I also despise all those shiny vape shops. And how dairies have cashed-in on this appalling poison that was supposed to be the great saviour for people addicted to cigarettes.
What a crock that was, wasn't it? And we know it was a crock because now we have kids and teenagers - and probably some older people too - sucking on these blimmin’ vapes even though they’ve never smoked a cigarette.
In fact, not just sucking on them. Addicted to them.
So when I heard that Australia has announced a crackdown on vaping I thought to myself ‘we have to do the same thing here’.
The federal Government over there is introducing tough new rules because, like we should be doing, it's declared that vaping is an epidemic and has called time on all the corporates and retailers making money selling a lie to people that these things are better for their health.
And so what’s going to happen across the Tasman, is there’ll be no more shiny vape shops. There aren’t going to be any of the flavoured imports in Australia, either.
The ones you can smell a mile off. There are hundreds of them. Green Grape. Peach. Gummy Lemon. Nutty Cream. As if your genuine reformed smoker gives a toss about flavours. These are all targeted at people who have never smoked a cigarette before in their life.
It is such a con and we have all fallen for it. But it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do anything about it.
Which is why I love the tough talk that’s coming out of Australia.
So, the Government there is going to effectively shut down the vape shops by making pharmacies the only place you can get them. It’s going to restrict flavours and colours. It’s going to reduce the nicotine content. And it’s going to ban single use vapes which are not only toxic to the people who suck on them - but toxic for the natural environment too because they end up in landfills.
Win, win, win - as far as I’m concerned. Because I have long thought that the only way someone should be able to use a vape here is if they are a genuine reformed smoker and they should only be able to get these things with a prescription from a pharmacy.
The head of General Practice New Zealand Dr Bryan Betty thinks so too.
He’s been saying for an even longer time than me that vapes should be pharmacy-only and he wants an urgent debate about what we do about vaping here in New Zealand.
But, appallingly, just one day after Australia announced its plans, we’ve got Health Minister Dr Aysha Verrell saying that New Zealand won’t be following Australia’s lead anytime soon.
That’s because the Government has been “consulting” us on what we think should happen. You may have missed this because the Government announced it on the January 4. But, back then, it put out a statement asking what people thought about banning vape retailers from near schools and sports grounds.
It also put out this idea of somehow limiting the names vape manufacturers can use for their products so they aren’t so attractive to young people.
The third thing the Government put up for discussion, was trying to cut out the use of single-use products.
And it gave people until mid-March to comment and so it’ll now be going through all the feedback and then probably kick it into touch until after the election. Because that’s what governments do, don’t they?
Not in Australia, though. They see a problem and they do something about it. And I just wish we had the same fortitude on this side of the Tasman.
John MacDonald is the Canterbury Mornings host on Newstalk ZB Christchurch. This article was first published HERE
So when I heard that Australia has announced a crackdown on vaping I thought to myself ‘we have to do the same thing here’.
The federal Government over there is introducing tough new rules because, like we should be doing, it's declared that vaping is an epidemic and has called time on all the corporates and retailers making money selling a lie to people that these things are better for their health.
And so what’s going to happen across the Tasman, is there’ll be no more shiny vape shops. There aren’t going to be any of the flavoured imports in Australia, either.
The ones you can smell a mile off. There are hundreds of them. Green Grape. Peach. Gummy Lemon. Nutty Cream. As if your genuine reformed smoker gives a toss about flavours. These are all targeted at people who have never smoked a cigarette before in their life.
It is such a con and we have all fallen for it. But it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do anything about it.
Which is why I love the tough talk that’s coming out of Australia.
So, the Government there is going to effectively shut down the vape shops by making pharmacies the only place you can get them. It’s going to restrict flavours and colours. It’s going to reduce the nicotine content. And it’s going to ban single use vapes which are not only toxic to the people who suck on them - but toxic for the natural environment too because they end up in landfills.
Win, win, win - as far as I’m concerned. Because I have long thought that the only way someone should be able to use a vape here is if they are a genuine reformed smoker and they should only be able to get these things with a prescription from a pharmacy.
The head of General Practice New Zealand Dr Bryan Betty thinks so too.
He’s been saying for an even longer time than me that vapes should be pharmacy-only and he wants an urgent debate about what we do about vaping here in New Zealand.
But, appallingly, just one day after Australia announced its plans, we’ve got Health Minister Dr Aysha Verrell saying that New Zealand won’t be following Australia’s lead anytime soon.
That’s because the Government has been “consulting” us on what we think should happen. You may have missed this because the Government announced it on the January 4. But, back then, it put out a statement asking what people thought about banning vape retailers from near schools and sports grounds.
It also put out this idea of somehow limiting the names vape manufacturers can use for their products so they aren’t so attractive to young people.
The third thing the Government put up for discussion, was trying to cut out the use of single-use products.
And it gave people until mid-March to comment and so it’ll now be going through all the feedback and then probably kick it into touch until after the election. Because that’s what governments do, don’t they?
Not in Australia, though. They see a problem and they do something about it. And I just wish we had the same fortitude on this side of the Tasman.
John MacDonald is the Canterbury Mornings host on Newstalk ZB Christchurch. This article was first published HERE
5 comments:
The actual smoke starts the habit but it becomes the smallest part of the addiction.
The process becomes the problem. The cigarettes and lighting equipment (matches/lighter etc)
are usually carried in the most convenient pocket. 20 minutes is about the usual time between the desire to have the next cigarette given the right circumstances. The mind says to have smoke and advises that you have the ability and the gear to do so. At about the same time the hand reaches for the gear and puts it in the mouth and without thinking we light the end,
The movement of the process is the problem. If we can introduce a spoiler to the actual mechanics of the, getting the smoke out of the pocket it stops the desire part of the action and that smoke then becomes irrelevant to the process. At least for the next twenty minutes.
A office worker can shift his writing utensils from the usual historical position on the desk to another slightly more awkward place. When the desire for a smoke arises accept that you are allowed to have one but just before you do so put the pens etc back to where they belong. When the desire has lessened shift them back to the awkward position again. That is it! Repeat as required.
interesting times...
gambling: fair
prostitution: good
mercy killing: very good
abortion: excellent
alcohol: outstanding
but
vaping: bad???
I’m going to say it how I mean it right from the start. I despise Alcohol. Alcohol has far more of a social degradation and destructive impact on society than vape..
I also Despise shiny wine bars and Clubs where people like yourself think are appropriate..
I despise the road deaths, the domestic abuse, the absurd hypocrisy of shallow intellectuals..
I despise people who are ugly inside and want to demonise anything outside themselves and not look at the facts and be rational individuals..
Regulate correctly ON all fronts. let us get rid of shiny bottle shops, shiny poker machines, shiny rants from people trying to take the moral high ground and not provide coherent rational solutions .
I really don't see the problem. Children are developed enough to chose their gender, so surely they should be allowed to chose whether they want vape.
I smoked for 55 years - almost exclusively roll-your-owns and the occasional pipe (tailormade cigs are yuck!). My wife, being a wise woman who adheres to the maxim 'If you can't beat 'em, join 'em' smoked for 47 years. We both stopped on 3 December 2021 because we were coming back to NZ after many, many years away. Why? Because I flatly refuse to pay over 100 bucks for a pouch of Port Royal. That's daylight robbery. As for vaping, I can't imagine anything more stupid than puffing steam in out of your head. So we went cold turkey 3 days prior to our departure from Turkey, and haven't touched a smoke since. I hope all you health-fascists feel oh-so pleased with your self-righteous selves. But nota bene: if we win Div 1 Lotto, we're back on the baccy the same day.
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