Apparently the CDC learned about vaping just last week

September 25, 2019

and is having quite a hard time of making a go of it. From their website which was updated just last Thursday, the 19th, they think vaping can be described as such, taken from their "key facts about e-cigarette use, or vaping"

• Electronic cigarettes – or e-cigarettes — are also called vapes, e-hookahs, vape pens, and electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS).
• Using an e-cigarette product is commonly called vaping.
• E-cigarettes work by heating a liquid to produce an aerosol that users inhale into their lungs.
• The liquid can contain: nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabinoid (CBD) oils, and other substances and additives.

Yes, seriously, that's the entirety of what they are publicly admitting they are aware of when it comes to eLiquids, vaping technology, and illegal drugs that fall into that crazy new to the CDC categorization of technology now known to them as vaping. What's curious about this latest release of information is that they break everything down into these nice little polarizing lists so that presumably it's easier to read, when in fact it's designed to make you more alarmed and misinformed than where you were at before even reading the thing. 

For example, let's look at the "what we know" and the "what we don't know" sections. They have some nice demographic data about these reported cases in the "what we know" section, then slip in at the bottom these two key points:

• All reported cases have a history of e-cigarette product use or vaping.
• Most patients have reported a history of using e-cigarette products containing THC.  Many patients have reported using THC and nicotine. Some have reported the use of e-cigarette products containing only nicotine.

Then the slip up, in the following section of "what we don't know" they seemingly backtrack the entirety of what they do know, stating; "We do not yet know the specific cause of these lung injuries. The investigation has not identified any specific e-cigarette or vaping product (devices, liquids, refill pods, and/or cartridges) or substance that is linked to all cases."

What in the heck are they doing then by saying that they know ALL reported cases have a history of e-cigarette use? I'm pretty sure all of those people have also a history of drinking water from bottle, eating food they didn't make, and breathing air from a shared source of other people. Why suddenly now bother targeting these generalizations if they aren't willing to admit there is a clear distinction between the years and years of products that have been available and caused absolutely zero lung issues and the more recent wave of illegally available THC containing drug cartridges? 

It's almost as if they want you to know exactly no differences or distinctions, because they can maneuver public opinion on the matter more easily if there's a body count involved. Weirdly enough on this point, the reduction of a different body count, analog cigarette smokers, seemingly matters little because either they simply no longer care about that number or there's no new technology involved and the luddites at the CDC can't be bothered to do research on.

The only saving grace for them on this point is later in that same announcement they specifically state: "If you are an adult who used e-cigarettes containing nicotine to quit cigarette smoking, do not return to smoking cigarettes."  Which is hardly an endorsement for vaping, but at least they aren't blatantly telling everyone to just give up the vape and pick up the smoke, like the governors of the states that have now banned vaping are basically doing with their lies of omission. 

Slightly after this whole thing was released, there was a telebriefing with a very short Q&A from some minority of hand picked reporters where believe it or not Fox news Evan Brown asked the most pertinent question, which of course was ungracefully danced around by Mitch Zeller, who is director of the FDA center for tobacco products.

Evan: "Is there a belief or what belief do you have that these products may be tampered with in any way?  Vaping has been around for quite a while.  But it just seems like more recently people are getting sick.  Is that — with the involvement of the office of criminal investigations at FDA, is there a belief that something has just gone wrong, or is that no one has really ever looked into this before?"

Mitch: "There is no consistent pattern when it comes to what product is being used, practice products, plural, are being used, how they are being used, where they might have been purchased, and/or what might have happened to the products along the way from the time that they were put into the hands of the end user to the moment of aerosolization and inhalation. There are multiple ways in which multiple different products have been used. But it’s why part of the advice that you’re hearing from the agencies is be very careful about buying products like this, especially the THC-laced products, off the street. A number of these cases involve THC. And in a jurisdiction where the only way that someone can get their hands on a product like that is literally buying it in an alley or on the street, we’re telling you to be very, very careful about doing that because we are all alarmed by the reports involving THC-containing products even if we don’t have THC present in each and every one of the cases that have presented themselves in the dozens of states that have reported illnesses." Rambling on for a while he finishes, ironically: "Because it’s important for you all to be able to accurately communicate to the public what’s known and just as importantly, what remains unknown and uncertain."

There you have it right from the transcript out of their own doublespeaking mouths, it's pretty clear to the guys running the media circus what's going on with all of these health issues, but because they don't want to step on the toes that line their pocketbooks or out of fear of some more basic cover their own butts policy, they have to throw all of vaping under the bus.

What do you think? Will it get better before it gets worse, or are we still on the downfall of this whole messed up scenario? Will our government agencies stop taking big pharma, big tobacco, or other big purse big pocket money?

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