CVA Warns Of Imminent Disaster
The Canadian Vaping Association warns Quebec that MNA Ciccone’s ill-informed vaping recommendations would be a public health disaster
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by Dave Cross
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The CVA says: “In either an effort to score cheap political points, or a complete misunderstanding of the role of harm reduction, MNA Ciccone called vaping products junk and a danger to the youth of Quebec. ‘Won’t someone think of the children’ is a rhetoric tactic as old as time.
“Moral panic has become the tone of all media discourse on vaping. Negative news stories drive views, incentivising the media to rarely cover the public health benefits of vaping.
“Science has caught up to vaping and it doesn’t support the harm previously claimed by anti-vaping groups. This in turn, has forced these organisations to attempt to further their agenda by forcing their prohibitionist and moralistic mentality on the rest of us.
“In this case, however, we agree that flavour bans, and other prohibitionist policies are a moral issue. It is certainly immoral to condemn 13,000 Quebec smokers each year to a premature death when vaping has proven to be the most effective stop smoking aid. We further question the morality of prohibiting a key component of a harm reduction product, knowingly pushing many former smokers back to an addiction that kills half its users.
“Further still, we question the morality of baring the vape industry from participating in harm reduction conferences and consultations, while allowing the pharmaceutical companies whose product sales are impacted by permissive vaping regulation to sponsor these events. And finally, we also have a moral objection to bans on a life-saving product and the careless disregard shown for the lives of smokers.”
- Flavour is the top factor for Canadian vapers when choosing their e-liquid.
- Over half intend to continue using their favourite flavours if they are banned, both in provinces with restrictions and those without.
- Canadian consumers adapt their flavour preferences to the restrictions but are much more likely than US vapers to return to combustible products in the face of any clampdown on flavours.
The CVA continues: “Although the Canadian Vaping Association (CVA) disagrees with many of Member Ciccone’s comments, we agree that continuing to protect youth should be a priority. However, Member Ciccone’s call to action is flawed and misinformed at best. Taxes and flavour bans have repeatedly been found to increase smoking rates, weaken youth protections and exacerbate a rapidly expanding black market.
“Flavour bans are a source of significant irreparable harm to people who smoke and their families. Smoking remains the leading cause of premature death and illness in Quebec. Each year, 13,000 Quebecers die prematurely from smoking related causes. The sole focus on policy to protect youth from experimentation, neglects the health of adults who smoke.
“Canadians have a constitutional right to access effective products to reduce their harm. Removing flavours reduces vaping’s efficacy as a harm reduction product while also lessening vaping adoption by adult smokers. These policies negate the health of millions of smokers globally. We would like to remind Member Ciccone that Quebec has among the highest smoking rates in the country and his outrage should be focused on the problem and not the solution.”
The CVA concludes: “If Quebec continues down this senseless path, the Canadian Vaping Association and industry will be pursuing a legal challenge. The industry will always defend Canadian’s right to access effective harm reduction products.”
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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