Taupō vape crackdown undermines smokefree efforts
Taupō District
Council’s “vape free” declaration for
public spaces is a step backwards from Smokefree 2025, says
the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union. Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke
says, “A powerful incentive to get smokers off cigarettes
and onto less harmful alternatives is to let them vape in
places they can’t smoke. When a council reduces the
relative attractiveness of vaping, they make it more likely
for people to keep smoking cigarettes – paying exorbitant
excise taxes and damaging their health in the
process.” “The Council’s concerns over vaping
as some kind of gateway to smoking are contradicted by the
evidence. A New Zealand study published in the Lancet just last week
suggests that vaping has led young people away from, not
towards, smoking.” “Councils should be aimed at
improving health outcomes and easing financial pressures.
This vaping crackdown does the opposite.” "In addition,
while the Council puts up misleading signs suggesting vaping
is banned, it doesn't actually have the power to enforce
this. The Council stop wasting time and get back to core
business." ENDS
29 JANUARY 2020