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Writer's picturePippa Starr

IS VAPING A THERAPEUTIC PRODUCT?

by Pippa Starr

May 9, 2024


Australian health minister Mark Butler continually claims that “vaping was sold to governments as a therapeutic product”, which is a farcical statement!


Here’s why: By definition, are vaping products treating a disease?

Some may argue that vaping may help treat addiction from cigarettes.

Then again, some may also argue that decaffeinated beverages may help treat caffeine addictions.

Some may argue that low fat foods may help to treat obesity. Vaping isn’t treating a disease, it’s preventing harms from the alternative method of nicotine intake being cigarettes, where clearly there is a big problem with deadly disease!

What’s that?

Obesity is a deadly disease too!

Exactly!


Stay with me here,


By definition is vaping a therapy?

ie. a treatment intended to relieve or heal a disorder?

No, it’s a consumer based alternative to smoking!

Be it that it’s far safer alternative than smoking but still delivers non cancer causing nicotine in a cleaner manner without all the bad stuff that is well known to cause cancer.


By definition is vaping a drug?

Everything is a drug, even water!

It could be argued that nicotine is a drug under the definition that “a drug has a psychological effect”.

Be it a mild effect nicotine can effect and aid attention and memory for short periods of time.

Stop drinking water for a few days & see how well you remember things clearly!


“Vaping” nicotine is treated as a “therapeutic drug”, and considering that cigarettes are NOT over seen by the government body that oversees such drugs, better known as the “Therapeutic Goods Administration”, something is a miss here!


By the TGA taking responsibility for the governance of vaping products when not one formal application for any vaping product has ever been approved for therapeutic use, is it an admission that vaping is only a “therapeutic”product by convenience by the Australian Government?


Why don’t coffee companies selling decaffeinated coffee come under the umbrella of products that the TGA is responsible for?

What?

That would be ridiculous! Why?

Because it’s a consumer alternative!


That’s why Australia has an “Australian Competition and Consumer Commission”, better known as the ACCC.

What else does the ACCC oversee besides other harm reduction products like bike helmets, low strength alcoholic beverages and decaffeinated coffee?

Oh yeah and deadly Cigarettes and alcohol!


Then why aren’t the ACCC responsible for vaping products? Exactly!


In fact, in June 2016 the ACCC took responsibility and action on a vaping products retailer for making false claims about the products they were selling.

Why wasn't it the TGA taking action?


Yet here we are, with the Government accepting the TGA as the right place to be responsible for governing vaping products!

All because the government health minister thinks vaping is a “Therapeutic” product, one can safely assume!


While vaping products can help smokers quit for good, it could be said that reduced fat products could be helpful to quit being overweight!

Should all reduced fat and minus a dollop of cream products be put under the TGA banner and made only available via a prescription too?

Of course not, that would be absurd!


Should low sugar and low alcohol booze products that cause less harm to consumers be made only available via prescription from a doctor?

Of course not, because why?

Say it out loud!

THAT WOULD BE ABSURD!


So should the same body who has the rules and regulations already in place to govern such potentially dangerous products to help keep them out of the hands of youths, such as alcohol and cigarettes, be the right government body to oversee vaping products?

Or

should we say to our government, hand over all the harm reducing products from the ACCC over to the TGA because they have done a rippa job with vaping!


Their(the TGA) job has been so good that youths can get their hands on vapes anywhere and 92% of consumers access vaping products via a criminally led black market that causes mass firebombing destruction and executions!


A success story for good government and the TGA, wouldn’t you say?

I think not!

Now tell me, is vaping a “Therapeutic” product, a “recreational” product or a consumer product, because when you break it down this darn simply Australia,

the answer is bloody obvious!



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