Fox News anchor Shep Smith got into a heated back-and-forth with an e-cigarette lobbyist that appeared on his Wednesday afternoon show.
The interview took place hours after the Trump administration announced a ban on e-cigarette flavors, purposed to address widespread concern about a mysterious lung illness that might be linked to vaping devices.
Shep Smith almost immediately interrupted Tony Abboud, the executive director of the Vapor Technology Association, for claiming that e-cigarettes are healthier than the real ones.
“No, it isn’t. Actually that’s not true, because I have a Google machine and access to the research … there are no long-term studies to back up claims that the vapor from e-cigarette is less harmful than conventional smoke,” Smith challenged. “So why do you push that line?”
“Here’s what the American Lung Association says, ‘E-cigarettes are not safe and can cause irreversible lung damage and lung disease.’ That’s what they say,” he continued, to which Abboud responded by referencing other organizations who don’t believe there’s a connection.
The host later asked Abboud if e-cigarettes could cause cancer, which Abboud denied. Smith continued to push him and claimed that there was a connection between the drug and the disease.
“You’re trying to draw correlations — and the point is that even the FDA has looked at the significant harm reduction potential that e-cigarette’s have,” the pro-vape advocate lobbyist at one point.
The conversation then took another turn when Smith asked Abboud about advertising to children.
