Collaboration Call

Nancy Loucas, the Executive Coordinator of CAPHRA, told Planet of the Vapes: “None of us are the sole reason for the complications with regulating adult-only products. We each have an inherent responsibility to address these issues collaboratively to find solutions that serve the greater good.

“CAPHRA emphasises the importance of understanding the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders, including policymakers, public health experts, industry leaders, harm reduction advocates, and adult end users. The organisation stresses that effective policy development requires input from all these groups.”

Nancy Loucas continued: “The development of public health policy is a team effort. We need to acknowledge and overcome the inherent biases that all stakeholders hold about each other. Only then can we co-create future-proofed, inclusive, and pragmatic regulatory frameworks.”

The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates highlights three key steps to achieve common ground: 

1. Eradicate harm from products like combustible tobacco 
2. Promote and educate about harm reduction objectively and truthfully 
3. Protect vulnerable populations through risk-proportionate regulation and effective enforcement.

The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates is calling on governments and public health bodies to embrace this collaborative approach and ensure that regulations align with the cultural and contextual specifics of each country. 

Loucas went on to add: “Public health must transcend an us-versus-them mindset to promote the common good across the political spectrum. To politicise public health, cave to public sentiment and social media pressure, and prioritise influence over the pursuit of truth puts all of us at risk.” 

Quoting Henry Ford, she concluded: “The organisation urges all stakeholders to put aside their biases and work together towards shared goals. ‘If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself’.”

CAPHRA finished by stating that it believes that this collaborative approach is essential for developing effective, evidence-based policies that can significantly improve public health outcomes.

The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Advocates is a regional alliance of consumer tobacco harm reduction advocacy organisations. Its mission is to educate, advocate and represent the right of adult alternative nicotine consumers to access and use of products that reduce harm from tobacco use. 

The organisation says it remains committed to advocating for the rights of consumers in the Asia-Pacific region to access and use evidence-based, regulated, and properly marketed harm reduction products as a means of reducing the devastating impact of smoking-related diseases. 

“We encourage further research, open dialogue, and collaboration with governments, health organisations, and stakeholders to ensure the best possible outcomes for public health.”

References:

• Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates - https://caphraorg.net/   

Photo Credit:

• Photo by krakenimages on Unsplash

Dave Cross

Journalist at POTV

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Dave 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.