While the electronic cigarette situation in Australia is chaotic, the country's smokers have not been abandoned by everyone. Indeed, Clive Bates, the British e-cigarette defender insists that the Australian government lift the ban on vaping and save lives!
“THE SITUATION OF SMOKERS IN AUSTRALIA IS SHOCKING! "
If the legalization of e-cigarettes in Australia could make smoking obsolete and save lives, a British e-cigarette spokesperson is ready to launch a parliamentary inquiry in Canberra.
Clive Bates, a former director of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) in the UK, who claims to have no financial connection to the tobacco industry, believes that the vaping of the products could be "the greatest public health success of all time».
In the UK, where e-cigarettes are legal, there is consensus that smokers should be encouraged to use these devices as a quitting aid, unlike this, the majority of Australian experts want the ban to remain in place. .
According to Clive Bates " It is shocking that Australians are breaking the law and receiving punitive fines for trying to quit smoking with vaping". He adds " Why punish someone for doing what millions of Britons and Americans have done successfully? »
In Australia, while it is legal to buy “vaping” devices, it is illegal to sell, possess or use products containing nicotine because it is classified as poison. This year Therapeutic Goods Administration rejected a request to exempt nicotine from the list of dangerous poisons.
The Standing Committee on Health, Seniors and Sport is studying the role of e-cigarettes in smoking cessation, but experts are still divided.
The Australian Medical Association said that e-cigarettes should never be allowed to becomesocially acceptable alternative to smokingGiven the uncertainty as to their safety and effectiveness as smoking cessation aids.
« Nicotine is extremely addictive, a fact the tobacco industry has capitalized on for decades Says Bates. " Growth in vaping products has allowed sections of the tobacco industry to reposition themselves as part of the effort to reduce smoking"
The Australian Public Health Association warned that if the ban was lifted, it would normalize the act of "smoking".
Clive Bates, now director of the consultancy firm Counterfactual says the UK government has moved from skepticism to promoting vaping. " UK's official 'Stoptober' anti-smoking campaign even recommends switching to e-cigarettes in TV commercials ", He declares
WITH THE E-CIGARETTE, IT IS NEARLY 500 DEATHS THAT COULD BE AVOIDED IN 000 YEARS
« The ban on electronic cigarettes is sometimes dressed up with a pseudo “precautionary principle” but when nearly 3 million Australians do something very dangerous, we can say that banning an alternative is more reckless than prudent."
Partisan of the electronic cigarette, the associate professor Colin Mendelsohn, from the UNSW School of Public Health and Community Medicine, said smoking rates in Australia have not changed in three years for the first time in decades.
« Based on a recent US modeling study, if most Australian smokers switch to e-cigarettes in the next 10 years, up to 500 smoking-related deaths could be prevented“, He declares.
Last year Mr Bates was accused by the newspaper of " The Times »To receive funds for research on electronic cigarettes. However, the information turned out to be false and the newspaper had to apologize for its false statements.
« I am used to accusations made by tobacco companies, but these are simply "cheap" accusations by people who prefer to avoid debating issues.", He declares
« I do not say anything different from what the Royal College of Physicians already says about e-cigarettes and risk reduction". He also states that his trip is funded by the private sector and that there are no conflicts of interest.
« I made a detailed quote for the investigation and was invited for cross-examination. We have also organized meetings with interested public health professionals, government officials and politicians. »
Source : Canberratimes.com.au/
