The Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ (ARFNZ) stands firm on its position statement on e-cigarettes/vaping as follows:
There is no evidence for a public health claim for an unregulated approach to e-cigarettes and personal vaporizers. ARFNZ recommends that if there is support for e-cigarette use in New Zealand as a smoking cessation device, then these products should be classified as therapeutic devices and regulated through Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), Medsafe and PHARMAC. If not intended as part of a smoking cessation plan then e-cigarettes should have the same restricted sale and accessibility placed on them as conventional cigarettes e.g. prohibit sale and supply in public places, not sold to under 18 year olds and no point of sale advertising of e-cigarettes and e-liquids.
Strong words were released on 4 December 2017 from a very robust, highly respected peer reviewed medical journal - The Lancet Respiratory Medicine
“Until substantial evidence has been gathered on the health implications of e-cigarettes, the promotion of e-cigarettes by health organisations is irresponsible, unethical, and potentially harmful.”
- (Flint and Jones, 2017)
The Foundation's position is in line with the following:
Reference:
Flint, S. and Jones, A. (2017). The irresponsible promotion of e-cigarettes and Swaptober. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. [online] Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S221... [Accessed 15 Dec. 2017].
