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ASH
Bias
ASH
is funded
heavily
by Big
Pharma,
specifically,
by
Pfizer,
the
maker of
Chantrix.
Pfizer
donated
$100,000
to ASH
in Q2
2009 as
seen
below:
As
e-cigarette
sales
and popularity
increase,
they
represent
a huge
threat
to the
profits
of
pharmaceutical
companies,
and in
turn,
they
represent
a threat
to the
future
funding
of ASH.
This
conflict
of
interest
is
significant,
but ASH
has
failed
to
disclose
its
financial
relationship
with
Pfizer
in any
of its
statements
about
the
dangers
of
electronic
cigarettes.
Each of
the
other
anti-smoking
groups
which
have
warned
the
public
about
the
dangers
of
e-cigarettes
is also
heavily
funded
by Big
Pharma.
Is this
merely a
coincidence?
The rest
of the
story is
that ASH
has
completely
lost
sight of
any
semblance
of
science,
and its
propaganda
has
deteriorated
to the
level of
pure
hysteria.
This
undermines
the
anti-smoking
movement's
ability
to
convince
people
of the
very
real
threats
of real
secondhand
smoke
and it
gives
the
public
reason
to doubt
that
anything
the
movement
says
about
tobacco
smoke is
accurate.
It is
not only
unethical
because
it is
dishonest,
but it
is
destroying
the
scientific
integrity
of the
anti-smoking
movement.
The
American
Legacy
Foundation-Bias
Every
national
anti-smoking
group
which
has
called
for a
ban on
e-cigarettes
is now
being
funded
by Big
Pharma
and
again,
specifically
Pfizer
Corporation.
The
American
Legacy
Foundation
received
$260,500
from
Pfizer
Q1 2009
as seen
below:
Now
it is
not
surprising
or at
all
wrong
for
Pfizer
to
support
Legacy
and
Legacy's
web site
states
that the
Foundation
receives
support
from
Pfizer.
But as
Pfizer
is the
manufacturer
of the
smoking
cessation
drugs
Chantrix
and
Nicotrol
NS which
are
still
approved
by the
FDA and
the
e-cig is
already
invading
its
market
share.
Is
Legacy
basing
its
warnings
about
e-cigs
on
science
or an
appeasement
to one
of its
largest
and most
influential
donors?
In
addition,
Pfizer
has
provided
sponsorship
support
to help
Legacy
conduct
a survey
of
physician
support
for
smoking
cessation.
Not
surprisingly,
that
study
concluded
that
physicians
must be
urged to
recommend
more
smoking
cessation
drugs
for
their
patients.
Also not
surprisingly,
the stop
smoking
program
that
Legacy
runs
insists
upon
pharmaceutical
use by
every
individual
trying
to quit
- no
place
for cold
turkey
quitting
according
to the
Pfizer-sponsored
American
Legacy
Foundation.
Particularly
troubling
is the
fact
that the
American
Legacy
Foundation
fails to
disclose
its
financial
conflict
of
interest
with Big
Pharma
in its
policy
statement
on
e-cigs
(or in
its quit
guide on
the
Become
an Ex
web
site).
If you
are
going to
issue a
policy
on
e-cigs
by
lobbying
the FDA
to ban
these
devices,
we think
you have
an
obligation
to
disclose
any
financial
conflicts
of
interest
that
might be
perceived
as
having a
potential
influence
on your
policy
position.
Certainly,
financial
support
from a
company
that
stands
to lose
millions
from the
sale of
e-cigs
constitutes
a
relevant
conflict
of
interest
that
should
be
disclosed.
The
anti-smoking
groups
are
showing
their
true
colors
here. It
is
apparently
not the
health
effects
of
cigarettes
that are
the real
problem;
it is
the
cigarette
itself.
Take
away the
overwhelming
majority
of the
toxic
and
carcinogenic
chemicals
from the
cigarette
and what
do you
have? In
our
view, a
much
more
logical
alternative
to
cigarettes.
In the
anti-smoking
groups'
view,
the
e-cig is
still a
cigarette.
And that
is
unacceptable.
|
Information about the e-cig
has become distorted by groups that are established to help the public lead healthier lives. inLife's E-Cig Consultants are trained to provide you with the information you need to
make an informed decision about your use of electronic cigarette technology. Over
800,000 Americans are using the e-cig daily and, as far as we know, there has not been a single reported incident of harm. On the contrary, there are thousands of stories of people who have positively changed their lives as a result
of having access to this logical option.
