Nicotine Science and Policy

Gauteng residents are divided on the hotly contested draft Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill, with businesses warning that implementing the new laws will have negative consequences for the country’s township economy. The Portfolio Committee on Health recently held three public hearings over the Bill in Gauteng, and much like the public engagement in Limpopo, the North West, and Mpumulanga, there was support and rejection of the Bill. The Bill broadly aims to introduce the following:

• Declare indoor public places and certain outdoor areas 100% smoke-free.
• Ban the sale of cigarettes through vending machines. [...]

Many critics often accuse the World Health Organization of maintaining an ‘obsessive and paranoid secrecy’ regarding COP, its Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. However, with the recent postponement of COP10, perhaps it’s time to consider adding incompetence to the list of criticisms. Joining us today for a special live edition of RegWatch to discuss the confusion surrounding the postponement and what we can expect when COP10 convenes in February 2024 are Lindsey Stroud and Martin Cullip from the Taxpayers Protection Alliance in Washington, D.C.

Countries that ignored the World Health Organization’s (WHO) advice to enforce prohibitionist policies have experienced the most dramatic decline in smoking prevalence when they adopted a tobacco harm reduction approach instead, international public health policy experts said. Prof. David Sweanor, chair of the advisory board of the Center for Health Law, Policy and Ethics at the University of Ottawa, said smoking rates in countries such as Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Japan saw the biggest decline after these countries allowed the use of vapes, heated tobacco products, snus, and other smoke-free alternatives that are considered less harmful than conventional tobacco.

The Heart Foundation has welcomed the Australian Government’s commitment to new vaping reforms designed to curb e-cigarette use in Australia. From January 1, 2024, the Government will implement a ban on the importation of disposable single use vapes, while improving access to therapeutic, medically prescribed vapes, for people trying to quit smoking. " We welcome any Government intervention when it comes to curbing vaping use, especially among the young. Vaping, or the use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), has gained popularity in recent years as an alternative to traditional tobacco smoking. [...]

Introducing a new tax on vapes will be “challenging” to implement, Finance Minister Michael McGrath has said. The Government intends to apply the levy on e-cigarettes as part of a public health response to vaping. “While the implementation environment is challenging, it does not undermine the intention to apply a tax as one tool in the overall public health policy approach to e-cigarettes,” the finance minister said in response to a parliamentary question from Fianna Fáil TD Paul McAuliffe.

Denmark’s government is introducing a package of 30 measures aimed at reducing young people’s consumption of nicotine and alcohol. The plans include raising taxes on nicotine products and banning flavors. Advocates are dismayed by the moves, which come despite other Scandinavian countries boasting some of the world’s biggest tobacco harm reduction success stories.