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In an article posted on their website anti-smoking organisation ASH has attacked an electronic cigarette company, E Cigarette Direct, for writing a "nasty" letter to The Peninsula, Qatar.
In E Cigarette Direct's open letter to the Peninsula, Managing Director Jean Rasbridge had argued that the newspaper's allegation that the electronic cigarette contained 40 times more nicotine than ordinary cigarettes was incorrect, pointing out that:
"Even the highest level of nicotine (31.5 micrograms per puff) [found by the FDA commissioned report] is lower than that of regular cigarettes."
Citing the FDA commissioned report on the electronic cigarette, she also challenged the assumption that the electronic cigarette was more dangerous than conventional cigarettes based on a comparison of the ingredients between e- cigarettes and regular cigarettes.
In response, lawyer John Banzhaf III of ASH attacked E Cigarette Direct not on the basis that the facts of the letter were wrong, but because managing director Jean Rasbridge 'apparently' had no medical background.
John Banzhaf III also claimed that all and any independent research commissioned by commercial companies, such as that carried out by Health New Zealand, could not be trusted, stating that it suffered from "a clear conflict of interest".
This is despite the fact that one of the researchers, Murray Laugeson of Health New Zealand, received a medal from the World Health Organization in 1998 for “achievements deemed worthy of international recognition in promoting the concept of tobacco-free societies”.
In a response to Ash published on the E Cigarette Direct website, the company alleged that ASH had not replied directly to any of the points raised by E Cigarette Direct, stating:
"We believe that ASH did not deal with the issues we raised simply because there is no logical response."
Managing Director Jean Rasbridge said:
"We challenge them to re-read our letter, to read our response to ASH, and to actually address the points raised. We believe a dialogue on whether the electronic cigarette is better or worse than real cigarettes will be of more benefit than side-stepping the real issue - is the electronic cigarette safer than conventional cigarettes?"
Jean Rasbridge
Managing Direct
E Cigarette Direct
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