Tobacco Harm Reduction Reflections, as My Years of Reporting End

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Many people who vape, or are otherwise involved in tobacco harm reduction, will remember the summer of 2019.

That was when Juul faced endless criticism from Congress—by October, the company had voluntarily stopped selling most of its flavored e-cigarettes even online—and the media became transfixed on a string of vaping-related illnesses throughout the United States.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) named this phenomenon “e-cigarette, or vaping product, use-associated lung injury,” or “EVALI.” In a matter of weeks, it seemed, two separate narratives had been conflated: Vaping—with which Juul, at that point, was basically synonymous—was rampant among teenagers, and now it was killing them.

Except that wasn’t true. By November, the CDC had identified what it called “a very strong culprit” for EVALI’s cause: vitamin E acetate, an adulterant and cutting agent that had been discovered in illicit THC cartridges. The damage, though, was done: Recent studies have shown that misinformation around the misnamed condition has increased cigarette sales, and the public remains generally unaware about the relative risks of safer nicotine products like vapes.

I wish I could say that I recognized, instantly, the extent to which a new moral panic was developing, but that wouldn’t be true.

This happened when I was still a staff writer at VICE, and right as we had been given a directive by management to establish “nicher” beats: Cover subjects and stories that the more mainstream press wasn’t covering. I wish I could say that I recognized, instantly, the extent to which a new moral panic was developing, but that wouldn’t be true. It took me some time—learning about a pretty unfamiliar field, and talking to consumers and other experts and sources—to realize that we were seeing the early stages of another drug war.

That impression has only strengthened since, as—initially at VICE and then for two years on Filter’s staff—I’ve reported and written close to 200 articles on tobacco harm reduction (THR). In that period, we’ve seen ever-increasing controversy and polarization around THR, and growing coverage—rarely fair—from mainstream media.

Today, I’m departing from Filter—and from journalism, though I will remain involved in THR. So I have to say goodbye, in some respects, and many thanks to the readers who have trusted me and stuck along all these years. I hope my love for the topic has always been clear. Before I started covering THR, I had little sense of an insular, passionate world. Since then, I’ve met many inspiring and brilliant individuals who devote their careers and lives to fighting for people’s right to accurate health information and access to safer options. I’m glad I was able to give a platform to voices and issues that weren’t being heard.

Read full article here.

Alex Norcia – Filter – 2023-02-14.

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