2021 Key To Getting Smokefree NZ Back…

2021 is shaping up to be the most critical year to
achieving a smokefree country. However, it will take a lot
of determination to deliver on a national ambition that’s
already 10 years old, says a leading New Zealand tobacco
harm reduction advocate.

“Smokefree 2025 is sadly
unlikely to be achieved, but all is not lost. The
Government’s draft smokefree action plan will be released
for public consultation in the coming months and it’s a
priority workstream for new Associate Health Minster Dr
Ayesha Verrall,” says Nancy Loucas, co-director of
Aotearoa Vapers Community Advocacy (AVCA).

Ms Loucas
says everyone involved in tobacco harm reduction will need
to be actively involved in shaping up the action
plan.

“If New Zealand is going to become smokefree,
the right incentives and interventions will need to be
rolled out. If we don’t take some very bold measures, we
won’t be smokefree for nearly two more decades and Maori
won’t be for another four decades! That’s totally
unacceptable,” she says.

Last year Parliament passed
the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping)
Amendment Act 2020. Companies cannot now advertise vaping
products and flavour sales are set to be restricted for
general retailers from August.

Ms Loucas says the
Government is also consulting with the vaping industry on
key regulations this year, and that work must dovetail into
the country’s smokefree action plan.

“Vaping is
the most effective smoking cessation tool we’ve ever had,
and it has been critical to our declining smoking rate. With
that in mind, the Government should tread carefully with its
proposed regulations. By making vaping less visible and less
attractive for smokers by limiting the likes of flavours
will only hamper the country’s smokefree goal,” she
says.

AVCA’s Parliamentary petition on vaping
flavours, which over 17,000 Kiwis signed, was referred to
the Health Select Committee last year. Nancy Loucas has
since been invited to make a supplementary submission to the
Health Select Committee.

“2021 provides an enormous
opportunity to get the country’s smokefree ambition back
on track. There’s a smokefree action plan to confirm,
vaping regulations to get right, and a new Health Select
Committee to engage. It’s a key year,” says Ms
Loucas.

About AVCA

AVCA was formed in 2016 by
vapers across New Zealand wanting their voices heard in
local and central government. All members are former smokers
who promote vaping to help smokers quit – a much less
harmful alternative to combustible tobacco products. AVCA
does not have any affiliation or vested interest in industry
– tobacco, pharmaceutical and/or the local vaping
manufacturing or retail sectors.

www.avca.org.nz

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