Thursday 17 October 2019

There ain't no flies on us: BAT-Imperial Tobacco reassures vapers that their products aren't to blame

Are you old enough to remember the Frank statement?  Probably not.

It  was the iconic moment in the 1950s, when tobacco companies begain to speak directly to the public about the growing evidence that smoking caused lung cancer.

This In the subsequent decades it has been denounced by U.S. courts and historians as a PR exercise aimed at reassuring smokers instead of warning them. Canadian companies took a similar strategy of offering reassurance, although their tactics did not involve widely published commitments. These strategies were similarly denounced by courts.

Earlier this week we learned that Canadian Tobacco Companies have engaged PR firms to try to forestall regulations on their products.

In that context, it is interesting to consider more closely the message that BAT/Imperial Tobacco is sending to its customers .

There are echoes of the Frank statement in this communication -- an expression of concern and a pledge to research candy wrapped around a core message of denial (nothing proven!) and deflection of responsibility (THC!).

Move on, customers, nothing to see here!

ICYMI the text  from govype.ca is printed below. 

To Our Customers
Given the recent cases of acute respiratory illness from vaping reported in the US recently, we fully support any measures that will ensure the safety of those consumers who use vaping liquids and devices. As the distributor of Vype vaping products across Canada, Imperial Tobacco Canada takes consumer safety responsibilities very seriously.

Although investigators in the USA have not yet finally determined the cause of all of the recently reported cases, the US Food and Drug Administration is warning that there appears to be a particular danger for people who have bought vaping products on the street (i.e. not sourced from a reputable manufacturer), and for those who vape liquids with oils containing THC or containing an additive called “Vitamin E Acetate”.

Our parent company, British American Tobacco (BAT), has invested billions of dollars in the research and development of their potentially reduced risk products and the ingredients and components used in these products have been scrutinised by the BAT team of 50 toxicologists for their suitability for vaping.

To the best of our knowledge, no Vype products have been identified in any of the US reports to date. We can confirm that oils containing THC and Vitamin E Acetate are not, and have never been, added to our Vype products.

As for the one possible case in Canada, few details have been shared and authorities have not contacted us about it, which suggests it does not involve our product.

UPDATED OCTOBER 11th  
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns public to stop using Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-containing vaping products and any vaping products obtained off the street.

The FDA has issued a recent important consumer guidance on recent vaping illnesses dated 4th October 2019 entitled, “FDA warns public to stop using Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-containing vaping products and any vaping products obtained off the street."

Please see the full text of that consumer guidance by clicking the link here.