Tell The Truth About E-cigarettes
A coalition of consumer organisations has set up a petition demanding that the World Health Organization starts telling the truth about electronic cigarettes, vaping, and tobacco harm reduction
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by Dave Cross
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“Stop lying to us and only provide guidance based on sound scientific facts, methodologies and principles,” CAPHRA(1) and the other consumer advocacy groups say in the Right2Switch petition, which was launched during the 2021 Voices4Vape webinar(2) on 21 March.
Leading Kiwi vaping advocate Nancy Loucas, who is Executive Coordinator of CAPHRA, says WHO continues to insist that safer nicotine products, such as vapes or e-cigarettes, are as harmful and dangerous as combustible tobacco and should be banned or heavily restricted.
“This is a lie, as vaping has been life-changing for many smokers in all parts of the world, helping millions of former smokers to quit cigarettes,” says Ms Loucas.
The petition implores WHO and health authorities around the world to regulate based on sound scientific facts that include consumer participation as part of the decision-making process.
Tobacco Harm Reduction or THR is a public health strategy that involves the use of less harmful alternatives to combustible cigarettes such as vapes, heated tobacco products and snus which do not produce smoke. Toxicants found in smoke are the ones that cause diseases among smokers, according to scientific studies.
Nancy Loucas says a vast body of independent peer-reviewed scientific studies clearly show that vaping is at least 95% safer than smoking.
“Millions of former smokers have successfully switched to safer nicotine products and are now living better lives, not just for themselves but for their loved ones too. WHO, however, is trying to prohibit or heavily restrict the use of these products,” she says.
She believes WHO’s actions put many lives at risk. Smokers will not be able to choose a safer alternative and it may force the millions who have already successfully switched to less harmful nicotine products, back to the very thing that will cause harm and eventually kill them.
“As adults, we have every right to choose how we live our lives - the right to make informed choices for our health, including the choice to use safer nicotine products as an alternative to combustible tobacco. A solution to the world's smoking problem is already here. We need to make WHO FCTC hear us,” according to the petition(3).
References:
- Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates - https://caphraorg.net
- Voices 4 Vape Conference - https://www.planetofthevapes.co.uk/news/vaping-news/2021-03-09_second-voices-4-vape-conference.html
- Right2Switch petition - https://change.org/v4v-petition
Photo Credit:
Image by Miguel Á. Padriñán from Pixabay
Image by Gordon Johnson 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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