Mitch Zeller will be a featured speaker at the Smoke Free Alternatives Trade Association meeting in May.



While I suppose that he is doing this as part of the FDA's policy of "engaging stakeholders," he and the FDA should reconsider his participation, since SFATA is actively trying to undermine the CDC's Tips for Former Smokers campaign by posting this ad, which looks exacly like the Tips ads, except that it endorses e-cigarettes as a cessation device. (The Setfan in the ad is Stefan Didak, Northern California SFATA.)



These kind of look-alike campaigns (as they are also running against California with this campaign) may seem funny, but, as explained in the film Merchants of Doubt, are used to confuse the public and public policy makers.



If he does speak, he should review how his statements are being used to oppose including e-cigarettes in clean indoor air laws. (I heard him quoted in Sacramento by the opposition to SB140, the bill that would include e-cigarettes in clean indoor air laws in California. Cynthia Hallett told me the same thing happened in New Orleans.