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« Hancock's half hour of fame | Main | Sunday run »
Monday
Jul082019

Trouble in paradise?

Does anyone remember A Billion Lives? It was a film about smoking and vaping.

E-cigarettes, it seemed to suggest, have the potential to save a billion lives if only those pesky and corrupt politicians stopped obstructing their adoption by smokers worldwide.

I wrote about the film several times and reviewed it here - Thoughts on A Billion Lives (October 2016).

I was critical of several things - not least the title which was based on a contentious WHO estimate of the number of lives that may be shortened by smoking in the 21st century.

I admired the energy and the commitment director Aaron Biebert brought to the project but the film itself was rather dull and was undermined by what appeared to be an absurd conspiracy theory.

Inevitably I was criticised by vapers who took umbrage at what they perceived to be criticism of a project in which they had invested so much hope.

(Some vapers agreed with me but only in private, which is usually the way. God forbid they should ever support me in public!)

Anyway, fast forward to 2019 and director Aaron Biebert is currently filming a new documentary with the catchy title, You Don’t Know Nicotine.

Intriguingly, some vapers (and vaping advocates) are so appalled by the initial trailer (or teaser), released last week, that they’ve taken to social media (where else?) to make their views known.

Watch the trailer below and draw your own conclusions.

Bear in mind this is only the first trailer so the actual movie may adopt a different tone, but given the stick I got from vapers when I criticised A Billion Lives (after seeing the trailers for that film) it’s hard to be too sympathetic.

More important, I wonder what the organisers of the Global Forum on Nicotine think of it. After all, A Billion Lives had its European premiere at GFN in 2016 and director Aaron Biebert won the event’s Dorn Award.

In 2018 Biebert was appointed chairman of the GFN Film Festival and this year he chaired the film jury and presented the winner with her award.

Meanwhile here are some tweets that were 'liked' or retweeted by the You Don’t Know Nicotine account in the past week:

Returning to the film, I can't be alone in noticing a difference in the way You Don't Know Nicotine was launched and the trailer.

According to the movie's Kickstarter page:

With all the media hype surrounding nicotine, it's time to end the harmful misinformation and educate the public on what nicotine is, isn't, and what should be done with it.

We will answer three big questions during this 75-minute eye-opening journey:

How does nicotine actually affect developing brains?

Are there any benefits to adults who use nicotine without smoking?

Who's covering up the truth about nicotine, and why?

Contrast that with the one-line description of the film that accompanies the 'official documentary teaser':

An unbelievable documentary about nicotine and the teen vaping epidemic. Coming to theaters spring 2020.

Personally I'm looking forward to seeing the film (the production values look great!) but that’s just me. If nothing else it will be interesting to see who attends the world and European premieres and who hosts them.

I hope the film is more balanced than the trailer, though. If it isn't vapers and vaping advocates who previously eulogised him may be entitled to ask, 'With friends like Biebert who needs enemies?'!

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Reader Comments (2)

Nicotine - the stuff, according to Deborah Arnott, that kills in tobacco but is not the same stuff pushed on kids in school in gum and patches. Yes, she did say this when I challenged her during a live debate and asked if nicotine is so harmful, why is public health dishing it out to kids as young as 12.

I wonder what line she takes on nicotine in vaping? I guess as she knows ecigs are now a weapon that can help her beat smokers more, the nicotine they contain will be entirely safe until the day an ASH funded new study shows it's not - and the bullying template that vile organisation designed against some of the poorest and most vulnerable in our society moves to target vapers.

I bet that once smokerphobic beibert's new film comes out it will probably carry the same kind of junk as his billion lies film and take Arnott's line that ncotine is safe in anything but deadly in tobacco.

The hypocrisy shown by the likes of Arnott and Beibert is one of the most revolting aspects surrounding this issue.

Monday, July 8, 2019 at 15:37 | Unregistered CommenterPat Nurse

"Think of the chiiiiildren” under-18's must stick to regular cigarettes. No doubt this is the usual wining of the quit smoking brigade. “Switch or die” but do not start a harmless habit “heroine we can deal with, but we do not want them kids hooked on nicoteeeen”

So here’s the dilemma how to spread the news to smokers vaping is rather harmless and at the same time frighten the living daylights out of kids not to try it. This monster split must be hurting Aaron Biebert's crotch.

The billion-dollar question is how can to aim for a nicotine (and vape) free world by 2050 without losing the support (they so desperately need) of vapers to help them build a smoke free world by 2030?

You simply can’t.

Thursday, July 25, 2019 at 12:04 | Unregistered CommenterLuc Van Daele

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