Harm Reduction Expert Dr Alex Wodak on vaping he lists some very compelling reasons why even non-smokers should be on board with the legalisation of nicotine-containing e-liquid in Australia.
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From Legalise Vaping. Not quite there but another step closer.
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Not exactly what we were hoping to hear from the senate enquiry (not 100% unexpected since the deck was stacked)
Full text here -
https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id:"publications/tabledpapers/23855f2a-f895-4fff-93df-7e8790d8c61a"
I just read the whole report (the chair’s report second half is much more positive than the majority report)
The Senate Select Committee report’s 7 recommendations -
Recommendation 1
6.24 The committee recommends that the Australian Government outline concrete measures to meet the target of reducing smoking rates to below 10 per cent by 2025 and beyond.
Recommendation 2
6.25 The committee recommends that the Australia Government continue to invest in evidence-based strategies that are proven to reduce tobacco use and take-up, and in particular, consider renewed investment in a new national anti-smoking campaign.
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Recommendation 3
6.26 The committee recommends that the Therapeutic Goods Administration continue to oversee the classification of nicotine, and the assessment of any e-cigarette product as a therapeutic good, and that the Australian Government and Parliament accept the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s advice.
Recommendation 4
6.27 The committee recommends that the Australian Government support the implementation of any prescription pathway as recommend by the Therapeutic Goods Administration by measures such as the provision of appropriate information and evidence to medical professionals and the public, ensure a smooth process by which a medical professional can become a prescribing authority and address any issues which may arise regarding access to and for pharmacies and medical professionals.
Recommendation 5
6.28 The committee recommends that the Australian Government implement national evidence-based regulations regarding nicotine and e-liquids and e-cigarette devices with respect to: minimum standards for manufacture and safety, child-resistant containers, appropriate health warnings, prohibited access for youth, appropriate restrictions on advertising, mandatory standards for labelling, clear guidelines about public vaping, a notification scheme for pre-market registration, a system for reporting harmful effects and recall of unsafe products and other related issues.
Recommendation 6
6.29 The committee recommends that the Australian Government implement an evidence-based regulatory process, involving the appropriate statutory body, to assess, regulate, and if necessary, restrict the use of colourings and flavouring in e-cigarettes.
Recommendation 7
6.30 The committee recommends that the Australian Government continue to support independent research into e-cigarette use and related products, particularly in relation to the:
health impacts of long term e-cigarette use;
impact of Australia’s tobacco control measures on smoking rates and patterns and use of e-cigarettes by adults and young people;
effectiveness of e-cigarettes as an aid to help people quit smoking combustible cigarettes;
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short and long term health effects of ingredients commonly used in e- liquids, including but not limited to: vaporiser nicotine, propylene glycol and vegetable glycerine; and safety of e-liquid flavours for inhalation.
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Just finished reading this report. Definitely not what we were hoping to hear. Seems that with respect to the majority report, everything the pro-vaping advocates presented has been poo-pooed. Many of the recommendations proposed are nonsensical.
I commend Sen Hughes and Sen Canavan for their detailed & reasoned report in opposition to the majority report, sadly however I feel that their efforts will be largely for naught.
Looks like Australia will almost certainly be heading to the prescription based model, very bad news for the majority who have already effectively used vaping to quit. All I can say is that I’m glad I made the decision to move to DIY and essentially remove my wife and I from this ridiculous situation.
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Another nail in the coffin for us. Nicotine liquid will only be available via a prescription from the 1st of October 2021 
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Here is a good read for those interested. Maybe the Australian Government (and the American Government) could learn a few FACTS.
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Senator Matt Canavan - “Vaping has helped thousands of Australians quit smoking, but still, we are ignoring the evidence from around the world.
I don’t encourage anyone to take up vaping but it’s significantly safer than smoking, and we should be doing everything we can to ensure that people have all the options open to them to help them quit.”
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Hoorah! Could you please clone him and send here to the the US!
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And off course he’s a Queenslander 
Seriously though we need more like him.
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AUSTRALIANS CALL TO ACTION FROM LVA
1.- Email the anti-vapers that went after you. Tell them you refuse to be smeared as schills of big tobacco, and let them know how vaping helped you.
2.- Call the Prime Minister and tell him you’re not happy!
senator.sheldon@aph.gov.au
senator.henderson@aph.gov.au
Write your email. Tell them you do not appreciate being smeared as a schill of big tobacco, and let them know exactly how you or your loved ones have benefited by vaping. Finally, tell them you will never vote for anyone who does not support your right to vape.
Call The Prime Minister!
1.- Call this number: (02) 6277 7700
2.- Tell the Prime Minister you don’t appreciate being smeared as a schill of Big Tobacco. If you need some help, try something along the lines of:
“Hello. I’m calling because I heard that senators referred to the vaping movement as a big tobacco conspiracy in the Senate last week. I do not appreciate having my representatives smear me as a pawn when all I want is to make the responsible decision to vape instead of smoke. I would like the Prime Minister to fight for my right to vape. I am not a schill of big tobacco, and I will never vote for anyone who does not stand up for me.”
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Abolutely, it was a joke watching them spout that rubbish!
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Things for everyone to share around.
Summary
Study on e-cigs and cessation
- Use of refillable e-cigarettes were over 5 times more likely to quit
- Using disposable e-cigarettes were 3 times more likely
- Daily e-cig use was more effective than NRTs, medications or any combination of these aids
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Just saw this on a certain someone’s live stream and thought it was interesting
Not the same source but here’s a link to the story
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Love that the tide is turning but it is turning slowly
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Defund the World Health Organisation! MPs put pressure on Boris to act over vaping attack
ANGRY MPs have called on the Government to defund the World Health Organisation unless it ends its hostile attitude towards vaping as a way of helping smokers quit. A cross-party committee is furious the WHO is considering branding e-cigarettes as dangerous as smoking - even though scientists insist they are 95 percent safer and have helped millions of Britons kick the killer habit.
By GILES SHELDRICK, DAILY EXPRESS CHIEF REPORTER
PUBLISHED: 00:01, Mon, Apr 26, 2021 | UPDATED: 18:54, Mon, Apr 26, 2021
Leaked papers reveal the organisation, which is already under fire for its COVID-19 response, looks set to urge countries to take an aggressive anti-vaping stance at an upcoming summit. The MPs view the WHO report as a threat to what has been one of Britain’s biggest health success stories – a strategy of using vaping to help smokers quit.
Research by British scientists has shown vaping is the most popular and successful aid used by smokers to ditch cigarettes.
Now that Britain is no longer bound by EU laws it can choose to ignore any WHO diktat telling countries to treat vaping like smoking.
And the report by MPs urges the Government to use its new-found Brexit freedom to do precisely that.
But it also calls on the Government to cut its funding of the WHO “drastically” because its irresponsible anti-science stance on vaping could cost lives.
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Vaping can save thousands of lives by helping people quit smoking cigarettes (Image: Getty)
Britain leads the world in using e-cigs as a quitting aid, with around three million current vapers having either successfully used it to give up smoking or currently using it to help wean them off.
The British model of using vaping to reduce smoking has already been successfully adopted by France, where e-cigarettes have helped more than 700,000 give up, New Zealand and Canada.
The All Party Parliamentary Group on Vaping launched a four month inquiry ahead of a WHO global conference on tobacco and vaping in the Netherlands in November.
Their damning report hits out at the WHO body in charge of smoking and vaping policy - the FCTC Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).
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Mark Pawsey is the Conservative MP for Rugby (Image: DAVID WOOLFALL)
It concludes the UK should cut its funding “drastically” unless the organisation backs the science and accepts vaping is a safe and effective way of helping smokers quit.
MP Mark Pawsey, above, the chairman of the APPG for Vaping, said: “There is no doubt that the WHO has developed a negative stance in relation to vaping over recent years
“We wanted to evaluate whether it remained fit for purpose in an evolved landscape where new technology has enabled new harm reduction strategies.
“One of the founding pillars of the Treaty the UK signed up to nearly 20 years ago was that of harm reduction.
“If the WHO is opposed to adhering to this and continues to pursue an agenda-driven approach to ban less harmful alternatives to smoking, then the UK should consider dramatically scaling back our funding.
“The UK has a unique opportunity to champion its progressive, successful and evidence-based, domestic policies on the Global Stage.
“We are a world leader in tobacco harm reduction, and we call on the Government to defend the UK approach, challenge the WHO to stub out their ban on vaping, and help return the FCTC to its founding pillar of harm reduction.”
The MPs’ report concludes the UK should use its post-Brexit freedom to defy any WHO call to clamp down on vaping and forge our own path in terms of domestic legislation to reduce the number of smokers.
Leaked papers suggest the WHO is looking at treating vaping/reduced-risk products in the same way as they do combustible products and urging countries to take a hostile stance to it.
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Matt Ridley (Image: Getty)
MPs – including Viscount Ridley, a vocal advocate for reduced harm alternatives – have called on the Government to intervene if they don’t see a change in the approach from the WHO.
The UK has pledged £340million to the WHO over the next four years which would make it the largest state donor, and £375,000 specifically to the FCTC.
The MPs’ 25-page report calls on global Britain to lead the world in the fight to end smoking by championing and helping to roll out its proven, evidence-based domestic policy of adopting vaping to help smokers switch on the world stage.
It also says the UK Government should send a delegation of British scientists and ex-smokers who used vaping to quit to attend November’s conference to convince WHO bureaucrats they are on the wrong side of the argument - and warn their approach is killing people.
The APPG has also written to Public Health Minister Jo Churchill with their findings and requested a meeting to discuss their recommendations.
Public Health England says vaping is 95 percent safer than smoking, and the NHS and Ash both endorse it as the most effective way of helping smokers quit, with millions of lives being saved by countries that have followed Britain’s lead.
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Great post mate good to see an actual attack on this anti vaping stance, hopefully countries take note…
But on a side note what the fuck are they doing with that sort of number ! We need that spent domestically on housing, helping people back to work or giving nhs staff proper pay to name a few things, what an absolute joke 
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Yeah and all those years as international aid increased so did the homeless in Britain! I believe in capitalism and am certainly no communist but by the same token i don’t believe in greed and until wealth is more evenly spread within countries the world will always be an unfair mess!
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Also wasn’t it amazing when the shit hit the fan with this Pandemic it turns out the most essential are the lowest paid! While it turns out a lot of those in their well paid pretend jobs aren’t really needed at all!
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