From October 1, Australians will only be able to buy e-cigarettes containing nicotine if they have a prescription from a doctor. But there’s another evidence-based way to help more smokers quit.
Vaping is changing how smoking is depicted on our television and cinema screens. Where once cigarettes were portrayed as glamorous, vaping is linked with stress and struggle.
Despite being widely viewed as a safer alternative to tobacco, e-cigarettes aren’t harmless, especially to adolescents. But social media is rife with glossy content that makes vaping look fun and cool.
Public health recommendations have always been a hard sell. Resistance to new behaviors – like the mask-wearing and social distancing advised during the COVID-19 pandemic – is part of human nature.
Stroke is New Zealand’s third highest cause of death, but few people recognise its symptoms and risk factors, particularly in Pasifika and Māori communities where stroke affects more people.
From 2021, it will be harder to import e-cigarettes. That protects young people, in particular, who are increasingly being lured into nicotine and tobacco addiction.
Australia has won a decisive victory against tobacco interests using trade deals to challenge plain packaging laws. But don’t expect that to deter similar threats against other nations.
From 2021, Australians will no longer be able to buy nicotine-containing e-fluids, without both a prescription and someone licensed to import it for them, raising fears many will go back to smoking.
With the advent of novel tobacco products and the tobacco industry falsely marketing them as less harmful, the adage “prevention is better than cure” has never been more important.