Release: Gov’t fails to curb smoking rates, vaping Australia’s best option
Release: Gov’t fails to curb smoking rates, vaping Australia’s best option
SYDNEY - A decade of collectively failing to reduce smoking rates in Australia proves the Morrison Government needs to consider legalising and properly regulating smoke-free vaping products to help Australians quit cigarettes.
Legalise Vaping Australia warned the Australian people that Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s triennial National Drug Strategy Household Survey to be released tomorrow will undoubtedly contain a barrage of selective quotes and cherry-picked data. And the government and public-health spin-doctors will pet themselves on the back for a job well done.
“After the dust settles expect the facts to spell out a different story to the one we expect from highly paid government PR operatives. When it comes to being loose with the truth, Health Minister Greg Hunt is true to form,” said Legalise Vaping Australia Campaign Manager, Brian Marlow.
“In 2008, State and Territory Governments committed to reducing smoking rates to 10 per cent by 2018. Health Minister Tanya Plibersek recommitted to the target in 2012. But 2018 came and went and the target was missed.”
“In August 2019, in a performance that would make a North Korean propagandist blush, current Minister Hunt stated the ‘government will set a new target of reducing smoking rates below 10 per cent by 2025.’”
“When Greg Hunt (re)announcing the same target (11 years after it was first announced and a full 12 months after we failed to meet it), he shamelessly manipulated the facts and revealed the government is making up anti-smoking policy as it goes along.”
“A recent McKell Institute report showed Smoking rates in the US and UK are lower than in Australia for the first time ever. Smoking rates have also fallen dramatically in Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Japan and South Korea. Cigarette sales in Japan decreased by an unprecedented 27% during 2017-18 alone. Meanwhile, Australia’s quit rates have stagnated,” observed Mr. Marlow.
“Australia needs a new approach to tobacco harm reduction. We must draw on the experiences of countries which are successfully reducing their smoking rates. More than 50 countries around the world and every OECD nation with the exception of Australia and Turkey have legalisated and proper regulated smoke-free products.”
“Science no longer questions the effectiveness of smoke-free products and quitting aids and as less harmful alternatives to smoking. According to Public Health England smoke-free products are 95 per cent less harmful than cigarettes and ‘smokers should switch to e-cigarettes to help them quit smoking’. Global regulators and health bodies agree, backing these products.”
“The Australian College of Physicians acknowledges vaping is not for non-smokers, but is ‘something that should be available for smokers who are keen to improve their health and move away from cigarette smoking.’”
“To lower smoking rates and achieve its targets the Australian governments must appropriately regulate smoke-free alternatives now. Millions of Australians continue to smoke without a viable exit plan; their lives literally depend on this legislation.”
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Legalise Vaping Australia recommends Australia observe and copy policies we see in the UK and New Zealand.
The regulatory models in the United Kingdom and New Zealand, seek to strike the balance between two key principles, specifically:
Protecting young people from the risks associated with smoking vaping and preventing initiation of new users.
Supporting adult smokers to switch to a form of nicotine consumption significantly less harmful than smoking.