Victory for Vapes in the UK and New Zealand!

The new report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has stated that vaping has enabled the United Kingdom to reduce smoking over the past five years!

Big Ben has been turning time for five years, and the report’s outcome sounds like a victory for the UK as it pursues a tobacco control policy with vaping. While other European countries tend to restrict the use of vaping by TPD vape, the United Kingdom has long understood its potential to reduce the risks of smoking so they welcome the OEM vape to be sold within the country.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) report shows the smoking rate is 14.1%, a decrease of more than 5% since 2012.

At the same time, the report notes a significant increase in British vapers to 3 million! In 2019, 5.7% of respondents said they currently use an e-cigarette, down from just 3.7% in 2014.

More vapers, fewer smokers; this report echoes the effectiveness of vaping in reducing smoking. And half of the current vapers in the UK said they used an e-cigarette to quit smoking!

New Zealand, a paradise for vapers

New Zealand is well known for its landscapes beauty and not only. This country is one of the only countries to officially recognize vaping as a tool for reducing the risks associated with smoking.

New Zealand smokefree

In March 2017, New Zealand officially recognized vaping as a risk reduction tool and included it in its policy to reduce smoking on its territory to less than 5% in 2025 (15% in 2017). This is the “New Zealand smoke-free” objective that the New Zealand government has set itself.

Nicky Wagner, Deputy Minister for Health, had announced the legalization of the sale of nicotine e-liquid. This statement followed a public consultation: “I suggest all people here who smoke to switch to vaping. I tried to get into the e-cigarette, it’s not really my thing, but to tell you the truth, I don’t smoke either. However, I suggest that all smokers try the e-cigarette. While it is difficult to obtain definitive results worldwide, we believe that vaping is at least 95% less harmful than smoking.

An information campaign on risk reduction with vaping

Two years later, the Minister of Health created a website to encourage smokers to choose the e-cigarette as a smoking cessation tool: Vaping Facts.

On this site, a video relates an interview between Professor Hayden McRobbie and a smoker. He introduces his subject with “Vaping is not smoking” and deconstructs all the received ideas!

The site also offers an explanatory comparison of the risks, the delivery of nicotine, the sensations and the cost between smoked tobacco and vaping.

Regulated Advertising: The Importance of Specialty Retailer Status

A few days ago, the New Zealand health committee drafted a bill to:

– restrict advertising and marketing of vaping products

– limit the types of products likely to be sold by generic stores, which are not specialized retailers.

-create a status of “specialist retailer.”

Shops with “Specialty Retailer” status will be the only ones that can advertise. To be recognized as such, the store manager must request the general director of health but provided that at least 85% of the establishment’s sales are vape products.

On the other hand, online sales cannot claim this status.

Flavours are also regulated. Speciality retailer status gives the right to sell all flavours. Without this status, only classic and mint flavours can be sold.

So, New Zealand, a paradise? Yes, because the New Zealand government has initiated a tobacco control policy by integrating vaping. But beware, the country “along the white cloud” should not restrict online sales and flavours too much so as not to lose sight of the horizon it is aiming for: less than 5% smoking in 2025.