FEATURE
WIDE OF THE
MARK ?
Global leaders and public health officials from around the world are striving to eradicate smoking … but will they actually hit their smokefree targets ?
Words : Jordan Millar
Tackling the raging smoking epidemic is at the forefront of international public health , with global leaders pledging to eliminate the world ’ s number one killer … cigarettes .
Many hope to bring an end to smoking in the next two decades , implementing policies and schemes to help people kick the deadly habit .
But , with millions of lives hanging in the balance , the real question is whether or not they will succeed . Here we highlight three countries – the UK , New Zealand and Canada – which have all made international headlines for their respective approaches to vape regulation , to see if they ’ re on track to hit their smokefree goals .
UK
Revered for its progressive , ‘ gold standard ’ approach to harm reduction , the UK government has allowed vaping to play an intricate role in its fight against smoking addiction .
I suspect that history will not reflect fondly on the faux moral outrage that led to the death of thousands of smokers
Many believe the UK ’ s embrace of reduced risk products – which could be prescribed on the country ’ s National Health Service under bold new plans - will help it achieve its smokefree 2030 goal .
Mark Pawsey of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Vaping said that , while the government has taken a ‘ world-leading approach ’, experts predict we won ’ t reach our deadline until 2037 .
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