Vape Criticism Is "Very Tiring"
New Zealand’s Asthma and Respiratory Foundation (ARFNZ) has launched another attack on vaping, called “very tiring” by the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates
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by Dave Cross
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“The latest outburst from New Zealand’s Asthma and Respiratory Foundation directed at the Ministry of Health is disappointing, but sadly not surprising,” says Nancy Loucas, Executive Coordinator of CAPHRA.
Her comments follow ARFNZ’s claim that the Ministry of Health is not striking the right balance with New Zealand’s vaping regulations.
“ARFNZ’s scaremongering about vaping is ongoing and often without any foundation. The reality is New Zealand has adopted a successful Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) strategy which has put Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 well on track. ARFNZ’s attacks should be squarely on combustible cigarettes,” says Ms Loucas.
CAPHRA is stunned that ARFNZ continues its path of neo prohibitionism in light of the latest official statistics. Earlier this month, it was revealed that New Zealand’s smoking rate had fallen to an historic low of 8% of adults smoking daily, down from 9.4% a year ago.
The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Bill is currently progressing through Parliament. It aims to limit the appeal of and access to cigarettes.
“The smokefree amendment bill is what ARFNZ should now be solely focused on. Instead, they seem determined to constantly undermine and criticise the Ministry of Health’s position on vaping. Cigarettes are the problem here, not safer nicotine alternatives which are saving thousands of Kiwi smokers’ lives every year,” says Ms Loucas.
CAPHRA says New Zealand’s smokefree and THR policies are being studied and replicated by many other countries, with a recent parliamentary delegation from Malaysia visiting to understand how Kiwis have halved their smoking rate in the past decade. New Zealand’s regulatory framework was also crucial for recent regulation in the Philippines, and even Thailand is looking at New Zealand to construct their own regulations.
“We urge Associate Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall to continue down the THR path which is delivering positive results. Adult Kiwi smokers are successfully switching to vaping – a very effective and harm-reduced smoking cessation tool. Now is not the time to get side-tracked by side issues
“We also urge ARFNZ to follow the science and the facts. Let’s focus on the real issue here - combustible tobacco,” says Nancy Loucas.
CAPHRA says that Kiwi smokers keen to quit cigarettes should visit: www.vapingfacts.health.nz/ for credible Ministry of Health-led advice.
References:
- The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Advocates – https://caphraorg.net/
Photo Credit:
Photo by Denise Jans on Unsplash
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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