Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Shepard Smith Lays Into Vaping Lobbyist During Tense Fox News Interview

Shepard Smith Lays Into Vaping Lobbyist During Tense Fox News Interview
Fox News/YouTube

A lobbyist's job is to advocate for their product or industry or interests with the government and the public.

Truth and transparency have often been casualties of that cause.

But Fox News host Shepard Smith was not willing to play along when a lobbyist for the vaping industry was a guest in a breaking news segment.


In an at times heated exchange, Smith asked guest Tony Abboud, executive director of lobbying organization Vapor Tech Association:

"Do you have a problem representing an industry that's addicting kids to nicotine?"

Ouch.

The exchange is reminiscent of congressional hearings with the tobacco industry decades ago regarding cigarette advertising directed at children.

Watch it here.

Shepard Smith destroys vaping lobbyistyoutu.be

The vaping industry marketed themselves as a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes and other forms of tobacco.

But a recent spate of vaping related lung diseases across the country—including six deaths in six different states—has the American Lung Association and the Centers for Disease Control advising people to stop use of e-cigarettes immediately until the cause of the illness is determined.

When Abboud claimed the vaping industry didn't know if their product was harmful, Smith replied:

"It doesn't feel like your industry is being completely safe with us when you say, 'We don't know'."
"We do know! It definitely pumps carcinogens into our bodies. That is undeniable."

Smith then made the comparison between the vaping lobby and the tobacco lobby of the past.

"For decades, there was an industry that hooked generations of people on a substance that kills us. And people didn't know, oh this is going to kill me.
"Like my mom didn't know, I'm going to smoke for 50 years and then I'm going to die with bad COPD, because nobody told her back at the beginning."

One difference between most tobacco products—which are heavily restricted by federal and state laws regarding sales to minors—and vaping products are the flavors.

While some tobaccos are flavored with mint or spice, some vaping product flavors include:

  • candy
  • desserts
  • fruits

And these flavors have people crying foul.

Vaping liquid—which can be inhaled with an e-cigarette or other device—includes as much nicotine or more than a regular cigarette. But the lack of "smoke" and the flavors have vaping use in middle and high school aged children soaring.

Some people online seemed to imply children had only two options: vape or smoke cigarettes.




But not everyone was such a staunch advocate of giving children the choice between tobacco and vaping.






President Donald Trump announced his administration would look at banning vaping products aimed at children. And while many of Smith's critics online pointed out they quit smoking cigarettes due to vaping products, none of their cigarettes were bubblegum or cotton candy flavored.

They should still be able to quit with the less kid-friendly flavors.

The award winning film Thank You For Smoking, available here, delved into the world of lobbying for the tobacco industry before many of the present day restrictions were implemented.

********

Listen to the first four episodes of George Takei's podcast, 'Oh Myyy Pod!' where we explore the racially charged videos that have taken the internet by storm.

Be sure to subscribe here and never miss an episode.

More from Trending

Screenshot of Michael Waltz
Fox News

Trump Official Dragged After Suggesting 'Atlantic' Editor 'Hacked' Into Signal Group Chat

Speaking to Fox News personality Laura Ingraham, national security adviser Michael Waltz suggested that Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg hacked his phone to gain access to a Signal chat with high-level Trump administration officials, particularly Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, discussing military strategy surrounding war strikes in Yemen.

Waltz made this claim even though he had previously acknowledged setting up the Signal group in question, while President Donald Trump suggested that it was one of Waltz’s associates who added Goldberg.

Keep ReadingShow less
Denzel Washington
Ivan Romano/Getty Images

Denzel Washington Sparks Debate After Pushing Back On Being Called A 'Hollywood Actor'

If you ever get a chance to talk to Denzel Washington about his acting craft, be careful how you address him.

Big-time actors Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal are currently starring in a Broadway rendition of Othello, which is the first Shakespeare play to be produced on Broadway in more than 40 years, alongside other big actors and producers traditionally found in Hollywood-based productions.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pedro Pascal
Jimmy Kimmel Live/YouTube

Pedro Pascal Left Red-Faced After Photo Reveals His Bonkers Morning Coffee Order

There are some things that should be between you and the person you worked with to get it: your medical prescriptions, the number of packages you receive from online shopping, and your coffee order.

Actor Pedro Pascal was recently being interviewed on Jimmy Kimmel Live when the host brought up how a paparazzi had accidentally revealed Pascal's coffee order in an image from last year.

Keep ReadingShow less
Gwyneth Paltrow; Meghan Markle
Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images; Samir Hussein/WireImage

Gwyneth Paltrow And Meghan Markle Epically Shut Down Rumors That They're Feuding

The newest Hollywood feud is the one in which actor Gwyneth Paltrow and Meghan Markle are at each other's throats after Paltrow mocked Markle's new Netflix show.

The only problem—it apparently never happened.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Donald Trump
Newsmax

Trump Slammed After Touting Plan To Financially Compensate Pardoned Jan. 6 Rioters

President Donald Trump is facing criticism after suggesting the creation of a "compensation fund" for individuals who were pardoned after participating in the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

In one of his first official actions upon returning to office, Trump granted sweeping clemency to nearly 1,600 people charged in connection with the riot. He issued pardons to most defendants and commuted the sentences of 14 members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers militia, many of whom had been convicted of seditious conspiracy.

Keep ReadingShow less