E318 - PIVOTAL MOMENT | DR. DAVID HAMMOND BURIES CORRECTION ON TEEN SMOKING RATES | REGWATCH (LIVE)

*Guest: Dr. Chris Lalonde Professor of Psychology, University of Victoria - When University of Waterloo professor David Hammond first shared preliminary results of his teen vaping and smoking study with Health Canada and the media in late 2018, he did so with the “hope” that his findings were just a “blip”; a sentiment he expressed at the time, and then again in June 2019 when the study was finally published in the British Medical Journal.

 

While the results of the survey showed a 74% increase in teen vaping (measured as used once in the past 30-days,) from 2017 to 2018, the most explosive finding was in regard to youth smoking.

 

Dr. Hammond’s research purported to find a massive year-over-year increase of 45% in the prevalence of smoking among youth ages 16 to 19 in Canada. The finding fueled national news coverage, hyping the teen vaping “epidemic” and bolstered the claim that vaping is a gateway to smoking.

 

Now one year later, Dr. Hammond and the British Medical Journal have issued a correction to the controversial study and admit that not only was there no increase in teen smoking; the rate fell by 7%.

 

Joining us today on RegWatch is Dr. Chris Lalonde, Professor of Psychology and expert in research methodology at the University of Victoria. Hear his assessment of how researchers, media, and regulators leveraged Hammond’s research to justify new restrictions on vaping products; and learn why he believes this is a “pivotal moment.”

 

Did Dr. Hammond bury the correction to his study?

 

Find out. Only on RegWatch by RegulatorWatch.com.

 

Live Streamed: July 23, 2020

 

Sr. Producer: Cindy Schmidt

Exec. Producer: Brent Stafford

 

This episode is supported by: FLAVOURART

 

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https://youtu.be/XGxy617PaGY