According to a report by Scoop Media on December 11th, the Asia Pacific Coalition for Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) has expressed support for Professor Robert Beaglehole’s recent comments on New Zealand’s progress in addressing the issue of youth e-cigarette use.
Beghall Hall is the chairman of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) in New Zealand. He recently had a conversation with Mike Hosking on the ZB radio station, where he highlighted the positive trend in the usage of e-cigarettes among teenagers.
According to the recent ASH survey of tenth graders, regular e-cigarette use among adolescents has been consistently decreasing for two years, while daily smoking remains remarkably low. Bigglehall emphasizes that New Zealand seems to have “finally gotten it right” when it comes to the issue of e-cigarettes.
He pointed out that the country is moving in the right direction as new regulations now require disposable e-cigarettes to have removable batteries, child safety features, and a maximum nicotine strength of 20 milligrams per milliliter.
However, Bregelholt also expressed concern about the Ministry of Health’s approach to nicotine restrictions in an article in the New Zealand Herald. He stated: “They are completely wrong. For those cigarette smokers who are quitting the most harmful product, they need a replacement to provide them with the nicotine they get from cigarettes. This typically requires a higher dosage than the current 20mg limit.”
Nancy Loucas, the executive coordinator for CAPHRA, a pro-tobacco harm reduction advocate and public health policy expert, is urging existing tobacco control groups to adopt a more balanced approach to the New Zealand government’s recently announced amendments to the Smokefree Bill.
