AVM Responds to Bloomberg Cash Infusion for Nicotine Prohibition
Bloomberg Fuels Corruption and Drives Countless People Back to Smoking.
Despite his pretensions and self-aggrandizement, the tragic reality is that Michael Bloomberg is bankrolling a prohibition campaign that aims to stigmatize and outlaw the single most effective smoking cessation method ever devised, nicotine vaping.
As AVM has extensively documented, that money is used to coerce public officials, pay strong-arm lobbyists, and even install personnel in public institutions. It funds front groups that have no genuine following but peddle demonstrable misinformation to the public. The money is even used to bribe journalists through dark money grants to rig the news coverage of this crucial public health issue. It is thoroughly corrupt and happening at a scale that shocks the conscience.
Dozens of the world’s leading scientists in tobacco and public health have written recently to Bloomberg, urging him to change course on his misguided campaign, calling it “profoundly unethical.” Even the prestigious magazine Chronicle of Philanthropy denounced Bloomberg’s malign campaign, reporting that it is inexorably causing more people to smoke cigarettes or refrain from quitting.
This underhanded and deeply irresponsible campaign confirms the worst assumptions about the erosion of trust in public health — an unaccountable, unelected billionaire spraying hundreds of millions to unethically wrench public policy to suit his own maniacal obsessions. He is building a legacy of disgrace and Americans ought to be outraged.
About the American Vapor Manufacturers Association
The American Vapor Manufacturers Association (AVM) represents independent vapor manufacturers across the United States. It works to preserve the thriving vapor industry by providing support, representation, and engagement in the federal regulatory process. The AVM serves its members with integrity, diligence, and resourcefulness. Keep up to date with AVM by following us on Facebook and Twitter.