The Huffington Post came in for some serious and well-placed criticism recently, after publishing a video concerning e-cigarettes. You may not think that sounds too controversial, but it was the nature of the video that had many vapers – and others – up in arms.
The video featured Dr Margaret Cuomo, the sister of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. She claimed that e-cigarettes are “at least as harmful to your health as regular tobacco cigarettes.” Note the use of the words “at least”. She was basically saying an e-cigarette could be even worse for your health than if you smoked a cigarette.
Not surprisingly, plenty of people stepped forward to voice their disapproval. Those voices included experts in the industry, including Professor Linda Bauld of the University of Stirling in Scotland. She pointed out that various sources of research had confirmed that harmful substances in e-cigs are present at much lower levels than they are in cigarettes. Additionally, psychiatrist Sally Satel pointed out the statement was simply “ignorant.”
Cuomo stated that e-cigarettes were packed with all kinds of things, including formaldehyde, benzene, propylene glycol, tin, cadmium and nickel. However, if you actually do a little research – even for a few short minutes – you will realise only one of these can be found in e-cigarettes. It makes us wonder where she got her information, and how much research she did prior to making the video.
HuffPo backtracks and makes changes
After attention was drawn to the errors and inconsistencies in the video, the HuffPo team made changes to the video. However, the changes didn’t go far enough. There are still no sources to back up the information provided in the video. Furthermore, one wonders how and why the video made it through to publication in the first place. You have to think it wasn’t checked at all, otherwise these errors would have been seen and dealt with originally.
But it gets better. According to Daily Caller, who got in touch with the team at Huffington Post about the original error-strewn video, the edited video still has Dr Cuomo stating that in terms of harm, e-cigarettes and regular cigarettes are both as bad as one another. There is no evidence to support this, and yet HuffPo have apparently edited the video to reflect corrections that were required. So it looks as though anyone watching the video will assume it to be correct, especially as it is presented by a doctor. That’s quite scary, especially as we know it to be incorrect.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Dr Cuomo has failed to provide any response to the video and the feedback it has generated. We don’t expect that situation to change anytime soon, either.
Spreading false rumours
We all know people can be misled from time to time. But the errors in that video really do surprise us. People will have seen that and possibly thought, “you know, I might as well just keep smoking since e-cigs are just as bad for me.” We cannot know how much potential damage might have been done, but we do know The Huffington Post has a large audience. No doubt some people will have watched the video and perhaps decided not to make the change to e-cigs after all. If you can’t trust the words of a doctor, who can you trust? You would also assume the video would have been checked before it was released to be watched.
Part of a bigger picture
We have also noticed – and written about – other stories regarding negativity towards electronic cigarettes recently. We’ve heard all kinds of myths about the potential dangers associated with vaping, and they are just that – myths. Certainly, you would be better off not vaping than vaping, if you have never smoked at all. But since most vapers have previously smoked, it makes perfect sense that they should be healthier and better-off by switching to vaping instead.
With this in mind, the comments made by Dr Cuomo have proven to be harmful in many ways. We only hope people who have seen the video have either dismissed her comments out of hand, or had the sense to check up on them before taking them as gospel. There has been a wealth of research supporting the fact that e-cigs are healthier than regular cigarettes – the exact opposite of what Dr Cuomo states in her video. It’s a wonder why she didn’t come across any of that research while finding facts to support her comments in her video…
What are your thoughts on the video and the whole saga HuffPo has found itself in the centre of? Do you know anyone who believes vaping is worse than smoking, or who refuses to switch from smoking to vaping because they think it is no better or worse? Let us know your thoughts.
