37 / 60
SEVERAL MONTHS AND A PRESIDENTIAL
election later, we find ourselves in uncharted territory—
not the place in which we found ourselves last August
where the regulatory walls were going up and no one
really saw a way out, but new territory where over-
regulation shaped by anti-tobacco groups with agendas
can perhaps be changed.
The future isn’t just about what a Republican Congress
(read: one more concerned about impact of regulations
on businesses) and president can do for vaping. It is
about the broader chance to do something greater
—
the
chance to shift the conversation away from the subject
of vaping and focus on larger harm-reduction issues that
positively affect consumer health, while at the same time
supporting a vibrant market for vaping and other harm-
reducing products.
Those of us immersed in the vapor industry eat, sleep
and breathe vapor (sometimes literally). Our world is
vapor-centric, but it doesn’t have to be that way. There
are those who support overall harm-reduction efforts
that include vapor, but aren’t limited to that one product
category. Overall, the vapor space has been very limited
in its scope, but that is changing.
At the forefront is the Consumer Advocates for
Smoke-Free Alternatives Association (CASAA).
Founded in 2009, CASAA’s core mission is to “raise
awareness and protect consumers’ rights to access
reduced-harm alternatives to smoking.” Julie Woessner,
executive director, explained that CASAA “was created
as an answer to the misinformation being shared by
our government and members of the tobacco control
community, and in response to FDA’s aggressive
attempt to remove vapor products from the market by
categorizing them as unapproved drugs/drug-delivery
devices.”
To date, CASAA has largely been involved in
advocacy efforts focused on vapor products because
threats to consumer access have been greater. However,
it’s important to note that the roots of their mission are
far broader. The organization has always been focused
on tobacco harm reduction and on the recognition that
smoke-free nicotine-containing products are inherently
far less dangerous than smoking. This makes CASAA a
proactive leader in the vapor space.
Vapor products are one of the ever-growing tools in
the tobacco harm-reduction toolbox, but there are more.
When I spoke with Woessner about CASAA’s initial
focus on harm reduction, she told me that CASAA
has always been committed to providing smokers (and
nonsmokers) with honest information about low-risk
alternatives to smoking so that they can make informed
decisions regarding their health and lifestyle choices,
and advocate for themselves.
The vapor space has had a difficult time building
strong bridges with tobacco harm-reduction advocates
or proponents of “quit or die,” likely because they have
had a difficult time seeing past the idea of vaping and its
similarity to cigarette smoking (though it would be hard
to argue today that vaping and cigarette smoking bear
much resemblance to each other). Because the message has
primarily been vapor first and harm reduction second, it
has been relatively easy for detractors of vapor products to
dismiss vapor as a “one-off” engineered by the big tobacco
companies.
Now we have the opportunity to make the vapor
fight about the bigger fight: tobacco harm reduction.
Making this shift will require an acceptance by the vapor
space of other alternative products without judgment,
an acceptance predicated on the true meaning of harm
reduction: that it’s not about just one product.
CASAA’s plans for 2017 include a new advocacy
platform to increase member engagement opportunities
and expansion of advocacy efforts to include new low-
risk products. If the rest of the vapor space expanded
their tent similarly, we could set the stage for a large-
scale comprehensive effort to address outdated and
illogical regulatory and legislative issues.
The deeming regulations that took effect in 2016 need
changing. As of this writing, the predicate date remains
the same and harm-reduction technology is frozen in
time. If we are able to unfreeze the clock on innovation,
we can greatly expand the potential for newer and better
products. By embracing all low-risk alternatives, we
increase our chances of success. By being inclusive, we
stand to gain more allies. By being proactive, we give
ourselves the head start we needed in 2009.
CASAA:
New
Opportunities
Expanding advocacy efforts beyond vaping to other
harm-reducing methods can only help the cause.
The organization
has always
been focused on
tobacco harm
reduction and on
the recognition
that smoke-
free nicotine-
containing
products are
inherently far
less dangerous
than smoking.
Former executive director
of SFATA, Cynthia
Cabrera is an indepen-
dent consultant at The
Cating Group.
VAPOR ADVOCACY
[ CYNTHIA CABRERA ]
[ T O B O N L I N E . C O M ]
TOBACCO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL
[ 37 ]