The negative image of e-cigarettes persists in the USA
A recent study carried about by the US polling agency Rasmussen Reports shows that the e-cigarette continues to be seen in a negative light in the USA. The study surveyed over 1,000 American citizens and demonstrated that only 20% of Americans believe that the e-cigarette is less harmful than tobacco. 50% of those surveyed believe that vaping is just as harmful as smoking, and 13% believe it’s worse! The remaining 17% hold no opinion on the subject. According to the website ChurnMag: “The widespread ignorance surrounding vaping, especially in the United States, is based on what type of news media people consume.”
In fact, a large number of American media companies have no problem feeding the public systematically negative news about vaping, a problem that has already been going on for a few years.
US media companies mostly publish negative news about vaping
Articles concerned with vaping have a tendency to be about exploding batteries. They also are quick to bring to light small and questionable studies that suggest e-cigarettes are dangerous.
On the other hand, many American news agencies seem to defer to the crickets when it comes to citing articles about the fact that e-cigarettes are 95% less harmful than tobacco.
For example, a recent study went completely under the radar, even though it found that compared to smoking tobacco, vaping reduces the risk of developing cancer by 57,000 times. (The study surveyed 100,000 people in October 2024).
In a time when governments are starting to recognize the importance of fake news, it may be worth confronting this issue. Indeed, confronting media companies that make people believe vaping is more dangerous than smoking would save many human lives.
