Letter to major Department of Public Health personnel
Dear Janet, Nick, Richard, Michael
Good for your encouraging stopping reversal of 'Smoke Free' legislation, but the de facto support for vaping makes it hollow.
You support smoking! E-cigs use is smoking, requiring inhalation of a heated product containing nicotine deep into the gas exchange areas of the lungs.
The Dept of Public Health (in general) supports the Labour policy, on which you advised, of retaining SVRs, vapes on display and sold by any! retailer who chooses to for a one off $600.00 fee, no plain packaging, no health warnings, no concealing from public view.
Of course tobacco is immensely hazardous and vapes have been a tool to switch, but your stance on vaping is utterly disturbing. You reflect the mantra of big tobacco/vape which is to switch from tobacco to vapes. Vapes aren't as litigious yet.
With Ministry of Health public messaging being that they are just safer than tobacco, not totally harmless and with zero clear description of risks eg irreversible damage to lungs etc, no quitting programmes, this is betrayal, leaving vape addicts hanging, maintaining sales of vapes from which government makes money.
I searched for quitting on the Public Health Communication Site. I could not find any item on quitting vapes or nicotine.
Here is a current vape ad
Please advise when you are going to request an amendment as a first 100 day priority for the new government to institute robust quitting programmes for nicotine and vaping?
Is it your lack of comment which made vaping drop off the agenda of major items for consideration by the coalition?
Regards
Mary MacGibbon (PhD)
Miramar
(Photo of Pharmacy Vape ad.)