Vapouround Magazine ISSUE 35 | Page 123

Furious advocates are calling for Aussie politicians to end their ‘ dreadful ignorance ’ and champion vaping as a harm reduction tool . Fiona Patten , Leader of the Reason Party , said they had been quick to accept the limited science around COVID but continued to disregard the ‘ logical facts about vaping .’ She told this year ’ s Global Forum on Nicotine ( GFN ): “ Politicians will fall over themselves to agree with the science of lockdowns , isolation and vaccines … but when it comes to vaping , they say there ’ s not enough evidence . “ The mantra ‘ listen to the evidence , listen to the experts ’ has been on high rotation in all politicians ’ speaking notes for the past 18 months . “ So maybe it ’ s time to extend this newfound respect for science and health experts and change tobacco harm reduction policy in Australia .” Fiona highlighted that , if we could overcome the stigma around nicotine-use and adopt a more permissive approach to vaping , we could potentially save 20,000 Aussie lives ‘ immediately .’ She said : “ It ’ s so hard to change people ’ s views , particularly when it ’ s something that has a morality to it . “ Governments around the world constantly state that drug use must be treated as a health issue , not a criminal one . “ Yet , when it comes to nicotine , they are actively making criminals out of users here in Australia .” Christopher Snowdon of the Institute of Economic Affairs questioned how we can correct the ‘ dreadful ’ and ‘ growing ’ political ignorance about vaping . He said : “ The story of vaping as a harm reduction tool is stronger than ever , but increasingly , the good science has been flooded out by very bad science .

Politicians will fall over themselves to agree with the science of lockdowns , isolation and vaccines … but when it comes to vaping , they say there ’ s not enough evidence .
“ Because we ’ re going backwards on the research , we ’ re going backwards on public understanding , and I think this is the most shocking thing .” Snowdon explained that the ‘ sheer weight ’ of evidence against vaping is often enough to convince politicians but stressed that most of it is ‘ junk science from anti-vaping advocates .’ He said : “ In Australia , virtually everybody is against vaping … but in the UK , a vast majority of people in public health are in favour of vaping . “ Australians have got basically the same weapons but they come to directly opposite conclusions .” Fiona called on advocates to spread the positive message about vaping . She said : “ We need to pump up our lobbying , we need to be knocking on every door and challenging candidates at elections . “ Report after report , expert after expert , have told the government that vaping is a significant tobacco harm reduction tool … that it can help save lives .”
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