“The vaping facts being propagated in Australia are an egregious abuse of public funds that should be focused toward bettering Australia’s healthcare system,” claims Nancy Loucas, executive coordinator of Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA).
Her remarks come in response to the New South Wales Government’s escalating threats against law-abiding merchants regarding vaping devices and its continued support for a contentious $300,000 joint “education campaign” around vaping alongside the Department of Education.
The centerpiece of the program is a “Get the Facts” – Vaping Toolkit” geared toward parents, instructors, and teenagers. Despite Acting Chief Health Officer Dr. Marianne Gale’s promises, CAPHRA argues that the website should be taken down while its numerous arguments are independently evaluated because it does not provide “evidence-based resources and teaching material.”
“These alleged facts about vaping are, at best, grossly inflated, and, at worst, lack any scientific foundation. Any health claims made on a government website must have the complete confidence of the Australian public, both young and old. Sadly, this campaign greatly misrepresents the truth. Instead, it is covered in outright lies,” claims Ms. Loucas.
‘There is a misconception that e-cigarettes are either not hazardous at all or less risky than cigarettes, which is false,’ Dr. Gale said in a comment that has infuriated Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) supporters across Asia and the Pacific.
“We have a situation where the chief health authority in Australia is openly advising the public that vaping is not less risky than smoking. International study categorically disproves that. Australians continue to receive pricey yet useless advice even though she cannot provide a single piece of proof to support her assertion. It’s an absolute embarrassment,” she states.
According to CAPHRA, Australians should go to New Zealand, which is located across the Tasman Sea, for the reality. There, nicotine vaping is available to adults thanks to 2020 laws for shops and companies, and smokers who are attempting to give up cigarettes are not required to obtain a prescription from a doctor as Australians are required to.
“The 2.3 million smokers in Australia, in addition to the 20,000 Australians who pass away from smoking-related ailments each year, are being failed by the requirement for a doctor’s prescription. The overall smoking rate in Australia has barely changed over the past ten years, whereas it has decreased by half in New Zealand, partly as a result of Kiwi smokers having reasonable access to a significantly less dangerous substitute,” claims Ms. Loucas.
CAPHRA cites the New Zealand Ministry of Health’s “Vaping Facts” website, which bears the tagline “Vaping is less dangerous than smoking.”
“New Zealand is being honest with the public, and as a result, the country is on course to reach Smokefree 2025, which calls for a reduction in smoking to five percent or less. On the other hand, Australia’s health officials continue to forbid adult retail access while spending a lot of money spreading misinformation regarding vaping.
According to Nancy Loucas, Australia’s medicalization strategy is utterly failing. Australia’s 10% smoking reduction objective is becoming increasingly difficult to meet in the near future due to persistent threats and misinformation regarding e-cigarettes. They require a new tobacco eradication plan because the current one is obviously ineffective.
