July 2023 - Bay of Plenty Business News

2 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS July 2023
THE PORTER REPORT
A monthly update on the business
world from leading writer David Porter
www.bopbusinessnews.co.nz
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Going up in smoke
A
paean, or song of praise,
for our large neighbour
across the Tasman.
Recently the Australian government
decided enough was
enough and introduced a range
of new restrictions on vapes.
Despite them already being
illegal for many, under new
legislation they would become
available by prescription only.
But New Zealand, despite
its generally good record of
being at the forefront of health
and social policy change, has
so far declined to take effective
action against vaping.
Vaping supporters have
long argued that the e-cigarettes
help people to quit
smoking. And I have family
members now who have
switched to vapes to reduce
their smoking and are pleased
with their decisions.
The reality is cigarette
sales have steadily gone down
largely as a result of growing
awareness of their health dangers,
government restrictions,
and negative reporting of the
danger they pose.
As a result, ‘Big Tobacco’
– the major tobacco corporates
– have increasingly switched
to vapes with their attractive
candy colours and appealing
flavours to attract younger
people who no longer wish to
smoke cigarettes.
But Australia’s government
said evidence that e-cigarettes
help smokers quit was insufficient
for now. Instead, research
showed it could push young
vapers into taking up smoking
later in life.
A key reason is that vapes
usually contain a high percentage
of nicotine, known to be
a key addictive substance. As
Philip Morris principal scientist
WL Dunn said in 1972,
“No one has ever become a
cigarette smoker by smoking
cigarettes without nicotine,”
according to online site Truth
Initiative.
Recovery efforts
To declare a personal interest:
I am a recovered smoker and
have managed to maintain
that status for a few years by
keeping in mind that I’m only
a couple of cigarettes away
from a return of the habit – as
I proved to myself by many
failed quitting attempts over
previous years.
In my defence, I grew up in
an era when members of my
family smoked, public places
were smoke-filled, and cafes
and restaurants were replete
with ashtrays piled with smouldering
butts.
Still, all kudos to Australia.
In fact worldwide, depending
which list you read, and allowing
for the fact that smugglers
defeat many countries’ best
intentions, as many as 40 or
so countries worldwide have
already banned vaping.
I have considerable sympathy
for the hard-pressed small
dairies of our towns, which are
already in many cases trying
to survive a flurry of ram raids
by school-age offenders. Many
shops have now maxed out on
vaping products and reduced
their sales of cigarettes. And
I’m concerned at the considerable
proliferation of vape specialty
shops in our towns and
cities.
Vapes, or e-cigarettes, are
basically lithium battery-powered
devices that have cartridges
filled with liquids
containing nicotine, artificial
flavourings, and other chemicals.
When the liquid is heated
it gives off a vapour that is
inhaled into the smoker’s
lungs.
As any observer knows, we
are talking about a considerable
volume of smoke. Even
those of us who are not especially
scientific, can conclude
that the ingestion of that much
smoke – however cutely flavoured
– is unlikely to be beneficial
to the health of users or
bystanders.
Paralleling the slow decline
David Porter
in tobacco product sales, vaping
took off from the mid-
2000s and there were some 81
million vapers worldwide in
2021, according to the Global
State of Tobacco Harm Reduction
group.
Accelerating the rise was
the growing popularity of the
flavoured vapes designed specifically
to appeal to the young.
As is evident in the spate of
media coverage on the issue,
vapes are causing a problem
as a result of their growing and
overt usage in New Zealand
schools.
The various nicotine
gums and other paraphernalia
designed to help people quit
smoking are not wildly successful.
No surprise then that
big tobacco – already a veteran
of marketing, with worldwide
manufacturing and retail distribution
expertise – has ramped
up production and distribution
of its ‘fun’ electronic device.
But please be aware that
this could ultimately prove to
encourage an even more addictive
and potentially lethal habit
than tobacco.
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