Taking effect on 3 August, the regulation of vaping devices precedes the imminent legalization of vape sales. It follows years of campaigning by MOVE and other Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) supporters.

The Malaysian Government has now moved to gazette the Trade Descriptions (Certification and Marking) of Electronic Cigarette Devices Order 2022 under the Trade Descriptions Act 2011.Manufacturers and importers will need to ensure all devices are certified and labelled to show consumers that safety standards have been met and the products are safe to use. All e-liquids will need to be registered.

“This is historic news after a long-fought battle. It paves the way for a legalized market and safer products. Regulating vaping products, restricting sales to adults, and applying significant penalties to any breaches will help many more Malaysian smokers to quit deadly cigarettes,” says Samsul Kamal Ariffin, President of MOVE.

Mr Ariffin says in recent months there have been frustrating parliamentary delays in progressing the Tobacco & Smoking Control Bill – not helped by the pending general election. However, with the safety standards now gazetted, it sets in train the legalization of vapes sales.

“Regulating, not banning, vaping will not only save smokers lives it will generate much needed tax revenue for our country which is desperately needed post pandemic.

“This is not only good news for smokers and their loved ones, but every Malaysian will benefit from the extra revenue gained from vape manufacturing, importing and sales. Up until now it has been a black market with unapproved products not contributing tax and with no safety assurances,” he says.

MOVE pays tribute to the leadership of Malaysia’s Health Minister YB Khairy Jamaluddin who championed the Government’s decision to regulate the vape industry.

“The Government has done well in preparing the legislation and regulation of products deemed 95% less harmful than combustible tobacco. It fully understands that making safer nicotine products legally accessible is the only way to seriously reduce Malaysia’s unnecessarily high smoking rates,” says Mr Ariffin.

CAPHRA (Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates) agrees that Malaysia’s leadership on vaping will see the country’s smoking rates will dramatically fall.

“Malaysia will join 67 other progressive countries worldwide which have adopted regulatory frameworks on safer nicotine products. Importantly, all of them have subsequently registered a dramatic decline in smoking,” says Nancy Loucas, Executive Coordinator of CAPHRA.

CAPHRA says effective advocacy from Malaysian consumer groups was key to the Government’s decision last year to legalise liquid nicotine and move forward with regulation.

“We’re particularly proud of our member organisation MOVE and Samsul’s tireless advocacy over many years. The 3rd of August is worthy of a big celebration and will be well noted across the Asia Pacific region. Vaping bans fail badly – as Australia is discovering the hard way,” says Ms Loucas.

A global collaboration of THR consumer groups, sCOPe, has launched a comprehensive library of online panel discussions and presentations. In November 2021, sCOPe broadcast around the clock during COP9 – the 9th Conference of Parties for the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). To access sCOPe’s online library visit, https://bit.ly/319zzkx

Boasting over 14,000 testimonials, CAPHRA is calling on those who’ve quit cigarettes through smoke-free nicotine alternatives to tell their story on www.righttovape.org

For a free digital media repository on tobacco harm reduction in Asia Pacific – including media releases, images and graphics – please visit https://apthrmedia.org

“Australia’s political leaders need to pull their heads out of the sand. Annually over 20,000 Australian smokers die prematurely from smoking-related illnesses and 2.3 million still smoke. Alarmingly, however, nobody wants to seriously fix successive governments’ failure to reduce tobacco harm,” says Nancy Loucas, Executive Co-ordinator of CAPHRA.

CAPHRA’s comments come as campaigning ramps up ahead of Australia’s federal election on 21 May.

Australia is the only Western democracy that requires a nicotine prescription to vape. Further, its Department of Health’s Draft National Smoking Strategy 2022 – 2030 proposes additional measures to prevent smokers from switching to safer nicotine products.

“Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Australians support a Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) approach and the regulated availability of safer alternatives. We’re now calling on voters to confront and quiz campaigning Australian MPs as to why they continue to support such a failed ‘quit or die’ approach on tobacco control,” says Ms Loucas.

CAPHRA says adding to politicians’ reluctance is the fact that many in the Australian media continue to perpetuate myths about the country’s smoking success and risks around vaping.

One leading morning paper last month declared that ‘Australia is the envy of the world when it comes to our success at cutting smoking rates’. Joining a chorus, it called for the federal government to ‘redouble its efforts to crack down on vaping, before it becomes endemic among our young people and entices them towards tobacco.’

“As neighbouring and more progressive New Zealand has proven, vaping is an off-ramp to smoking, not an on-ramp. New Zealand is on target to reach Smokefree 2025 where 5% or less smoke. In stark contrast, Australia is miles off, simply because deadly cigarettes remain easier to obtain than proven alternatives deemed 95% less harmful,” says Ms Loucas.

Australian THR expert Dr Colin Mendelsohn describes last decade’s national smoking strategy as an ‘embarrassing failure’. A target of 10% adult daily smoking was set for 2018, but only 13.8% was achieved. He believes without vaping readily accessible to adult smokers, Australia’s 10% target will be missed again.

“In the past, a few Liberal MPs voiced a pro-vaping position and Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce was publicly supportive, so we held some hope for positive change. Australia, however, continues to lag further behind most Asia Pacific countries when it comes to adopting tobacco control policies that work,” she says.

Last year Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) expanded its prescription-only model with customs clamping down at the border on the likes of personal imports of nicotine vaping liquids from overseas websites.

Ms Loucas says also helping to bury the vape debate this election is the attraction of tobacco tax. In fact, ongoing increases to tobacco excise have made it the fourth largest individual tax collected by Australia’s federal government at an estimated $15 billion per financial year.

CAPHRA notes that nearly 70 countries have adopted regulatory frameworks on safer nicotine products. All of them have reported a dramatic decline in smoking prevalence since.

“Australia is light years behind the US, UK, and New Zealand, with some key Asian countries now looking to lift their failed vaping bans. If campaigning Australian politicians really want to save lives this election, well here is their best opportunity by simply a stroke of the pen,” says Nancy Loucas.

A recent episode of The Advocates Voice (TAV) discussed Australia’s failed ‘quit or die’ approach. To view the episode, visit https://youtu.be/HnuApgneKPI

A global collaboration of THR consumer groups, sCOPe, has launched a comprehensive library of online panel discussions and presentations. In November 2021, sCOPe broadcast around the clock during COP9 – the 9th Conference of Parties for the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). To access sCOPe’s online library visit, https://bit.ly/319zzkx

Boasting over 14,000 testimonials, CAPHRA is calling on those who’ve quit cigarettes through smoke-free nicotine alternatives to tell their story on www.righttovape.org

For a free digital media repository on tobacco harm reduction in Asia Pacific – including media releases, images and graphics – please visit https://apthrmedia.org

Her comments come as the Philippines awaits presidential approval to regulate vaping while Malaysia and Thailand look to lift their failed vaping bans.

“When these three nations legalise vaping, they will be among at least 70 countries worldwide that have adopted regulatory frameworks on safer nicotine products. All have registered a dramatic decline in smoking, so the message is clear: Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) is here to stay,” says Ms Loucas.

Alarmingly, when it comes to vaping an undue influence of private wealth over public policy remains strong. Many Asia Pacific countries, she says, are pressured by an overt anti-vape agenda sponsored by foreign think tanks such as those funded by the foundation of American billionaire Michael Bloomberg.

“The World Health Organization all the way down to non-governmental organisations are unduly influenced by the money that can be had by implementing strategies and policies crafted to benefit a select few.”

Ms Loucas says the policies and people who promote the anti-vape agenda appear to be altruistic and charitable to the world at large and are therefore accepted without question. The dark side, however, is that these organisations are predatory and patronising, and the policies they are pushing are inhumane.

“Smoking rates have declined as the use of safer nicotine products has increased – that’s the truth,” says Ms Loucas.

“Safer nicotine products do work to reduce harm from tobacco. However, because they are not developed by corporations who can profit from their manufacture or sale, they must be shut down as they are a threat. They’re also a major threat to government revenue – with tobacco excise tax sadly wanted in this post-COVID world,” she added.

CAPHRA says there is an ongoing refusal to accept the science and evidence supporting vaping, despite it being presented by leading scientists, research institutions and public health experts across the world.

“It’s deplorable that developing countries with limited resources, scientific experts and public health budgets have the funding carrot dangled in front of them plus a scripted tobacco control policy. Bullying them into implementing a failed ‘quit or die’ strategy rather than a proven THR approach shows no deference for the local context or situation.”

Also deplorable, she says, is the well-resourced demonization of those publicly advocating for better access to safer nicotine products over deadly cigarettes.

“Nicotine is not the enemy, nor are the adult consumers of nicotine. Vaping has literally saved their lives. Millions of happier and healthier people are the real-world evidence”, says Ms Loucas.

Keen for more countries to adopt progressive regulations around vaping, THR advocates are coming together to help each other with guidance and support. Dubbed The Advocates Voice ‘Shorts’ Series, the five sessions will be livestreamed fortnightly via the CAPHRA and sCOPe YouTube channels at 12:00pm NZT. To view the first one – The Art of Self Care – on 26 March, visit https://youtu.be/3-2wWX_g65k

A global collaboration of THR consumer groups, sCOPe, has launched a comprehensive library of online panel discussions and presentations. In November 2021, sCOPe broadcast around the clock during COP9 – the 9th Conference of Parties for the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). To access sCOPe’s online library visit, https://bit.ly/319zzkx

Boasting over 14,000 testimonials, CAPHRA is calling on those who’ve quit cigarettes through smoke-free nicotine alternatives to tell their story on www.righttovape.org

For a free digital media repository on tobacco harm reduction in Asia Pacific – including media releases, images and graphics – please visit https://apthrmedia.org

“Malaysia’s Health Minister YB Khairy Jamaluddin’s decision to regulate the vape industry is forward looking and highly commendable. Things were looking good but unfortunately the speed at which this bill will be approved is now directly related to what’s going on politically in Malaysia,” says Mr Ariffin.

The President of MOVE and member of CAPHRA says the elections are proving a key distraction to Malaysia strictly regulating the safety and sale of vaping products.

“We are very disappointed that MPs are absent from Parliament, busy campaigning for state-level elections. What’s more, the vaping legislation will be further delayed if the general election gets scheduled for May this year,” he says.

Earlier this year Malaysian vape advocates and users applauded the Ministry of Health’s efforts as it moved to prepare the legislation to progress through Parliament. Now commentators are concerned that delays to the Tobacco & Smoking Control Bill could see Malaysia lose an estimated RM 1 billion in tax revenue.

Mr Ariffin says despite disappointing delays, advocates for a Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) approach are keeping their eyes on the prize. They are desperate to see the end of Malaysia’s sales ban on vaping products which has kept the country’s smoking rates unnecessarily high.

CAPHRA (Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates) says all eyes are on Malaysia. The high-profile regional advocacy group remains confident the legislation will pass and Malaysia’s smoking rates will dramatically fall.

“The Philippines vaping legalisation is just awaiting presidential approval, and even Thailand is actively investigating ways to lift its failed vaping ban. We have every confidence in Malaysia doing the right thing once the elections have passed,” says Nancy Loucas, Executive Coordinator of CAPHRA.

“Malaysia’s leaders know that 67 countries worldwide have now adopted regulatory frameworks on safer nicotine products and subsequently all have registered a dramatic decline in smoking. That’s a powerful proposition given smoking is rife in Malaysia and needlessly killing thousands of good people every year,” she says.

CAPHRA says considerable and effective advocacy from local consumer groups in recent years was key to the Malaysian Government’s decision last year to legalise liquid nicotine and move forward with regulation.

“When Malaysia legislates and regulates vaping it will send a big message to the world. Malaysia’s Health Minister has shown incredible leadership to date. We now await support from his parliamentary colleagues. Together they’ll save the lives of countless Malaysian smokers. What an incredible legacy that will be,” says Nancy Loucas.

A global collaboration of THR consumer groups, sCOPe, has launched a comprehensive library of online panel discussions and presentations. In November 2021, sCOPe broadcast around the clock during COP9 – the 9th Conference of Parties for the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). To access sCOPe’s online library visit, https://bit.ly/319zzkx

Boasting over 14,000 testimonials, CAPHRA is calling on those who’ve quit cigarettes through smoke-free nicotine alternatives to tell their story on www.righttovape.org

For a free digital media repository on tobacco harm reduction in Asia Pacific – including media releases, images and graphics – please visit https://apthrmedia.org

“Vaping rates might be up, but these are overwhelmingly young people who were smoking in the first place,” says Nancy Loucas, Executive Coordinator of the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA).

“Importantly, this survey confirms that vaping is not hooking non-smokers, as just three percent of those who vape daily have never smoked. What’s more, while many may try it, very few ever become regular vapers,” she says.

The ASH Year 10 Snapshot surveyed 26,000 Kiwi students aged 13 and 14 years old on their smoking and vaping behaviour and attitudes. The survey found just 1.3% of year 10s are smoking daily, down from 2% in 2019.

“We don’t want school students vaping. However, let’s not forget that this 2021 survey was conducted when the Government’s regulations were still relatively new. The full impacts of the marketing ban and strictly cementing the purchase age at 18 will be seen in future surveys,” says Ms Loucas.

CAPHRA says New Zealand’s adoption of relatively progressive vaping legislation and regulation is enabling both young and old smokers to quit deadly cigarettes. In fact, the country’s goal of Smokefree 2025 – where 5% or less of the general population smoke – is looking increasingly likely to be achieved.

“The University of Otago continues to peddle that the Government’s approach is doing little to dampen vaping’s popularity among our youth. They totally ignore that New Zealand’s non-smoking youth are simply not taking up vaping and just over one percent of young teens now smoke daily. That is what a successful Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) public health strategy looks like,” she says.

Ms Loucas says the 67 countries which have adopted regulatory frameworks on vaping have all registered a dramatic decline in smoking prevalence. In the Asia-Pacific region, the Philippines is set to regulate vaping, with Malaysia and Thailand also closely looking into it.

“Otago academics can continue railing against vaping but they’re increasingly a minority, with the European Parliament the latest to formally recognise THR as a public health policy and the benefits of vaping for smokers keen to quit,” she says.

Ms Loucas says Otago is not only pushing to ultimately ban vaping but is now calling for nicotine to be phased out of New Zealand society altogether.

“Nicotine may be addictive, but it won’t kill you. These academics need to focus their efforts on combustible tobacco, after all it’s the smoke that’s the main source of cancer-causing toxic chemicals. No one can understand why Otago’s Department of Public Health obsesses over a practice that’s saving millions of smokers’ lives worldwide and is deemed by Public Health England as 95% less harmful than smoking,” says Nancy Loucas.

A global collaboration of THR consumer groups, sCOPe, has launched a comprehensive library of online panel discussions and presentations. In November 2021, sCOPe broadcast around the clock during COP9 – the 9th Conference of Parties for the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). To access sCOPe’s online library visit, https://bit.ly/319zzkx

Boasting over 14,000 testimonials, CAPHRA is calling on those who’ve quit cigarettes through smoke-free nicotine alternatives to tell their story on www.righttovape.org

For a free digital media repository on tobacco harm reduction in Asia Pacific – including media releases, images and graphics – please visit https://apthrmedia.org

“We salute his bravery at COP9 for promoting the Philippines’ balanced and evidence-based approach to safer nicotine products,” says Peter Dator, president of consumer group Vapers PH and CAPHRA member. “Opponents and officials have since done their best to discredit Secretary Locsin and disrespect our country’s democracy and sovereignty, but they have failed badly.”

Nancy Loucas, Executive Coordinator of CAPHRA (Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates), says it’s pleasing to see top Filipino politicians rally around Secretary Locsin, with the global vaping community also voicing its strong support via social media.

“In a world where smoking causes eight million deaths every year, Secretary Locsin has done everyone a huge favour. Telling COP9 about the success of ‘far less harmful novel tobacco products’ and the Philippine Government’s political support for them was music to the ears of the millions who’ve successful quit deadly cigarettes, via vaping,” she says.

During COP9 – the 9th Conference of Parties for the WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) – Ms Loucas organised a global livestream, featuring world-leading THR experts and consumer advocates.

Dubbed sCOPe, the five-day YouTube simulcast attracted a significant audience globally, adding to the increasing pressure on the WHO to embrace safer nicotine products, rather than pushing to ban them.

“How can we trust the WHO and the FCTC when they are afraid of science? In this age of fake news and alternative facts, it is important for governments to take a stand for the facts and know how to sift through the propaganda. This is what Secretary Locsin did at COP9, and I join the Philippine Cabinet and Congress in commending his actions,” says Mr Dator.

To view Mr Dator’s message to COP9 delegates visit: https://youtu.be/g0pYPmRXxM8

Secretary Locsin’s speech at COP9 and other key moments will be analysed during a post-sCOPe wrap-up and discussion. sCOPe’s COP9 awards will also announced. It will be broadcast at https://bit.ly/30v701b from 6pm (Hong Kong Time) or 10am (GMT) on Wednesday, 17 November.

CAPHRA is calling on those who’ve quit cigarettes through smoke-free nicotine alternatives to tell their story on www.righttovape.org, and add to the more than 14,000 testimonials available.

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

Known as House Bill 9007, the proposed ‘Non-Combustible Nicotine Delivery Systems Regulation Act’ is a massive legislative achievement for tobacco harm reduction advocates in the Philippines, says Nancy Loucas, Executive Coordinator of the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA).

“Nearly 90,000 Filipinos die from smoking-related diseases every year. This legislation will not only save thousands of lives, but the Philippines is now leading the way in the Asia-Pacific region with reasonable, risk proportionate regulation which will be very effective in curbing smoking rates,” says Ms Loucas.

With international evidence putting vaping at 95% less harmful than smoking, non-combustible electronic nicotine and non-nicotine delivery systems (ENDS/ENNDS) have been available in the Philippines for more than a decade. However, in 2019 the Government tried to ban the use of e-cigarettes, HTPs, and other smoke-free alternatives.

CAPHRA says once this proposed bill becomes law, it will also remove any remaining vestiges of influence from foreigners. This includes raising the age to purchase to 25, and a ban on flavours other than menthol and tobacco that was due to come into effect in May 2022.

A proposed Government ban sparked efforts by the likes of Vapers PH and Philippine E-Cigarette Industry Association (PECIA), with support from CAPHRA, to meet with House and Senate representatives on the benefits of smoke-free alternatives. They reinforced to legislators that vaping has proved be the most effective smoking cessation tool around the world, with the Philippines in desperate need of best practice policies to reduce the numbers smoking.

Consumer advocates in the Philippines promoted the regulation of e-cigarettes as a consumer product. They argued that the age of majority in the Philippines is 18 – one can purchase tobacco, alcohol and get married at 18 – so the current age to purchase of 21 was nonsensical. Supporting the minimum age for the purchase, sale and use of such products to R18 would bring vape in line with other ‘adult’ activities and privileges.

At the same time, they argued adult smokers keen to quit tobacco need reasonable access to safer alternatives and restricted advertising should be permitted. Product safety standards were also critically important to the consumer advocates.

Clarisse Virgino, the Philippine representative of CAPHRA, is delighted that the country’s legislators have listened, saying the prospect of more Filipinos successfully quitting smoking is of historic significance given the country’s stubbornly high smoking rates for decades.

“The proposed Act will legitimize the market of vaporized nicotine products which means that consumers will have better protection. We hope that the Senate will also support this bill to provide millions of Filipino smokers with less harmful alternatives to combustible cigarettes,” says Ms Virgino.

Peter Paul Dator, President of consumer group Vapers PH and CAPHRA member, is equally pleased the country’s legislators are acting. He says for too long the World Health Organization’s ‘cold turkey’ approach to smoking cessation has cost thousands of lives in low-income countries with high smoking rates.

He notes that past official statistics revealed nearly a quarter of all Filipino adults smoked. This is matched by the Philippines very low 4% smoking cessation rate – even though over three-quarters of smokers wanted or planned to quit smoking tobacco. Very few, however, were able to do so successfully.

“It’s exciting that the country is now legitimising the most effective method we have to quit smoking. For years we’ve tried strategies such as going ‘cold turkey’ counseling, and nicotine replacement therapy and our dismal national smoking rate speaks for itself,” he says.

The Vapers PH president says the Senate can be confident with the quality of work and level of consumer and industry consultation that has informed the legislation which he describes as enabling a realistic and workable regulatory framework.

“This will undoubtedly reduce serious sickness and premature death among the 16 million cigarette smokers in the Philippines by helping them to switch to a safer, smoke-free alternative. The House of Representatives has done very well, and I know the Senate is equally keen to pass evidence-based legislation that helps reduce our appallingly high smoking rates,” says Mr Dator.

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“Australia is miles behind many others in the Asia Pacific region, and the UK, when it comes to acknowledging vaping’s key role in beating tobacco. Australia is sadly kowtowing to the World Health Organisation, rather than accepting compelling international evidence,” says Nancy Loucas, Coordinator for the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA).

It is illegal to sell liquid nicotine in Australia. Its states and territories possess harsh penalties including very steep fines, in some cases, possible imprisonment for the sale of nicotine vapes without a valid doctor’s prescription.

Many of Australia’s 500,000 vapers have instead been personally importing nicotine vaping liquids via overseas websites. However, that’s all about to change. From 1 October, Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is expanding its prescription-only model with customs to clampdown at the border.

“It’s humiliating that all ex-smokers and those desperate to quit will need to seek a medical opinion and doctor’s prescription to access significantly less harmful nicotine vaping products in Australia. It makes no sense when the country’s smokers can buy a pack of cigarettes from any service station or supermarket on a whim,” says Ms Loucas.

What’s more, significant concerns remain over the number of doctors who will be prepared to prescribe, given there are currently no approved nicotine e-cigarettes on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG).

Doctors will either need to first apply to the TGA for access to the unapproved product or provide a script for three months or less for patients intending to access nicotine vape products through the Personal Importation Scheme.

CAPHRA says Australia and New Zealand’s trans-Tasman rivalry is world-famous but when it comes to Tobacco Harm Reduction policies, Australia is losing.

“New Zealand has legalised and regulated vaping. In contrast Australia is set to strangle smokers’ access the world’s most effective smoking cessation tool. Australia’s total medicalisation approach will cost thousands of lives over the coming decades and urgently needs to be called out at a regional level,” says Ms Loucas.

International evidence also discredits Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt’s claims that the ban will seek ‘to avoid an onramp for non-smokers, especially youth’. CAPHRA says, in reality, it’s the complete opposite – vaping is no gateway to youth smoking, but a leading offramp for adult smokers.

“New Zealand’s 2020 vaping legislation is not perfect. Nonetheless, if you’re over 18, nicotine vaping products are readily available there, with their Ministry of Health strongly supportive of vaping as an effective way to achieving smoke-free,” she says.

World-leading harm reduction expert and advocate, Dr Alex Wodak AM – a Director of the Australian Tobacco Harm Reduction Association (ATHRA) – agrees that it makes no sense to restrict the availability of vaping much more than deadly combustible cigarettes when vaping is a considerably safer option for nicotine.

“The decline in smoking rates has recently begun accelerating in countries supportive of vaping such as New Zealand, the UK, and the US. In contrast, Australian smoking rates have almost flatlined since 2013, despite aggressive tobacco control policies,” says Dr Wodak.

“Try walking through a big Australian city at lunchtime and you can’t help but inhale clouds of second-hand smoke and see office and retail workers puffing on cancer sticks. Having no real alternative is a tragic blemish on an otherwise beautiful country,” says Ms Loucas.

Australia’s Senate Inquiry into Tobacco Harm Reduction last year heard from public health experts, tobacco treatment specialists, and frontline health workers. They told the inquiry that a prescription-only model would never work and only drive vapers back to smoking. Their evidence and experiences were ignored.

CAPHRA says October’s ban will expand the already huge black market for nicotine vape liquids at a time when Australia should be leading the Asia Pacific with progressive health policies to reduce tobacco harm. The Philippines, instead, could soon be the region’s frontrunner with its Senate set to approve landmark risk-proportionate vaping legislation.

“We support pro-vaping Australian MPs, keen to see fewer deaths from smoking, including new Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce. These MPs are making sure the Government understands the dangerous consequences of its misguided policy. Effectively outlawing nicotine vaping will only drive ex-smokers back to cigarettes,” says Nancy Loucas.

Join the next Asia Harm Reduction Forum on 28 June: https://fb.watch/6gH6Yo51y9/

Consumer groups in the Asia-Pacific region have also launched a petition at change.org/v4v-petition that urges the World Health Organisation (WHO) to respect consumer rights and to stop demonizing Tobacco Harm Reduction options ahead of the next biennial meeting of the WHO Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) in November.

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The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) issued the statement in support of a report released by the International Network of Nicotine Consumer Organisations (INNCO) that tobacco harm reduction (THR) alternatives like e-cigarettes and HTPs would help, and not hinder, the aims of global tobacco control.

“The recommendation by the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) for blanket ban on electronic nicotine delivery systems and HTPs in LMICs is ill-conceived, prejudicial to LMIC consumers and detrimental to public health,” said Nancy Loucas, Executive Coordinator of CAPHRA.

The Union, a Bloomberg partner for ‘The Initiative to reduce tobacco use’, published its fourth position statement on e-cigarettes last year which called for a blanket ban on all electronic nicotine delivery systems and HTPs in LMICs.

INNCO, a global member association that advocates for tobacco harm reduction and proportionate regulation of low-risk alternative nicotine products, criticized The Union report, saying the move to ban harm reduction products should be evaluated carefully.

It cited 10 reasons why blanket bans of e-cigarettes and HTPs in LMICs would do more harm than good. “Such bans will mean that more people will keep using cigarettes, or obtain alternative products through illicit markets with no safeguards,” it said.

Such bans are an overly simplistic solution to a complex issue and will not work, according to INNCO.  It said the smoking problem is a complex issue that is the leading cause of preventable death worldwide, causing more than 8 million deaths per year.

It said the MPOWER strategies crafted by the World Health Organization proved unworkable in many LMICs due to lack of access to smoking cessation services and other resources. “In this context, it is clear that pragmatic approaches are needed, including the availability of a wide selection of products proven to reduce harm,” INNCO said.

Samrat Chowdhery, president of INNCO, said The Union’s assertion that LMICs do not have the regulatory capacity to manage and oversee a market of ENDS and HTPs was simply wrong and condescending.

“LMICs are composed of complex and highly-diverse societies, and a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach such as a blanket ban would be ill-advised.  I believe that a blanket ban on alternative products will not improve the situation.  In fact, I believe it will actually worsen it,” said Chowdhery, who is from India, an LMIC with diverse cultures.

Samsul Arrifin, president of Malaysian Organisation of Vape Entities (MOVE), agreed, saying that “any move to deprive smokers and consumers of better alternatives to cigarettes such as vapes would only contribute the problem that is seeks to address.’

INNCO said prioritizing the banning of reduced harm alternatives over cigarettes is also illogical.  It said that by denying smokers access to a much safer alternative while leaving cigarettes on the market, policymakers would leave only two options on the table – quit or die.

It also said that reduction and substitution are valid goals for smokers in LMICs as replacing combustible tobacco with alternative nicotine products can significantly reduce risk of harm by at least 95 percent.

INNCO said smokers should be given the right to choose their own path to better health. “By removing reduced harm alternatives from the market—while leaving the significantly more dangerous cigarettes available—countries would remove this right from the individual,” it said.

It said reduced harm alternatives can significantly contribute to the aims of global tobacco control, with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) itself recognizing ‘harm reduction’ as a key strategy in tobacco control.

The INNCO report said lack of research in LMICs should not be a valid reason to ban reduced harm alternatives. It said that while more research needs to be conducted in LMICs on tobacco control and specifically harm reduction measures, governments should not deny people living in poor and developing countries access to potentially life-saving products in the meantime.

It also said that the prohibitionist approach in LMICs is outdated, unrealistic and condescending.  INNCO said such discriminatory policies serve to further increase health inequalities between high-income countries and LMICs.

Jagannath Sarangapani, director of Association of Vapers India (AVI), agreed with the INNCO’s observation that bans in LMICs would only lead to illicit markets.  “In India and Thailand, the bans on e-cigarettes created an underground industry of these products, with no product regulation and taxation.”

INNCO also said banning reduced harm alternatives would only lead people back to smoking and greater harm. It said blanket bans in LMICs are a form of ‘philanthropic colonialism’.

Peter Paul Dator of Vapers Philippines said this is the same issue hounding the Philippines, after the local Food and Drug Administration confirmed in a congressional investigation it received thousands of dollars from anti-tobacco group The Union to craft guidelines on vaping. “The Philippine Congress passed laws to regulate, instead of ban these products.  Unfortunately, the FDA passed guidelines that restrict the availability of e-cigarettes and HTPs,” Dator said.

INNCO said global organizations such as the WHO, Bloomberg Philanthropies and The Union wield great influence in LMICs through sponsorship of healthcare programs and public initiatives.

“We believe that awareness of and access to reduced-harm products is a fundamental human right, and that denial of this right will prevent significant health benefits in LMICs,” INNCO said.

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The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) and other consumer advocacy groups are holding the 2021 Voices4Vape webinar at 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. (HKT) with discussions mainly revolving around the question, “If governments trust the science on COVID, why are they not trusting the science of THR?”

“The Covid-19 pandemic has focused global attention on the need for rational measures to reduce risks, effectively treat those afflicted and develop vaccines. This is entirely consistent with longstanding public health goals of reducing risks wherever they are found, and the importance of empowering people to improve their health,” said Nancy Loucas, Executive Director of CAPHRA.

“If governments trust the science on COVID, why are they not trusting the science of THR?” asked Loucas, referring to tobacco harm reduction which involves the use of less harmful alternatives to combustible cigarettes such as e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and snus.

Harm reduction is a strategy being employed by health authorities around the world to protect the population from coronavirus.  This involves the use of face masks, social distancing, regular washing of hands, and other health protocols to mitigate the possibility of contracting the virus.

Julie Woessner, a retired lawyer and interim Secretary-General of the International Network of Nicotine Consumer Organisations (INNCO), will discuss how users of safer nicotine products are being attacked, disenfranchised, and bullied by traditional tobacco controllers, and self-righteous health “experts”.

Woessner will also elaborate on how science is being pushed aside for propaganda by powerful financial interest groups such as Bloomberg Philanthropies which is known for its prohibitionist but ineffective advocacies that take away the rights of consumers to choose better alternatives for themselves.

Aside from Loucas and Woessner, Jena Fetalino, a public relations practitioner, will discuss how to counteract the attacks on science in public discussion.

Ms Fetalino will provide insights on how to bring accurate news and information to the mainstream media and to society at large.  She will share the best way for consumers to obtain the attention of journalists despite the tendency of some to promote half-truths and sensationalized articles to garner “clicks” and page hits in the age of digital media.

“Journalists have a responsibility to be objective which means they have to present both sides of the coin. The challenge for PR practitioners like me is to provide the other side of the coin, supported by scientific evidence,” Fetalino said.

Some 5 million adults vape across Asia-Pacific, with most of them being former smokers who have either quit smoking completely or have cut down significantly using their preferred devices and liquids. “In almost every case, they did so against the advice and in defiance of the highly restrictive, disproportionate regulations and bans that continue to be imposed on safer products,” Loucas said.

Loucas said that while the smoking and unsafe tobacco use pandemic has been going on for at least 50 years, and claims 20,000 people per day globally, it rages on despite being something that can be easily addressed through effective public health policy.

Another part of the webinar is the launch of a campaign for petition signatures to be presented to the delegates of the World Health Organisation Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) which is having its biennial meeting this November to propose new guidelines on combating smoking. The petition is available at Sign the Petition – https://www.change.org/p/smokers-vaping