The awards follow THR experts and consumer advocates organising a global livestream from 8 to 12 November during COP9 – the 9th Conference of Parties for the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

Dubbed sCOPe, the round-the-clock YouTube simulcast attracted significant attention, adding to increasing international pressure on the WHO to embrace safer nicotine products, not demonise them.

Organiser Nancy Loucas of CAPHRA (Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates) says sCOPe gave a voice to leading consumer advocates who were shut out of COP9. The focus, however, must now move to preparing for COP10 in 2023 where harm reduced products will be a key discussion for delegates.

“Those of us passionate about safer nicotine products must reach out to the likes of public health officials and influencers. We need to humanise this debate and show how vaping has saved the lives of millions of ex-smokers,” says Ms Loucas.

sCOPe’s Good COP awards:

The ‘Wow, Someone’s Actually Telling Us What’s Going On’ Award went to COPWATCH for getting on the inside and giving the world real-time insights online.

The ‘Give The Man A Cigar’ Award went to Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary, Teodoro Locsin Jr, for standing up to COP9 delegates.

The ‘I am the Evidence’ Award went to passionate US consumer advocate and sCOPe panellist, Liana Hudspeth.

sCOPe’s Bad COP awards:

The ‘You Shouldn’t Really Say That About Yourself’ Awardgoes to FCTC Head, Dr Adriana Blanco Marquizo, for her very bizarre ‘How industry weaponizes science’ Tweet: https://twitter.com/BlancoMarquizo/status/1459819999653244928

The ‘Our Proposal Won’t Do A Thing But Delegates Loved It’ Award went to Iran, whose government holds a sizable stake in its domestic tobacco industry.

The ‘Where The Hell Is Wally’ Award went to WHO sponsor, anti-vape crusader, and American billionaire Michael Bloomberg for trading in COP9 and flying to Glasgow’s glitzy, high-profile COP26.

To view the two sCOPe wrap-up discussions with leading THR consumer advocates visit https://youtu.be/s9eZMoDeiCE and https://youtu.be/YVlpx6VCE7A

To view sCOPe’s five days of presentations and panel discussions, visit https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8bGDU8FqUlGILwLK52hnRSoAkj-PuBgC

Now live and boasting over 14,000 testimonials, CAPHRA is calling on those who’ve quit cigarettes through smoke-free nicotine alternatives to tell their story on https://righttovape.org

For a free digital media repository on tobacco harm reduction in Asia Pacific – including media releases, images and graphics – please visit APTHR Media

sCOPE Livestream Review – Americas:
https://youtu.be/YVlpx6VCE7A

Slides from all sCOPe presentations can be found here:
https://bit.ly/3noJUlq

DAY 1 November 8 2021
CAPHRA panel discussion “What is THR?” https://youtu.be/Iflxq-dTC9A
ECST  panel discussion (Thai) https://youtu.be/NICW8soZC9k
Marewa Glover, PhD presentation https://youtu.be/d7M8ao6ttbI
VAPERS PH panel https://youtu.be/ooC_KB8pECg
MOVE/HAA discussion (in Bahasa) with Samsul Ariffin https://youtu.be/gZnQI2io15g
INNCO panel discussion w/Jeff Zamora https://youtu.be/bx9-i8VK7tc

DAY 2 November 9 2021
ARDT IberoAmerica (Spanish) https://youtu.be/9_S2mzgeW7U
CASAA US – panel discussion (English) https://youtu.be/MjnYjRYRglY
SmokeFree Radio Son of Liberty (English) https://youtu.be/mfB9TTLLrnc
CAPHRA – Nicotine is NOT the Enemy (English) https://youtu.be/-3twtvrYDas
ECST panel discussion (Thai) https://youtu.be/CtYZlGYrxmg
Marewa Glover, PhD presentation (English) https://youtu.be/N19IFE28e1g
EUforSnus – Bengt Wiberg https://youtu.be/zb9S6boj7Qk
AVI India discussion https://youtu.be/hKMpBSH4lnA

DAY 3 November 10 2021
Roberto Sussman presentation (English) https://youtu.be/9oGnxygts1A
ARDT IberoAmerica (Spanish) https://youtu.be/WXWb2NMdA84
Yolande Jeffares https://youtu.be/GoXwvmn-AK4
SMOKEFREE RADIO/SOL https://youtu.be/smW39rjjzsw
CAPHRA panel: https://youtu.be/67wIVK7veN8
NCUP panel: https://youtu.be/9oGnxygts1A
VAPERS PH panel https://youtu.be/QNWpbiIaYsI

DAY 4 November 11 2021
Roberto Sussman Presentation (English) https://youtu.be/R5_0WSANxL0
ARDT IberoAmerica (Spanish) https://youtu.be/RlxOlGsHn2c
SmokeFree Radio/Son of Liberty https://youtu.be/yUfKSoWk54o
Marewa Glover, PhD presentation https://youtu.be/Ornma3kCt0k
CAPHRA – Who we Are – consumers https://youtu.be/IIrQ0SAap2w
ECST panel discussion (Thai) https://youtu.be/ALyYjyz53GE
Paul and Broony Off the Cuff https://youtu.be/-fi9C0L5Hzc

DAY 5 November 12, 2021
Ladies Hour https://youtu.be/lsijZmy1KiA
Roberto Sussman Presentation (English) https://youtu.be/P16Rd2RSBK4
ARDT IberoAmerica – (Spanish) https://youtu.be/zzOApwJPP44
SmokeFree Radio/Son of Liberty https://youtu.be/NmUHYzA7znw
CAPHRA – advocacy and strategy https://youtu.be/ezEkGdbxAUA
Marewa Glover, PhD presentation https://youtu.be/YGMJAZTVKSY
NCUP/Anton Israel (Tagalog) https://youtu.be/l4-hpLJ6QwU
ECST panel (Thai) https://youtu.be/mRSf_OeWKwk
ASAP Pakistan discussion (Urdu) https://youtu.be/HyNQsxGhLBY
Vapers PH discussion (Tagalog) https://youtu.be/qTZKnApwNMc
SCOPE Final Session https://youtu.be/EOKQwFS1vkg

Consumer groups have criticized a study produced by researchers from the University of Bath in the UK for ignoring scientific evidence in its methodology and for resorting to discriminatory labeling that undermines the efforts of tobacco harm reduction organisations.

The Association of Vapers India (AVI), which pushes for less harmful alternatives to combustible cigarettes, protested the tactic employed by researchers from University of Bath’s Tobacco Control Research Group (TCRG) and sent a formal letter to the journal that published the study about the Twitter activity around the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

“We have written to the journal raising objections over casting us as a tobacco industry front group without any evidence and by drawing unfair inferences from our membership of International Network of Nicotine Consumer Organisations (INCCO),” AVI director Jagannath Sarangapani said (pictured above).

AVI clarified that it was formed in 2016 when vapers began protesting the vape bans spreading across Indian states, which were being pushed for by the Bloomberg Philanthropies network. “AVI is an independent, consumer-run organisation with no financial ties to INNCO, the Foundation for Smoke-free World (FSFW) or the tobacco industry,” Sarangapani said.

“Such accusations are hence blatant attempts to rob consumers of their voice so that the Bloomberg network, which the authors belong to, can keep influencing governments to impose bans on lower-risk alternatives which could have helped address the tobacco-related health crisis, especially in low-income countries where people cannot afford medical treatments to deal with the consequences of tobacco use and hence harm prevention is a key measure,” Sarangapani said.

Nancy Loucas (at right), Executive Coordinator of the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) and co-director of AVCA New Zealand, said the Bath researchers did not offer to provide evidence, nor tried to substantiate their allegations when they labeled tobacco harm reduction advocates as pro-tobacco based merely on Twitter messages.

She said it was unfortunate that the Bath researchers did not go to the extent of perusing the websites of the organisations or applying any scientific method in their assumptions or insinuations.

“When doing research, following the scientific method, you have a hypothesis (question) that you are going to investigate—in this case:  Does the group have any financial connection to funds from big tobacco?  The next step in the process is to develop a method to test your hypothesis—in this case, either looking at its financials which are publicly available on the charities commission website or asking someone directly about it,” she said.

“After you have chosen your method, you gather evidence, make an objective analysis and state your findings to make a conclusion. Your method should be thorough and your research should be objective in order to maintain the integrity of your research (and yourself). The evidence will either prove/disprove your original hypothesis. Obviously that didn’t happen,” Loucas said.

Loucas said the speculative method employed by Bath researchers has no place in any scientific study, which should make readers question any of the findings that are produced by those who choose to play such games.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Representatives of the Ends Cigarette Smoke Thailand (ECST) and administrators of the Facebook page “What is e-cigarette” attended the August 17 meeting at the Office of the Ombudsman to tackle the petition questioning the ban on sales and import of e-cigarettes.

Officials of the Department of Foreign Trade, Office of the Consumer Protection Board, Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health, and the Tobacco Control Research and Knowledge Management Center also attended the meeting.

“We would like to thank the Ombudsman for being the hope of the people and for giving the e-cigarette user network a chance to clarify the information as well as inviting all parties to discuss in order to be fair to e-cigarette users and to find appropriate solutions together,” ECST representative Asa Saligupta said in a statement.

The Ministry of Commerce earlier confirmed the resolution to keep the ban on e-cigarettes, citing TRC’s report which drew doubts among people affected by the ban.

“The current ban on e-cigarettes is a violation of the people’s right to access safer alternative products and accurate information about e-cigarettes. This is considered to be an unfair practice of deliberately refraining from performing the duty of inspecting information presented from all sides,” Mr. Saligupta said.

“We believe that good regulation must not restrict the rights of adults who want access to less harmful alternative products, and at the same time measures to protect children and youth from accessing these products. This is a guideline that more than 60 countries around the world use to regulate the product according to the law. We hope that the committee of the Ministry of Commerce and the TRC’s subsequent reviews will be impartial and take into account the impacts on every group of individuals,” Mr. Saligupta said.

Mr. Saligupta said that amid the unfair ban on e-cigarettes, they asked the Office of the Ombudsman to provide justice to more than half a million e-cigarette users in Thailand. “We estimate that there are currently over 500,000 e-cigarette users nationwide, plus 11 million smokers who are looking for a less harmful alternative to replace smoking,” he said.

“We are glad that the Ombudsman remains an institution that the people in suffering can depend on in finding a just and transparent solution to the problem. Hence, the most important key is the people’s participation and listening to the opinions of the public, especially e-cigarette users, which we are considered to be directly impacted by the ban,” said Mr. Saligupta.

Mr. Saligupta said findings from scientific agencies in the U.S., the UK, and other European countries concluded that e-cigarettes generate less harmful chemicals than what are found in traditional cigarettes. “We have tried to bring this information to both the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Public Health, but the presented information has never been considered to make amendments on the ban,” he said.

The Ministry of Commerce asked the TRC to conduct a study on e-cigarettes, but the results did not take into account the data from the different sides, according to Mr. Saligupta.

“It also obstructs the participation of people who have a different point of view, which is against the intention of the legislation and the study of the achievement of the law. The ban has been in place for five years, and both the country and the people have not benefitted at all,” he said.

Mr. Maris Karanyawat, another representative of ECST, said that Thailand’s e-cigarette ban goes against foreign guidelines that focus on the importance of research and scientific approaches.

For example, Hong Kong and New Zealand have recently considered control regulations on alternative products, including e-cigarettes where there were open public hearings to listen to the opinions of the people and took into consideration results from scientific studies that include information on e-cigarettes’ advantages and disadvantages, impact on health, society, and economy.

“Either right or wrong, the society deserves to know the science or the whole truth and not distorted inaccurate information like nowadays,” Mr. Karanyawat said.

E-cigarette products are prohibited from being imported and distributed in the Kingdom of Thailand, according to the Ministry of Commerce announcement in 2014, and the prohibition on sale and service according to the announcement of the Office of the Consumer Protection Board in 2015.

Mr. Karanyawat said that despite the prohibition, there are still more than 500,000 e-cigarette users who are secretly selling and buying through illegal channels, resulting in a large underground market.

The market value of e-cigarettes is estimated to be more than 6 billion baht annually. As the products are prohibited, the government cannot collect taxes, depriving the State of potential income and creating a burden on the government agencies that have to arrest and crack down on the illicit goods.

This also creates confusion within the public about the potential of e-cigarettes as tobacco harm reduction products. E-cigarettes are being sold widely, uncontrolled by the government, leaving opportunities for extortion by government officials and providing no measures to prevent youth access.

Nancy Loucas, executive coordinator for the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) said that the work that had been done by the government of New Zealand should be the precedent for the Kingdom of Thailand, as well as the wider Asia Pacific region.

“New Zealand’s acknowledgement of their responsibilities as a signatory to WHO FCTC, under Article 5.3 by engaging with the community and their understanding that harm reduction is one of the two precepts of the article allowed New Zealand to come up with a basic framework that balances the needs of smokers and the needs of the general public,” she said. “The push for a regulated market was the initiative of the consumers of New Zealand, just as they are doing in Thailand. It is a grassroots initiative from the main stakeholders, who are the real experts,” Loucas added.

About ECST
Ends Cigarette Smoke Thailand is a consumer advocacy organization that strives to promote tobacco harm reduction in the face of blanket bans, fines and jail time for consumers who wish to use alternative nicotine consumption products, specifically Electronic Liquid Vaporizers.