Before we get into analyzing the lunacy behind the anti-smoking and anti-vaping campaigns, we just want to emphasize that BLVK Unicorn, among most e-cigarette companies, FIRMLY BELIEVE in RESPONSIBLE regulation of products. We believe that all tobacco products, combustible or otherwise, should remain EXCLUSIVELY for current adult smokers, and nobody else.
Our mission however, remains a constant uphill battle as the American attitude towards smoking, and oddly enough, vaping, continues to deteriorate thanks to tobacco control groups such as the FDA, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, and the Truth Initiative among others leading the onslaught. A well-known fact for these groups are the ludicrous methods that are used to portray the "evil" behind smoking. Their equivalent of "promoting public health" is through fear-mongering-induced propaganda. Sadly enough, the typical American eats this all up and further advances the mass paranoia.
This article will look at the most recent campaign, titled The Real Cost and offer some insight as to how this is currently playing out. We'll also look at some history and how we think the lessons of the past will ultimately spell out for disaster in the future.
Youth Prevention is Our Number One Priority
Yesterday, the FDA launched the latest segment of its Youth Prevention Plan titled the The Real Cost. The campaign costs $60 million dollars worth of our taxes essentially to show us false information. "Teens who use e-cigs may be exposed to nicotine, the highly addictive drug that can change the brain and lead to addiction; chemical known to cause cancer, such as formaldehyde and acetaldehyde; toxic metals, like chromium, nickel and lead," says the FDA Center for Tobacco Products.
Let's break this down - there are SEVERAL, literally, several studies that have been done since vaping became a national phenomenon a few years ago - most of which were done responsibly and have concluded that the aforementioned points have been born out of lunacy (if you haven't noticed already, I love the word lunacy).
- YES, there are constituents such as formaldehyde and acetaldehyde in vapor products; but NO, people do not get sick from these constituents because to consume such dangerous amounts requires one to initially feel intense discomfort. Typical humans do not subject themselves to pain, period.
- YES, nicotine is a highly addictive chemical and YES, it does cause changes to the brain for adolescents; but NO, it is not some sort of gateway drug into truly destroying your life with harmful chemicals.
The sad thing about these facts is that the FDA is already FULLY AWARE of the actual ramifications of vaping. Yet to prove a point, let's just publish this ludicrous ad and continually promote incorrect data to "scare" people into submission. Yes, because we live in the 1950s at the height of the Red Storm and the only way to keep the American way of life is through propaganda and witch-hunting. Good one guys, good one.
The War on Smoking vs. The War on Drugs
This is the latest ad published as part of the Real Cost Campaign. It features some Spiderman-esque virus veins coursing through unsuspecting teenagers' bodies and brains; infesting these individuals with a picture-perfect image just in time for Halloween.
What this video ultimately reflects is the image that adults have on their children. They take these teens for a bunch of idiots if you ask me. Teenagers are more likely than adults to reject this style of public service announcements because the results are in-your-face. It's not like teenagers don't read articles online; and it's not like they blindly try things without researching them beforehand. Truthfully, if I was young again, and I saw this ad, I would be rolling on the floor laughing and showing this to my friends that blatantly talk **** about everything wrong with this video. I did that when I was younger during those Truth commercials about smoking cannabis back in the 90s after all.
The fear mongering is strong with control groups nationwide and it reminds me of a very real failure that happened to us about 20-30 years ago with the Opioid Crisis during the the late 20th century.
I could showcase an actual commercial, but Adult Swim really showcased how far drug control groups were willing to go to scare people into submission.
Does this look familiar to you yet?
Originally mandated back in 1971 by President Nixon, and highly popularized by the likes of Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, drugs became public enemy No. 1. With the United States spearheading the operation, the goal was to cut off the supply of drugs by regulating the manufacturing process and disrupting the distribution of these substances by incarcerating dealers. What that ultimately amounted to was the Drug Cartel problem we still face today. Drugs became easier than ever to obtain, and for those that did obtain them, potency levels were higher than they have ever been in the past. Violence skyrocketed; crime skyrocketed; and incarceration rates, particularly non-violent ones, skyrocketed as a result.
Thanks to ads spreading around that showed "real-life" analogies of the human anatomy while under the influence, this caused widespread panic among average Americans. This set the stage for the zero tolerance policies and thus the D.A.R.E. program was born. We all remember the D.A.R.E. program and ultimately how useless it became. As teenagers, THE THING TO DO was to try smoking some weed or more than that. Not only did the D.A.R.E. program introduce all these substances to unsuspecting teenagers, but it made them want to try it even more so!
On a civil liberties standpoint, increased incarceration during The War on Drugs put immense strain on human rights. As a result, incarceration rates based on racial profiling increased - which is also a massive problem today. And here we are experiencing the same **** again.
Your Friends Over at the FDA Have Your Best Interests In Mind
We're not even going to get into other historic prohibitions of other public health threats the U.S. government launched in the past. The current state of the vaping industry looks strikingly similar to that of The War on Drugs. Using one of the most powerful emotions known to man, FEAR, substance control groups are literally walking right over the freedom of choice. Newsflash people, the freedom of choice is covered under the First Amendment of the Constitution.
Should the FDA and other Tobacco Control groups have their way and ultimately rid the country of vaping products, all for the sake of preventing a generation of youth from picking up a habit that has honestly been happening for over 100 years, watch the country get progressively worse. Luckily, we all live in a society where the freedom of information is still prevalent and lawsuits can happen over literally anything these days. One can only hope that the fight is still on. We know we're game for it.
References
- A Brief History of the Drug War - http://www.drugpolicy.org/issues/brief-history-drug-war
- The First Amendment - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution
- Why The War on Drugs Is A Huge Failure - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJUXLqNHCaI
- The Real Cost Campaign - https://www.fda.gov/tobaccoproducts/publichealtheducation/publiceducationcampaigns/therealcostcampaign/default.htm?utm_source=CTPPartnerTwitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ctp-realcost
- What's In a Vape - https://whatsinavape.com
- Anti-Smoking Groups in the U.S. - https://vapingdaily.com/blog/anti-smoking-groups-full-guide
- Tobacco-Free Kids - https://www.tobaccofreekids.org/press-releases/2018_09_18_fda
- National Institute on Drug Abuse for Teens - https://teens.drugabuse.gov/drug-facts/tobacco-nicotine-e-cigarettes
- Failure of D.A.R.E - https://priceonomics.com/dare-the-anti-drug-program-that-never-actually
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