The Wall Street Journal published a story in July in which they claim they have proof that combustible tobacco cigarette sales have risen in recent months. According to the article, the drastic increase started shortly after the federal government distributed stimulus checks to Americans in April. The journalist writing this article wanted to know what was leading to this rise and turned to those individuals who purchased tobacco cigarettes. What she learned was very interesting.
The Rise in Sales
The journalist found that many men and women opted to buy tobacco cigarettes because of the travel restrictions in place as a result of the pandemic. They also explained that increased federal restrictions placed on e-liquid flavors influenced their decision to purchase tobacco products. People often weren’t finding e-liquids in the flavors they loved, thanks to the new restrictions. In 2019, the nation witnessed an all-time low in terms of national smoking rates for both adults and teens. Sadly, the statistics appear to be on the rise again, and this might be because of the anti-vaping campaign occurring across the country before the global pandemic.
The Anti-Vaping Campaign
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention along with the United States Food and Drug Administration launched an anti-vaping campaign over a period of months. This led to unfairly induced intentional hysteria. The agencies started this campaign after the discovery of a lung disorder related to vaping. The CDC referred to this disease as EVALI or e-cigarette or vaping-use associated lung injury. With the discovery of this illness, the CDC issued public health warnings regarding the use of vaping products. It encouraged all individuals to stop using these products, and critics of vaping spread rumors and conspiracy theories to discourage people from vaping. These rumors and theories quickly made their way onto social media platforms where they went viral. Sadly, this led to action by many government entities, even when these entities did not have all the facts.
Flavored E-Liquid Ban
As a result of this misinformation, several state governors issued emergency executive actions. These actions allowed them to implement temporary vaping bans in their state, skirting the law in the process. Vape shop owners protested and opted to file lawsuits to oppose the bans. Some vape shop owners won in court, but not all did. In fact, some states ultimately banned flavored e-liquids permanently.
The Truth Comes Out
The American vapor industry sustained damage because of the actions of these government entities. Sadly, this damage occurred before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention admitted less than 70 people died from EVALI and the agency found that THC-enhanced cartridges were responsible for these deaths. The cartridges contained vitamin E acetate and were obtained illegally on the black market.
The agency released a statement on February 25, 2020, on the EVALI cases. In this statement, the agency reported new EVALI cases were on the decline and the agency has identified vitamin E acetate as the primary cause of the disease. The agency was only reporting what the vape industry already knew.
Six months before the release of this statement by the CDC, the vaping community announced contraband THC products were responsible for the EVALI cases being seen across the nation. Leafly, an e-magazine devoted to all things cannabis, warned readers to avoid vapor products containing vitamin E acetate. The magazine recommended members not get any cannabis-based or CBD products using this substance as a dilutive. David Downs was the California bureau chief for Leafly, and he was the one who uncovered the relationship between these black market products and the EVALI cases.
Although Mr. Downs was telling people vape products obtained legally were safe to use, anti-vaping activist groups, governors, and the press continued to mount their attacks. President Trump also stepped in and made anti-vaping comments at one time. As a result of this negative press, Big Tobacco saw an opportunity to bring former smokers back into the fold. The anti-vaping campaign resulting from the EVALI scare worked better than anyone intended, but the CDC and FDA didn’t anticipate the consequences of their actions.
Additional Attacks
EVALI wasn’t the only reason many people began attacking the vape industry. Scott Gottlieb, a former FDA chief, started telling anyone who would listen that teen vaping had become a national epidemic. He continued to say this to anyone who would listen right up until COVID-19 became a concern in January 2020. It took a global pandemic to turn the focus away from the false claim of a vaping epidemic, although this claim continued to persist in the background.
The Consequences
The anti-vaping campaign appears to have been successful, but the consequences could be devastating. Dr. David Sweanor, a tobacco-control policy expert from Ottawa, Canada, explains the negative impacts of the campaign on the vaping community. According to Dr. Sweanor, the campaign resulted in a reduction in public awareness and confidence in vaping. People no longer consider vaping as a safe alternative to smoking, one that could save their lives. Consumers have lost confidence in vape products and are returning to conventional cigarettes as a result. The shift back to conventional cigarettes should concern all. Billy Gifford serves as the CEO of Altria Group Inc, the maker of Marlboro. He states the trends being seen today are significant and will lead to an increase in cigarette sales in the country after several years of declining sales in America.
Dr. Sweanor says the CDC, FDA, and federal lawmakers instigated the recovery in cigarette sales and these agencies may have even endorsed cigarettes. A representative of the Altria Group states the vapor industry in the United States will experience a market decline which could lead to sales flatlining in the next two years. Only time will tell if the vape industry will rebound or if tobacco cigarettes will increase in popularity once again. It will be interesting to see how this affects tobacco sales in other countries as well. They may follow the US and put a flavored e-liquid ban into place or find they wish to avoid this step to ensure cigarette sales don’t rise in their country as well.
