Tobacco Control Disinformation

The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Advocates (CAPHRA) says: “In the face of disinformation campaigns by groups like Vape-Free Kids NZ, which claim insufficient evidence for the benefits of nicotine products, Sweden stands as a compelling counter-example. The country's success in reducing smoking rates to just 5.6% demonstrates the effectiveness of harm reduction strategies employing oral nicotine products like snus.”

The vape consumer advocacy organisation says that by allowing adult smokers access to safer alternatives such as snus, Sweden has achieved a smoking rate at around 5%, demonstrating the effectiveness of harm reduction over abstinence-only approaches.

“This is despite claims from groups like Vape-Free Kids NZ that there is ‘not enough evidence’ for nicotine products, Sweden's experience provides clear evidence of their benefits,” says CAPHRA’s Nancy Loucas.

"Continuing to oppose these products while cigarettes remain widely available is counterproductive and harmful.”

Likewise, CAPHRA states, the WHO’s Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC), has faced mounting scrutiny for its approach to harm reduction strategies and lack of diverse stakeholder engagement. This criticism echoes concerns raised in a comprehensive analysis by the International Centre for Law & Economics (ICLE), which highlights significant shortcomings in the FCTC's implementation and effectiveness. 

“Despite growing evidence supporting tobacco harm reduction strategies, the FCTC has maintained a rigid stance against novel nicotine products that could potentially save millions of lives,” said Ms Loucas.

“The FCTC's decision-making processes have been criticised for excluding not only peer reviewed science, but also key stakeholders, including public health experts, harm reduction advocates, and even member states' own delegates.”

The most recent example is the FCTC head, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, congratulating Vietnam, a country with not only a smoking rate of 22%, a smoking related death rate of 23.8%, but also a 100% state-owned tobacco company, Vietnam National Tobacco Corporation, on making “the bold decision to ban to ban import, production, trade and use of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products to protect your citizens, especially the young ones…” 

CAPHRA also criticised the political focus of anti-vape advocacy groups that prioritise ideology over public health: “It's time to move beyond politics and focus on saving lives through proven strategies to eliminate combustible and unsafe oral tobacco use.”

The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Advocates (CAPHRA) 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. 

References:

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

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.