The NZ Government is in its vaping protocols clearly breaching a primary UN charter mandate. 

The lax vape regulation, licencing available to all retailers for display and sale without proper health warnings, in spite of the serious health risks as acknowledged by insurance companies and major health organisations including the W.H.O., quite apart from its profiting from each sale, breaches the UN charter mandate requiring its member states to 'achieve higher standards of living for their citizens, address economic, social, health and related problems ..'

The New Zealand government is instead knowingly putting its citizens at risk, and profiting in the short term from its actions.

It should be doing the opposite.

It is time for the legal and medical professionals to perform their respective duties as registered practitioners and collectively inform the public of their rights and the health risks regarding vaping, and advise the government of its associated duty of care. 

Some individuals have done this, including Dr Bryan Betty for example, but a collective action is required.

To facilitate this I contacted the New Zealand Chief Medical Officer, as per letter below. I have regularly appealed to Drs Sarfati, Reti, Verrall, Baker and various others in prominent health positions in Aotearoa/NZ for tighter regulations, but this is the first time the current NZ C.M.O. has been contacted directly. His reply was prompt, within minutes, thanking for advocating for tighter regulations, and advising he has passed my letter on to the Public Health Agency for them to reply to me.

The extreme nature of the problem is clear. The following you know well. It includes primary points, and once again, it would be good if the messages can be passed on to any networks, media outlets, social groups not yet contacted to encourage a rapid and long overdue response from the government.

The letter to the C.M.O.

Dear Dr Bourne

I have been advocating for 9 months now for tighter regulation of vaping in NZ. I haven't yet communicated with you directly, and, as you are the Chief Medical Officer, thought I should. 
Below is material which I consider needs to be widely disseminated. I would appreciate your view on this latest letter, which I was about to send to the usual media. 

"Please publish this. I think it explains itself. I can provide good referencing for anything mentioned.

'DNA changes red flag for vape risks' 

What does it take before we stop selling vapes like candy for adults, knowing that children have easy access to these products, designed for children, smelling and tasting like candy, with a hook. We are the vape capital of the world with our stats, vaping through our schools, 18.6% of 15-24 year olds vaping from latest stats. 

University College London have found that the cheek linings of vapers have cell DNA changes like those of tobacco smokers? These changes are in abnormally high measures in precancerous and lung cancer cells.  
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2024/mar/similar-dna-changes-found-cells-both-smokers-and-e-cigarette-users

This is a very large red flag. 

US Cancer council advised long ago against vaping even to quit tobacco? 

Government licencing all the colourful vape stores without proper health warnings and getting GST off each transaction  is class action worthy. They do not mention the propylene glycol and thousands of chemicals identified in vape aerosols, including toxins  in concentrations known to cause harm, just nicotine. Where are the warnings, decent quitting programmes? NZ must stop display, tightly regulate outlet or go to prescription only or simply ban them as all, but 3, western countries do following WHO strong advice. 
Medsafe has not approved vaping, even as a protocol for quitting tobacco. As a treatment for that, the only reason the Labour government licenced them, legally in NZ without Medsafe approval they should only be on prescription.

Users, especially children, should be helped to quit promptly, with US and Australia type help, whether going cold turkey, the most effective method especially if supported with advice and various safe strategies, or using nicotine replacement therapy.

(photo above inserted here)

The photo is of a vape shop in Cuba Mall during CubaDupa, directly off the pavement. (Face blacked out.)"

Regards
Mary MacGibbon (PhD)