“Stop lying to us and only provide guidance based on sound scientific facts, methodologies and principles,” said the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) and the other groups launching the Right2Switch petition. The initiative was launched during the 2021 Voices4Vape webinar and can be viewed at change.org/v4v-petition.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has focused global attention on the need for rational measures to reduce risks, effectively treat those afflicted and develop vaccines. This is entirely consistent with longstanding public health goals of reducing risks wherever they are found, and the importance of empowering people to improve their health,” said Nancy Loucas, Executive Coordinator of CAPHRA.
Loucas highlighted that the WHO’s insistence that safer nicotine products are as harmful as combustible tobacco and should be banned or heavily restricted, is costing millions of smokers’ lives globally, and this argument has been proven by countless studies.
Infact a recently released 59-page white paper discussing case studies conducted in several countries to measure smoking cessation-related progress, has shown that those following the World Health Organization’s guidance, keep struggling with higher smoking rates.
Vaping Works. International Best Practices: United Kingdom, New Zealand, France and Canada
Titled “Vaping Works. International Best Practices: United Kingdom, New Zealand, France and Canada,” the publication was released by the Property Rights Alliance. It consisted of four respective case studies by Christopher Snowdon (Institute of Economic Affairs, the UK), Louis Houlbrooke (New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union, New Zealand), Patrick Coquart (IREF, France), and Prof Ian Irvine (Concordia University, Canada), and confirmed what public health experts have been pointing out all along.
“Countries applying progressive Tobacco Harm Reduction policies are enjoying a significant fall in smoking rates. Whereas those following the World Health Organization’s guidance continue to experience excessive smoking-related illnesses and deaths,” highlighted CAPHRA referring to the paper.
Loucas had added that the release of this significant data had coincided with the WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) which held its infamous COP9 session in November. “Ultimately, this paper proves countries that embrace vaping, such as France, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Canada, have witnessed a decrease in smoking rates that is twice as fast as the global average,” she said.
The Right2Switch petition can be viewed and signed at https://change.org/v4v-petition
