February 2024 - Bay of Plenty Business News

4 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS February 2024
> THE PORTER REPORT
A monthly update on the business
world from leading writer David Porter
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Going up in smoke
> By DAVID PORTER
One interesting consequence
of the recent
change of government
in New Zealand was the
outrage over health issues
vented at the new coalition
by some.
Why? Because the coalition
opted to use its tax take
on cigarettes for purposes
other than protecting local
citizens from the widely
known downsides of smoking
cigarettes.
I was part of
a generation
that
David Porter
considered smoking to be a
perfectly acceptable pastime
from teenage years on. And
indeed, I was for many years
a regular and often heavy
smoker. For reasons I will go
into below, I eventually managed
to give up the habit.
But what annoyed me
most back when I wrestled
with controlling my smoking
was that, despite occasionally
giving up cigarettes, or
cutting down consumption, I
was always drawn back to it.
Indeed, at one point I managed
to give up cigarettes
for 18 months, only to start
smoking again after having
just one cigarette.
A terrible toll
I once worked for two
years for the World Health
Organisation in Geneva
in a department that,
amongst other things,
was heavily involved in
ways to help smokers
try and cut down and so
reduce the terrible toll
that cigarettes take on
them.
I think it’s fair to say that
smoking – and relapsing into
bad habits – is a subject I
know something about.
It was then something of a
surprise to hear the outgoing
Labour government patting
itself on the back because
it had reduced smoking
amongst the young.
How was this done?
Largely by persuading young
smokers to switch from cigarettes
to vaping. But the
long-term health risks of vaping
are not yet known, as the
Asthma Foundation of NZ,
amongst others, have pointed
out.
Research so far has found
that vaping and second-hand
vaping can irritate the lungs,
increase coughing and
worsen symptoms of respiratory
conditions like asthma,
says the foundation.
And our experience of
tobacco companies over the
years has indicated that – as
was the case with cigarettes
– the companies are very
aware of the addictive powers
of nicotine. And they have
proven through the decades
to be remarkably deft at
dodging criticism of the illhealth
consequences of their
products.
The tobacco giants were
quick to appreciate that, as
cigarette consumption slowly
declined in most countries
worldwide, vaping was perfectly
placed to take over.
And, of course, vapes can
contain significant quantities
of addictive nicotine.
The cute-looking packaging
and attractive sounding
names and flavours of vapes
in a variety of colours are
evidently very popular with
young consumers.
Our schools are already,
according to multiple news
reports, rife with conspicuous
consumption of vape
products.
My own experience, for
what it’s worth, is that the
only way to escape from
smoking, once you’ve decided
to stop, is to never succumb
to the “just the one for old
time’s sake” justification.
Sadly, nicotine is a perniciously
subtle and addictive
drug.