation | bandwagon |
| science aversion | ๐ฅ๐ซ๐ง |
| used-by | CNN et al. |
Aging FUD on e-cigarettes is still cycling news portals. Most beget from junk science, some resilient falsehoods, and a few deliberately ad-nauseam asserted by Tobacco Companions. And tabloid media still being reserved with basic factchecking at times.
| talking point | sc | reality, origin, references |
|---|---|---|
| "popcorn lung" (diacetyl) | ๐ฅ๐ฅ | CTFK/ALA-promoted FUD: Exactly zero cases exist. Diacetyl was never as concentrated in e-liquids (mostly excised, btw) as it is present in combustibles. And 1950s factory-level air pollution not reproducible anyhow. Popcorn lung debunked years ago |
| lead | ๐ฅ๐ฅ | smolder studies: Not actually present in e-cig heating coils (FeCrAl or SS316L). Origin was a Bloomberg-associated study; didn't disclose used devices. Toxic metal study misleading (Farsalinos); most studies spectograph metal traces in liquids` flavour extracts or production remnants (0.000001โฐ range (ยตg/kg), higher Uranium in "tobacco" flavours, btw) |
| formaldehyde | ๐ง๐ฅ | ergo harmful: Occurs in heated vapor at doses typically 100-1000x lower than in combustible cigarettes. Not negligible, but irrelevant with context. v360:ecigarettes-vaping-formaldehyde-farsalinos |
| gateway | ๐ซ | Not at the population level. The good old gateway drug hypotheses have never held up. Much less for actual substitutes. SNW:Myth_ENDS_-_Gateway_to_smoking |
| new study finds | ๐ง | 24h rule should be taken into account, if not pubpeer, crossref and SMC. Btw, press releases regularly divert from actual studies for: University of California, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, BathTR, Uni Sydney. // CB: how to avoid junk science |
| exploding bats | ๐ฅ๐ฅ | risk perception: Not any more than other consumer devices, despite the 18650 industrial batteries. Should hence be put into perspective to the smoking-related house fires each year e.g. |
| unclear how harmful | ๐ฅ | Not at all. For one thing, it's fairly obvious. Studies mostly conducted to quantify remaining risk. |
| industry claims | ๐ซ | tobacco-industry conflation: wilful misattribution, or plain research slander. Neither CochraneTAG nor Public Health England are owned by the tobacco industry. |
| not enough studies | ๐ฅ | Was a valid concern around 5000 studies ago. |
| highly addictive | ๐ฅ | Nic-only addiction isn't the scientific consensus anymore, but either outdated assumptions or intentional lies. |
| 2nd hand vapor | ๐ง | Indoor/asthma risks are real. But otherwise it's largely disco fog. Nicotine at negligible concentrations when exhaled. Toxic metal hyperbole irrelevant. It's largely a common courtesy issue. No second-hand vaping: e-cig aerosol less volatile compounds than normal exhaled breath. See also: sciencemediacentre on recent PR science. Or even the CDCs vape shop inquests coming up empty. |
| dual use | ๐ง | Transitional use is usually substitutional, and it appears even laconic smoking reduction translates into some risk reduction. |
| anti-freeze | ๐ฅ | Urban myth based on reading comprehension woes. Was widely promulgated by CTFK since 2009. |
| Juul pod equations | ๐ฅ | Mispresenting the yield of nicotine in pod devices vs presumed cigarette contents usually pairs with nicotine trivializations |
| gum disease | ๐ฅ | Based on misrepresenting smoking history. Recent study "quite disappointing". ("We would expect that kind of research from California, but not the UK." IIRC) |
| adhd / depression | ๐ฅ | Despite TI marketing claims (and possibly psychosomatic cases), nicotine does not cause depression/stress. In fact, it's often sought out for ADHD self-medication, can help with some forms of tourette. |
| increased covid | ๐ฅ | The TC-desired outcome did not come true. |
In particular the popcorn-lung ๐ฅ๐ฅ claim can be used to judge the quality of any article / website. That's not really difficult to research. (Important to remember: it's in part a technological failure though.)
- UK Health Security Agency: Clearing up some myths around e-cigarettes
- SNW:Myth_Busting
- E-Cigarette Myths Debunked
- 10 Common Myths About Electronic Cigarettes
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