WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the American Vaping Association, a leading advocate for the benefits of vaping products and electronic cigarettes, joined with the e-cigarette consumer group Minnesota Vapers Advocacy to issue a response to the release of Minnesota Youth Tobacco Survey data documenting youth e-cigarette usage in the State of Minnesota.
Gregory Conley, president of the American Vaping Association, issued the following statement:
“For over five years, activists opposed to harm reduction by adult smokers have argued that e-cigarettes would lead nonsmoking youth to down the path to tobacco addiction. The evidence to date does not support that claim. In fact, at the same time that e-cigarette experimentation by Minnesota youth grew, youth usage of conventional tobacco products experienced the sharpest decline in the history of the survey.
“A growing number of studies have shown that e-cigarettes are helpful for adult smokers looking to transition away from combustible cigarettes. There is no evidence e-cigarettes are gateways to smoking, and in fact, for millions of Americans they are acting as anti-smoking products.”
Chris Tipton, president of Minnesota Vapers Advocacy, said the following:
“E-cigarettes are adult products and should be kept out of the hands of minors. Indeed, Minnesota was among the first states to ban sales of e-cigarettes to youth.
“While zero tobacco or nicotine use by youth is the ideal, we do not live in a perfect world. Yes, experimentation by youth is happening, but while nonsmokers may take an errant puff of an e-cigarette, there is no evidence that these youth are becoming frequent users or moving on to traditional tobacco products. E-cigarette opponents should take a breath and allow these products to continue to create ex-smokers all across Minnesota and the United States.”
“Additionally, we applaud the Minnesota Department of Health for presenting this data with appropriate caution.”
Tipton cites this language by the Department of Health as a responsible interpretation of the data:
However, it would be premature to equate the use of e-cigarettes with the use of conventional cigarettes and other tobacco products. When a new product like e-cigarettes is spreading so rapidly, it is possible that some of the users in the past 30 days were just trying it out and may not continue using it.
You can learn more about AVA and vaping by visiting the AVA website.
About the American Vaping Association
The American Vaping Association is a nonprofit organization that advocates for fair and sensible regulation of vapor products, otherwise known as electronic cigarettes, with the goal of maximizing the number of adult smokers who use these products to quit smoking. The AVA was founded by Gregory Conley, a consumer and industry advocate with a long track record of advocating for vapor products dating back to 2010.
We are dedicated to educating the public and government officials about public health benefits offered by vapor products, which are battery-powered devices that heat a liquid nicotine or nicotine-free solution and create an inhalable vapor. The AVA is not a trade group and does not speak for any particular businesses, including our industry sponsors.
You can learn more about AVA and vaping by visiting the AVA website. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter.
