Tag: CAPHRA

  • CAPHRA Urges End to Vape Disinformation

    CAPHRA Urges End to Vape Disinformation

    Vapor Voice archives

    The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) states that as it celebrates World Vape Day on May 30, 2024, the organization is urging global leaders to recognize the life-saving potential of safer nicotine products and to expose the ongoing disinformation campaign led by the World Health Organization (WHO). 

    “Despite overwhelming scientific evidence supporting the reduced risk of vaping compared to combustible tobacco products, the WHO continues to ignore the facts and mislead the public,” said Nancy Loucas, executive coordinator of CAPHRA. “These products, including e-cigarettes, snus, and heated tobacco products (HTPs), offer a viable alternative for millions of smokers seeking to reduce their health risks.

    “The GSTHR reports have shown that these alternatives are not only effective in reducing harm but also play a significant role in public health by providing accessible and acceptable options for smokers worldwide.”

    CAPHRA has criticized the WHO’s exclusionary tactics, particularly at the 10th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP10). By excluding consumer groups and harm reduction advocates, the WHO has demonstrated a blatant disregard for the voices of those directly impacted by tobacco use, according to an emailed press release.

    “One of the most egregious aspects of the WHO’s stance is its use of children as pawns to propagate the false narrative that vaping is not a tobacco harm reduction product,” said Loucas. “This disinformation campaign not only undermines the credibility of harm reduction efforts but also jeopardizes the health of millions of adult smokers who could benefit from switching to safer alternatives.”

    CAPHRA is calling on all vaping industry stakeholders, including policymakers, public health officials, and the media, to recognize the truth about tobacco harm reduction. The release states that it is time to challenge the disinformation spread by the WHO and advocate for evidence-based policies that prioritize the health and well-being of smokers worldwide.

    “It’s time for the WHO and FCTC to listen to consumers and integrate harm reduction into their policies. Only then can we tackle both the public health crisis of smoking and the escalating illicit tobacco trade,” said Loucas. “The WHO’s stance not only ignores the evidence supporting these strategies but also undermines the global fight against the tobacco epidemic.”

  • CAPHRA Reports on FCTC Harm Reduction

    CAPHRA Reports on FCTC Harm Reduction

    Photo: Maren Winter

    The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) has released its Shadow Report on the (NON)-Implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Article 1 (d) on Harm Reduction Strategies. The report is now available to policymakers, regulators in member states and FCTC officials. 

    The Shadow Report emphasizes the importance of consumer participation in policy making and highlights the benefits of tobacco harm reduction alternatives, including vaping.  

    “Tobacco harm reduction products have been shown to serve as a method of smoking cessation and as an alternative for smokers who are unable or unwilling to quit smoking altogether,” said CAPHRA Executive Coordinator Nancy Loucas.

    “The WHO [World Health Organization] FCTC is meant to be an evidence-based treaty that reaffirms the right of all people to the highest standard of health. However, the current tobacco control measures have extensively promoted the abstinence-only approach, which has contributed to smokers’ inability to make informed choices about safer nicotine products,” said Loucas. 

    The CAPHRA’s Shadow Report calls for a more compassionate, people-centered, choice-focused and rights-based approach to tobacco control. By involving consumers in the development of healthcare policy and research, clinical practice guidelines and patient information material, the quality of health information and health outcomes for those using tobacco harm reduction alternatives can be improved, according to the organization.

  • Activists Dispute Gateway Findings

    Activists Dispute Gateway Findings

    Photo: Wlodzimierz

    Recent claims by Otago University in New Zealand that vaping is a gateway to smoking have been disputed by leading global harm reduction experts Roberto Sussman, Konstantinos Farsalinos and Gerry Stimson. These experts have highlighted the importance of harm reduction strategies in reducing the negative health impacts of smoking.

    Published on June 28 in Drug and Alcohol Review, the Otago University study analyzed data related to New Zealanders’ smoking and vaping status from the 2018-2020 New Zealand Attitudes and Values survey.

    Unlike other studies, Post-graduate student Andre Mason and associate professor Damian Scarf found no consistent evidence that vaping acted as a cessation pathway from smoking. Mason said vaping appeared to be another smoking-related behavior, rather than a substitute for smoking that primarily helped people quit.

    “We found that there was an equal likelihood of vapers transitioning to smoking as smokers were to vapers,” Mason told Radio New Zealand.  

    Tobacco harm reduction advocates questioned the findings. According to Sussman, there is no evidence that vaping is a gateway to smoking. “In fact, studies have shown that vaping can be an effective tool for smoking cessation,” he said. “The vast majority of vapers are former smokers who have successfully quit smoking thanks to vaping,” added Farsalinos

    Gerry Stimson, a public health expert and advocate for harm reduction, emphasizes that harm reduction strategies like vaping are essential in reducing the negative health impacts of smoking. “We need to focus on providing smokers with safer alternatives to cigarettes, rather than demonizing harm reduction strategies like vaping,” he noted.

    Nancy Loucas, executive coordinator of the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates, who compiled these comments, also disputed the gateway claim by Otago University.

    Lous cited recent data, which suggest the smoking incidence rates in New Zealand have fallen significantly over the past five to 10 years. The current smoking rate of New Zealand adults is 8 percent in 2021/2022, which has decreased from 16.5 percent in 2015 and from 27 percent in both men and women in 1993. Loucas insists that vaping has played a significant role in the reduction of smoking rates in New Zealand over the past five to 10 years. According to research published in the NZ Medical Journal, the current vaping rate in New Zealand is 8.3 percent of adults being categorized as daily e-cigarette users, up from 6.2 percent in the previous year.

    “We need to focus on harm reduction strategies that work, rather than relying on outdated and inaccurate claims about vaping being a gateway to smoking,” said Loucas. “The evidence is clear: vaping can be an effective tool for smoking cessation and harm reduction.

    The government of New Zealand has given NZD1.4 million ($860,411) to a large trial to help New Zealanders quit vaping. Over six months, more than 1,000 participants will test whether cytisine—a medicine that partially blocks the effects of nicotine on the brain—is more effective than a tapered reduction in nicotine, when accompanied with behavioral support.

  • CAPHRA Comments on Proposal to Tighten Vaping Restrictions

    CAPHRA Comments on Proposal to Tighten Vaping Restrictions

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) has submitted comments on New Zealand’s Proposals for the Smoked Tobacco Regulatory Regime. The proposals include tightening current restrictions on vaping product safety requirements and packaging and reducing nicotine levels in disposable vapes as well as restricting the location of specialist vape retailers.

    “Whilst we have absolutely no issues with restrictions around primary and secondary schools and Kura, we do have issue with adult community locations, such as universities, and other tertiary facilities,” said Nancy Loucas, executive coordinator of the CAPHRA.

    “Specialist vape retailers provide a service that is not available in general retailers. It is a disservice to adults who smoke in Aotearoa, New Zealand, to restrict their access to specialist shops and guidance.”

    “The main issue, however, is that the regulations, as they are, work perfectly well,” said the CAPHRA in reference to the other proposed restrictions. “The issues are public education and enforcement. The regulations, as they are written, are working at getting citizens to make the switch from combustible tobacco to less harmful vaping.”

    The comment period closes on March 15.

  • Advocates Clarify Science Controversies

    Advocates Clarify Science Controversies

    Photo: Alliance

    Tobacco harm reduction (THR) advocates are keen to clarify controversies surrounding the science on nicotine and vaping ahead of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which will take place in November 2023.

    The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) has written FCTC delegation heads to help inform their respective countries’ positions.

    In its letter, CAPHRA notes that two high-profile studies, which have been quoted by tobacco controllers regarding the dangers of nicotine and vaping, have since been retracted and removed from significant medical journals.

    “The first retraction is an article published in February 2022 in The World Journal of Oncology, claiming that nicotine vapers face about the same cancer risk as cigarette smokers,” CAPHRA wrote.

    Another article, in the Journal of the American Heart Association, which reported an association between vaping and heart attacks was also retracted. Astoundingly, advocates noted, this article is still used as a reference in the FCTC guidelines around e-cigarettes.

    “Consumers’ rights to choose to use less harmful products to switch from smoking remain under tremendous threat from FCTC’s continuing failure to address scientific evidence, democratic processes and human rights.”

    Nancy Loucas, executive coordinator, CAPHRA

    In addition, the THR regional advocacy group sent delegates a bibliography of key and current studies that disprove some of the more outrageous claims around harm.

    On the supposed “youth vaping epidemic,” CAPHRA noted “a new survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Food and Drug Administration suggests that youth vaping rates appear to be dropping compared to pre-pandemic levels … In fact, youth vaping in the U.S. has plummeted by 60 percent over the past two years.”  

    “Consumers’ rights to choose to use less harmful products to switch from smoking remain under tremendous threat from FCTC’s continuing failure to address scientific evidence, democratic processes and human rights,” says CAPHRA executive coordinator Nancy Loucas.

    The CAPHRA representatives reminded the health leaders that the FCTC has a mandate to pursue harm reduction as a core tobacco control policy—a position it has failed to acknowledge or implement since its inception, according to CAPHRA.

    “WHO and its FCTC continue to press for signatory states to adopt ever more restrictive policies, including outright bans, based on dubious science. Delegates to COP10 should be representing the rights and aspirations of the citizens,” wrote the CAPHRA member organizations.

    “Consumers have the right to make choices that help them avoid adverse health outcomes and smokers have the right to access less harmful nicotine products as alternatives to smoking. Please take account of these rights when making and presenting your submissions to COP10,” the letter concluded.

  • COP10 Urged to Consider Harm Reduction

    COP10 Urged to Consider Harm Reduction

    Photo: lovelyday12

    The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates’ (CAPHRA) nine member organizations have written to Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC) delegation heads from around the world, urging them to review the evidence that supports a tobacco harm reduction (THR) approach ahead of COP10.

    With governments sending delegates to COP10 in November 2023, CAPHRA was keen to send leaders comprehensive reference material for their COP10 planning, submission writing and deliberations.

    COP10 will be held in Panama and is hosted by the World Health Organization’s FCTC.

    “We do this on behalf of the 4 million current users of safer nicotine products in the wider Asia-Pacific region. As you are aware, our region bears the brunt of the harm and death from combustible and unsafe oral tobacco globally,” said the letter.

    The CAPHRA representatives reminded the health leaders that the FCTC has a mandate to pursue harm reduction as a core tobacco control policy.

    “It has been known for decades that tar and carcinogens found in tobacco smoke cause the death and disease associated with smoking, not nicotine. Research has proven that nicotine, while usually mildly addictive in the same way as caffeine, is not a health issue,” they wrote.  

    The letter also called on delegates to deplore the FCTC’s policy to conduct COP10 sessions behind closed doors.

    “Delegates to COP10 should be representing the rights and aspirations of the citizens whose taxes are paying for their attendance, who expect them to speak on their behalf, acknowledge the science underpinning the harm reduction benefits of ENDS and maintain democratic principles,” they wrote.

    The CAPHRA representatives asked countries to take into account, when making their COP10 submissions, that consumers have the right to make choices that help them avoid adverse health outcomes. What’s more, people who smoke have the right to access less harmful nicotine products as alternatives to smoking.

    The evidence-based documentation was wrapped up in a recently released white paper, titled “The Subversion of Public Health: Consumer Perspectives,” which was presented by CAPHRA executive coordinator Nancy Loucas at the fifth Asia Harm Reduction Forum.

  • Activists Outraged Over Vaping Policy Guidance

    Activists Outraged Over Vaping Policy Guidance

    Photo: pixarno

    Tobacco harm reduction activists are outraged over a new Australian government document on vaping.

    The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) recently published its 2022 CEO Statement on Electronic Cigarettes, which provides guidance to public health policymakers.

    According to the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA), the document falsely claims that vaping is not an effective quit-smoking tool, but a gateway to smoking with most vapers becoming dual users. Vaping, the document states, also increases the risk of smoking relapse. The NHMRC exaggerates the health impacts, poisoning and explosion risks of e-cigarettes, according to CAPHRA, while references to toxins and potential harms are made without a fair comparison to smoking.

    “This latest government document on vaping makes outrageously false claims and will only cost more Australian smokers their lives,” says Nancy Loucas, executive coordinator of CAPHRA.

    “Ridiculously, Australia’s chief medical officer considers vaping the next biggest health issue after COVID-19. Has he ever heard of smoking which kills over 20,000 Australians every year? This 18-page document is a complete joke. It is full of statements that can be easily debunked by international science and human evidence the world over,” says Loucas.

    This egregious document is not worth the paper it’s written on, yet it’s now the bible for public health guidance in and around Australia.

    Nancy Loucas, executive coordinator, CAPHRA

    CAPHRA says Australia’s hardline anti-vaping approach is increasingly out of step with other Asia Pacific countries, with the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand set to lift their vaping bans. What’s more, New Zealand, across the Tasman, is already operating under a regulatory framework that has seen smoking rates decline.

    “This egregious document is not worth the paper it’s written on, yet it’s now the bible for public health guidance in and around Australia,” says Loucas.

    It is illegal to sell, supply or possess nicotine vaping products, with Australia the only Western democracy that requires a nicotine prescription to vape. Alarmingly, 2.3 million Australians continue to smoke cigarettes.

    Last year Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration expanded its prescription-only model with customs clamping down at the border on the likes of personal imports of nicotine vaping liquids from overseas websites.