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Our Stupid Article of the Day comes to us from The Week Magazine’s Carmel Lobello. Usually we reserve the award for writers who get facts horribly wrong, present false or misleading information, or just have really bad grammar. Lobello actually does none of these to any great extent. In this case, the journalist wins the award for dragging out practically every e-cigarette article cliche ever conceived.
First, there’s the attempt at comedy. At least we hope it was an attempt at comedy:
“And possibly the best part? They don’t smell bad.”
We’re talking about a technology that could literally save millions of lives, and the smell is the best part? Priorities. Get Some.
Next, it’s the old “flavors … such as piña colada and vanilla” could entice children to buy e-cigarettes. And yet, strangely, I’ve never seen a child drink a piña colada. Even more strangely, it’s a flavor obviously intended to appeal to adults: adults who drink alcohol, a substance most likely far more dangerous than anything in an e-cigarette. Why is it that we never hear the uproar over piña coladas leading to binge drinking in toddlers? I’ll tell you why: because it’s a non-issue when it comes to anything not related to cigarettes. For some reason, when it comes to smoking (and, by extension, vaping), everyone act like it’s a problem if it tastes good, as if people start smoking for that yummy flavor of burnt leaves. Meanwhile, they’re putting every flavor in the universe into vodka, and nobody cares. They don’t care because it’s not an actual problem. Unfortunately, anti-tobacco zealots just love the argument, no matter how ridiculous it is, and hang onto it like a baby with its favorite blanket. They’re strange that way.
Lobello even manages to work in an explosion, referring to the early 2012 incident where a man blew out his teeth and a chunk of his tongue while using an e-cigarette he had most likely either modified himself, or in which he was using dangerous batteries. She doesn’t mention that part, though… just the explosion, probably because a man being stupid isn’t nearly as salacious as an e-cigarette trying to kill someone.
Then, as the cherry on top of her sensationalism sundae, she closes with a video of Courtney Love’s NJOY F-bomb.
There’s very little we here at Vape Squad love more than a good, spirited, two-sided debate over e-cigarettes. However, when the debate turns into a headfirst dive into the muck for every last bit of overused dirt someone can scrape off the bottom, well, that’s what the Stupid Article of the Day award is here for. Congratulations, Carmel!
E-cigarettes: Could they change the tobacco industry forever? – The Week
Illustration courtesy of OtherWords
SAotD: Could E-Cigs Change the Tobacco Industry Forever?
