NZ Misses Opportunity
The Aotearoa Vapers Community Advocacy says New Zealand has missed an open goal by failing to get behind vaping and the Stoptober 2020 campaign
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by Dave Cross
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Stoptober was created by the United Kingdom’s Public Health England in 2012 and has since become a popular initiative in many countries around the world. The campaign encourages smokers to quit for the month of October as science shows that making modifications to habits for 28 days can lead to long-term behavioural changes. Stoptober in the UK is supported by the NHS, Action on Smoking and Health, the British Lung Foundation, the British Heart Foundation and Cancer Research UK.
Co-director of AVCA, Nancy Loucas, says New Zealand does well with its Government-funded Vaping To Quit Smoking campaign, while District Health Boards actively promote vaping as an effective smoking cessation tool via various programmes. However, by dropping Stoptober, many Kiwis’ lives and overall health remain at risk.
“Stoptober gets some real cut-through in the UK, helping many smokers to successfully quit. In New Zealand we hear a lot about ‘Dry July’ every year. However, it’s time the Government once again got in behind Stoptober, with this year presenting a unique opportunity given Covid-19,” she says.
AVCA says Stoptober challenges people to give up smoking for 28 days, making them five times more likely to quit for good, according to research. The organisation states that vaping has proven critical to smokers successfully quitting combustible tobacco, with Public Health England research confirming that vaping’s 95% less harmful than smoking.
“Given the global pandemic, it’s well established that the best thing smokers can do to protect their heath and boost their immune system is to kick their cigarettes. In fact, more now want to as Covid-19 has made people much more cognisant of their personal health and vulnerability to illness.”
Ms Loucas says it’s not as though the Ministry of Health has never got in behind Stoptober. In 2014 it launched its first-ever national stop smoking month with a well-funded publicity campaign which included a dedicated stoptobernz.co.nz website which has sadly been long defunct.
“Over two million British smokers have made a ‘quit attempt’ since Stoptober began eight years ago, and today their overall smoking rate is 13.9% - a record low. New Zealand’s rate might be lower at 12.5%, and we may have kept Covid-19 largely at bay, but let’s not forget 5,000 Kiwis still die every year from smoking-related illnesses.
“2020 would’ve been a perfect year for the Ministry of Health to get in behind Stoptober, but unfortunately they completely missed the boat,” says Nancy Loucas.
AVCA was formed in 2016 by vapers across New Zealand wanting their voices heard in local and central government. All members are former smokers who promote vaping to help smokers quit - a much less harmful alternative to combustible tobacco products. AVCA does not have any affiliation or vested interest in industry - tobacco, pharmaceutical and/or the local vaping manufacturing or retail sectors.
Related:
- Aotearoa Vapers Community Advocacy – [link]
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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