The Illusion Of A USA Teen Vape Epidemic Tackled With FDA Magic Tricks

Abracadabra and Poof! The Teen Vape Epidemic Vanishes!

The FDA has launched a series of magic trick TV ads aimed at warning the young folk of America about the dangers of e-cigarettes.

They’ve literally taken the illusion of a so called ‘teen vape epidemic‘ and run with it using street magician Julius Dein to show how e-cigs turn kids into smokers – blatant spin that’s been proven to be wrong countless times.

I’m mortified to say Dein is an Englishman with over 15 million followers on Facebook – pity he hadn’t read Public Health England’s stance on vaping before crossing the pond to become an anti-vape apologist…but I digress.

Though of course should you wish to educate the ‘magician’ on the facts and not the smoke and mirrors at play here, why not add your comment to his post below – click the FB logo 😉

So what’s all this about then?

The magic trick videos will run on national TV – YouTube and various social media sites and are part of the FDA’s Real Cost $60million campaign to halt the apparent teen vaping epidemic supposedly sweeping across America this past year or so.

It began with FDA approved Walking Dead style ads showing kids that vape could become infected with ‘brain worms’ – infecting their whole bodies like a zombie virus – yeah really…

A quick visit to the campaign site shows it’s filled with false facts bordering on terrifying and rather than designed to educate – it’s designed to frighten.

Spinning the Real Statistics – Now That’s Magic!

The new TV ads are the latest step in convincing the kids of America that vaping is as bad if not worse than smoking – again complete and utter BS but hey don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story.

In the ads Dein approaches ‘random’ kids on the streets and asks if they vape or have one on them. I say random – it does look a little staged and the so called ‘kids’ do look as if they might be at least 18 and even older.

Well imagine my shock in the first video when the young man approached whips out a JUUL! Oh my talk about a coincidence lol – I mean everyone knows JUUL is the devil’s wand and responsible for all those poor kids hooked on nicotine – that’s irony for my American readers BTW 😉

Some people think that vaping is no big deal.

…says Dein before adding:

That is just an illusion.

He then places the guy’s JUUL on his open palm and hey presto turns it into a cigarette.

It’s a cool trick for sure and clever sleight of hand – however he follows up with the line:

Did you know that if you vape you’re more likely to start smoking cigarettes.

It’s not magic – it’s statistics.

What was it Mark Twain said about statistics?

Lies, damned lies, and statistics

And that’s oh so true here as you can see – rates of teen vaping is falling regularly and dramatically:

Here’s the true facts:

• Smoking rates have dropped significantly among young people at all levels
• A rise in young people trying vaping from 2012 – those rates are now falling dramatically to around 20%
• Dramatic fall in those occasionally vaping to around 5% [from 8%]
• Regular young vapers dropped to around 3%

As I said, massaging the real statistics is the true magic trick here.

The other video has a similar theme to it this time turning what looks like a Suorin Air pod kit into a handful of cigarettes. The poor young woman runs off in shock before returning to say she will now be telling all her friends about the ‘dangers of vaping’.

It’s a very clever campaign for sure – and those tricks are very cool – but what’s NOT cool is lying and young Mr Dein should be ashamed of himself.

Will Magic Spell the End Of Teen Vaping In America?

The FDA’s Real Cost Campaign is almost at its first year anniversary and those behind it have heralded its success.

Figures show the posters and social media posts have over 2 billion views in the last 9.5 months. The FDA says the social media posts alone have received 578,000 likes, 89,000 shares, and 31,000 comments – not sure if all those comments could be classed as positive 😉

Next month they’re releasing millions of posters to be placed inside school bathrooms – a place where kids apparently congregate to vape in the US! Talk about the FDA being everywhere – even when you need the loo!

Those posters have a message that’s more than a little disconcerting to say the least:

• You might as well flush your lungs while you’re at it. Vaping can deliver toxic metal particles, like nickel, lead and chromium directly into your lungs.
• When you find out what’s in a vape, you won’t be relieved. Vaping can expose you to some of the same cancer-causing chemicals as those found in cigarette smoke.

Both of those statements are highly and I mean highly dubious to say the least!

Back in February 2018 I wrote a rebuttal piece using the true facts on so called heavy metals inside your vape: Can Vaping Give You Brain Damage Due To Heavy Metals? Scientists Respond.

As you can see – the answer is a resounding NO!

As to vaping having a risk of giving you cancer – there’s no scientific evidence of that whatsoever but hey don’t take my word for it.

Cancer UK says:

Research so far shows e-cigarettes are far less harmful than smoking. For some people who smoke, e-cigarettes could be an option to help them stop using tobacco.

They usually contain nicotine, which is addictive but doesn’t cause cancer. They do not contain tobacco, which causes the damage from smoking.

There really is a HUGE chasm between the USA and here in the UK over the benefits of e-cigarettes over smoking. The growing, vociferous and bat shit crazy anti-vape crowd has succeeded in pushing vaping in the USA to the edge of extinction with politicians and government bodies ignoring the science and pandering to emotion.

Acting FDA Commissioner Norman ‘Ned’ Sharpless talked tough on his plans to combat the alleged teen vape epidemic:

The new ads as part of our youth prevention campaign highlight one of the many alarming aspects of youth e-cigarette use ‒ that, according to emerging science, teens who vape are more likely to start smoking cigarettes, putting them at risk of a lifetime of addiction to smoking and related disease.

As our new ads state: ‘it’s not magic, it’s statistics,’ and the potential for kids to become traditional cigarette smokers because of e-cigarettes gives me great pause

We cannot allow the next generation of young people to become addicted to nicotine.

We will continue to work to keep e-cigarettes out of the hands of America’s kids through policies to limit youth access to, and appeal of, e-cigarette products, take vigorous compliance and enforcement actions to hold manufacturers and retailers accountable when they illegally market or sell these products to minors, and continue to spearhead highly successful public education efforts to warn youth about the dangers of all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes.

The problem is Ned, the real issue is keeping e-cigarettes away from kids at point of sale and through working with the parents.

By using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, all you and your predecessor Gottlieb has done is stop many millions of adult smokers having access to what is proven life saving technology.

‘Save the kids’ by all means – but NOT at the expense of adult smokers desperate to quit.

BTW – here’s the real magic trick video 😉

Ha!

Now that’s magic 😉