A Catastrophe In The Making
Taiwan’s vaping ban is a public health catastrophe in the making, says the World Vapers’ Alliance
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by Dave Cross
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The World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA) says it “amplifies the voice of vapers worldwide and empowers them to make a difference in their communities. Our members are vapers associations and individual vapers from all over the world.”
Its director is Michael Landl. He is from Austria and is based in Vienna. He is an experienced policy professional and a passionate vaper. He studied at the University of St. Gallen and worked for several public policy outlets and the German Parliament.
Taiwan’s legislative branch approved a broad ban on vaping and further restrictions on alternative harm-reduction products. In the third reading, the Legislative Yuan voted in favour of the ‘Tobacco Hazard Prevention Act’ amendments to ban electronic cigarettes, regulate the use of heated tobacco products, and raise the smoking age from 18 to 20 years.
The new legislation does not mention vaping directly, instead introducing the term “tobacco-like products”. The manufacture, sale, and supply of such products will now be strictly prohibited. The legislation also introduces heavy fines on illegal e-cigarette operators, with a maximum penalty of NT$50 million (approximately £1.35 million).
Michael Landl described today’s vaping ban as a public health catastrophe in the making: “What we are seeing in Taiwan is the result of a terrible misinformation campaign on harm reduction. Vaping is way less harmful than smoking and has the potential to save thousands of lives in Taiwan.
“History has also shown that bans and prohibitions do not work. Bans on vaping will only push thousands of people back to smoking or to the black market.
“If we want to achieve a smoke-less society, we must support tobacco harm reduction, not destroy it. Today’s decision by the Taiwanese legislators is a catastrophic mistake for the country's public health.”
The Executive Yuan passed the draft amendment to the Tobacco Hazard Prevention Law in January last year, following many past attempts to regulate e-cigarette use.
“Instead of outright bans, regulation must be based on science and the experience of millions of consumers. Less harmful products must be treated differently than cigarettes. Taiwan should follow harm reduction leaders like the United Kingdom or Sweden, who are embracing vaping instead of fighting it”, Landl added.
“Tobacco harm reduction is the battle about money and votes, and I hope that every tobacco harm reduction and vaping advocate wins this fight in their country. I will keep fighting for our rights in Taiwan,” said Danny Wang, a vaping activist and head of Vape Taiwan, a partner organisation of the World Vapers‘ Alliance.
Photo Credit:
Image by Chickenonline 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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