E-Cig Are ‘Roadblock’ To Smoking For Young People Says New Report

June 19, 2016 By Guy Bentley Leave a Comment

e-cigaretteE-cigarettes are acting as a roadblock to smoking for young people, according to a study from the Centre for Substance Use Research (CSUR).

Presented at the Global Forum on Nicotine, the study shows e-cigarettes are playing an important role in slashing the chances of young people starting smoking.

Using qualitative interviews with people aged 16 to 25 in England and Scotland, most of those surveyed said e-cigarettes reduced the possibility of them and other people smoking.

“There was very little indication amongst the young people interviewed that e-cigarettes were resulting in an increased likelihood of young people smoking,” said Dr. Neil McKeganey who led the research.

“In fact, the majority we interviewed, including those who were vaping, perceived smoking in very negative terms and saw vaping as being entirely different to smoking.” (RELATED: Doctors Slam Study Linking E-Cigarettes To Teen Smoking)

“I think vaping is having an effect on smoking cigarettes in that it’s taking away from it. People are moving off cigarettes and moving onto vaping,” said one participant in the study.

Many participants in the study said, “vaping will make smoking decline.” Conflicting media coverage over the safety of e-cigarettes has left many confused about how dangerous they really are.

“While it is encouraging to see that young people appear to be quite clear about the role of e-cigarettes in society (devices used by smokers who are trying to – or already have – quit tobacco),” said McKeganey.

“It’s more concerning, particularly for the young people who currently smoke, that inaccurate perceptions of e-cigarettes could result in the persistent use of combustible tobacco irrespective of the fact that Public Health England has concluded vaping is 95 percent less harmful than conventional cigarettes,” McKeganey continued.

The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) concluded e-cigarettes are a valuable tool to quit smoking and criticised several myths surrounding vaping in a groundbreaking 200-page report released. (Game Changer: World Leading Medical Group Backs E-Cigarettes)

Follow Guy on Twitter

Send tips to guy@dailycallernewsfoundation.org

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: , ,

Why Food Stamps Usage Is Up Despite Poverty Being Down

August 6, 2015 By Connor Wolf 4 Comments

SNAPFood stamp use has increased nearly 300 percent nationwide since 2014, despite a drop in the poverty rate, according to a report released Wednesday by The Foundation for Government Accountability.

“Even though poverty rates are declining, the number of people receiving food stamps continues to climb,” the report detailed. “Food stamp spending is growing ten times as fast as federal revenues.”

According to their report – ”Restoring Work Requirements Will Help Solve the Food Stamp Crisis” — the problem results from less restrictive eligibility requirements.

The United States Department of Agriculture is the main agency in charge of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. According to its own findings, SNAP has increased from 17 million participants in 2000 to nearly 47 million in 2014. Concurrently, work requirements were waived in many states.

“Federal law generally limits food stamp eligibility for non-disabled childless adults to just three months out of any three-year period unless they meet specified work requirements,” the report also noted. “These work requirements have become irrelevant in recent years, however, as states have been given waivers to exempt able-bodied adults from federal work requirements.”

The Obama administration had granted working requirement waivers to 40 states and partial waivers to another six states. As a result more states are providing food stamp benefits to more adults who don’t work despite not having physical disabilities preventing them from doing so.

“By 2013, a record-high 4.9 million able-bodied, childless adults were receiving food stamps,” the report continued. “Federal spending on food stamps for able-bodied adults skyrocketed to more than $10 billion in 2013, up from just $462 million in 2000.”

The size of the program alone has prompted concern among among many lawmakers. Some on the state and federal level have tried reforming the program by getting work requirements back or adding additional eligibility requirements. In July, the administration for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker sued the USDA after the agency informed the state it could not drug-test those on food stamps. Walker is currently running for the Republican nomination for president.

“The way forward for states could not be more simple or clear,” the report concluded. “Governors should decline to renew the federal waivers that have eliminated work requirements for able-bodied childless adults on food stamps.”

Follow Connor on Twitter

Originally published by the Daily Caller News Foundation

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: , , , , , ,

President Carly Fiorina Would Refuse To Enforce Federal Law Against States That Legalize Pot

May 9, 2015 By Jonah Bennett 1 Comment

Carly FiorinaRepublican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina Thursday said she would allow states to pursue marijuana legalization without federal government interference.

“I believe in states’ rights,” Fiorina told The Des Moines Register, when asked whether she’d crack down on legal marijuana in Alaska, Oregon, Colorado and Washington. “They’re within their rights to legalize marijuana, and they’re conducting an experiment I hope the rest of the nation is looking closely at.”

However, Fiorina made sure to drive a hard distinction between advocating for states’ rights and endorsing marijuana specifically. In fact, Fiorina personally opposes legalization, and when sick with cancer, refused to accept medical marijuana as treatment. (RELATED: GOP Presidential Candidate Carly Fiorina Has A Complicated Relationship With Marijuana)

According to Fiorina, her doctor was glad she turned down marijuana because it’s a complex compound not fully understood. Nevertheless, while Fiorina does not support legalization, she does support decriminalization, not just of marijuana, but of drug use in general.

She opposed Proposition 19, a measure to legalize pot in California, precisely because it would generate additional tax revenue for Sacramento. For Fiorina, cities like Sacramento and Washington, D.C. already have a spending problem and so should not encouraged with more funds.

marijuanaShe still remains skeptical of the medicinal value of marijuana and thinks people are getting the wrong ideas about the drug. For Fiorina, marijuana is emphatically not like beer, contrary to Obama’s assertion that cannabis is less harmful than alcohol “in terms of its impact on the individual consumer.”

“It’s quickly becoming a consensus position in both parties that states should be able to set their own marijuana laws without federal interference and harassment,” Tom Angell, chairman of the Marijuana Majority, told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “While it’d be great to have a president who personally supports legalization or acknowledges marijuana’s medical benefits, what’s most important is whether a candidate plans to spend federal resources overturning duly enacted state laws when they get into the Oval Office.”

Originally published by the Daily Caller News Foundation

Follow Jonah Bennett on Twitter

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: , ,