Have you ever noticed that the bad things that we read about vaping online tend to get so much more attention than the good? When some Australian research team posts some bogus report suggesting that e-cigs increase the risks of baby asthma, the story goes viral in a matter of hours. But when someone like Dr. Michael Siegel shows public support for vaping, his comments are often ignored by the mainstream media. The only doctor who seems to get any airtime is Dr. Drew Pinsky of MTV fame.
Now, Dr. Drew would not be what you might call a “world class” physician, but there are several, highly regarded doctors across the globe who publicly support and endorse electronic cigarettes as a safer, healthier, and effective smoking cessation aid. Here are six Top Docs that we would like to applaud.
Dr. Michael Siegel of the Boston University of Public Health
With a career in the fields of public health and tobacco harm reduction that spans over 25-years, Dr. Michael Siegel is one of the most vocal supporters of vaping in the medical community. Prior to becoming a vaping advocate, his primary focus was on smoke-free practices in the workplace and advertising strategies of Big Tobacco. Today, Seigel often blasts public health officials for intentionally misleading the public with bogus studies and theoretical conspiracy theories.
“This is an important effort that could result in saving countless lives. I find it interesting and quite informative that while anti-smoking groups are promoting nicotine replacement therapy via pharmaceutical products – which have dismal efficacy – they are seeking a ban on nicotine replacement therapy via e-cigarettes, which appear to actually be reasonably effective.”
Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos of the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre in Athens, Greece
With a distinguished reputation as a world class cardiologist, Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos is often in the news, even here in America. Almost every time that some phony research study comes out suggesting some outlandish claim about the perceived “dangers of vaping,” Dr. Farsalinos immediately takes to the Twitterverse to poke holes in the research.
If you ever read a news report about am obscure, never-before-heard-of scientist claiming to have new evidence that some outlandish disease is linked to vaping, just click on over to Dr. Farsalinos’ Twitter feed. Chances are he’s already written an article refuting the report while telling you precisely what’s wrong with it.
“I believe most of the people expressing negative opinion about e-cigarettes don’t really have any deep knowledge about the products. If you’re expressing your opinion about e-cigarettes in public you should know what you’re talking about, because the things we say as scientists influence a lot of people.”
Professor Riccardo Polosa, University of Catania Centre for Tobacco Research
Professor Polosa is a published author of multiple research papers relating to tobacco harm reduction, nicotine addiction, and smoking-related respiratory conditions. In 2013, he conducted a global survey of almost 20,000 vapers what many in the scientific community consider both groundbreaking and historic.
He is also noteworthy for his work regarding electronic cigarettes and their effectivity rates on helping smokers to quit. Not only has Dr. Richard Polosa proven that e-cigs are safe and highly effective, his research even suggests that smokers who transition to daily vaping can eventually quit by a rate of 2:1 – even if they had no intention of quitting in the first place!
“The status quo in smoking cessation presents smokers with just two unpleasant alternatives: quit or die. But, there is a third choice for smokers: switching to the e-cig. The use of e-cig allows smokers to introduce nicotine from a much safer source than a lit cigarette and to keep the gestures associated with smoking.”