Fact Sheet of Lies
Cancer Council Australia transpires to be pro-cancer and Australia’s Heart Foundation has no heart, if their fact sheet for MPs is anything to go by
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by Dave Cross
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“Electronic Cigarettes: Fact Check” by Australia’s Cancer Council and Heart Foundation went out to MPs last week. ATHRA commented: “The document contains significant factual errors and omits important evidence. It cannot be regarded by policy makers or the media as reliable”.
The four-page leaflet lists out ten things about vaping the Council and Foundation call “myths”.
They attack vaping as the best method for quitting smoking, the fact that vaping is at least 95% safer than smoking, and that it is mainly long-term smokers who have switched to vaping. They deny that traditional methods of tobacco control have resulted in smoking cessation flat-lining in the country. They claim experts all oppose vaping and that Australia’s approach isn’t out of step with Canada, New Zealand, Europe and the United Kingdom. Finally, they say the proposed medicalisation of nicotine will not result in job losses and vape shop closures.
ATHRA called the list of claims “egregious”.
The advocacy organisation points to the Cochrane Review, RACGP, and Grabovac meta-analysis papers concluding that vaping is 70% more effective than traditional nicotine replacement therapies.
It added: “The ‘95% safer’ estimate is based on comprehensive, independent reviews of the scientific evidence by both Public Health England and the UK Royal College of Physicians. It is flagrantly untrue that it was adopted from a panel discussion with commercial interests.”
Vaping is being used by teenagers, not adult smokers trying to quit? No, says ATHRA. “Youth vaping rates are low and vaping is the most popular adult quitting aid in Australia. In Australia in 2019, only 1.8% of 14-17 year olds had vaped once or more in the last 12 months, according to the National Drug Strategy Household Survey. Less than 1.3% of non-smoking youth had vaped.”
ATHRA provides the evidenced truth about vaping. It shows how tobacco controllers have failed smokers, vapers and Australia as a whole with blinkered approaches to smoking cessation.
“Since 2013 the rate of decline in smoking prevalence in the US and England has been three times faster than in Australia.”
You can read more about how ATHRA demolishes every single lie in the link below.
The only possible conclusion to draw from the “Fact Sheet” is that Cancer Council Australia is pro-cancer and Australia’s Heart Foundation has no heart. Their actions will keep smokers smoking and fuel actions to drive vapers back to cigarettes.
Related:
- “Electronic Cigarettes: Fact Check” by Australia’s Cancer Council and Heart Foundation – [link]
- ATHRA responds with evidenced facts – [link]
Photo Credit:
Image by S. Hermann & F. Richter from Pixabay
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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