Article posted on Vaping360 - Author: Jin Mcdonald - Translator: The Vape Club
A protest took place in front of Victoria's Parliament House organised by vapers in support of the legalisation of nicotine and vaping .
Vapers packed the steps of Parliament House in Victoria, Australia, this week to protest the state’s new bill and support the legalization of nicotine in vaping products. They garnered national media attention, and may have had some impact. Nicotine is now considered a dangerous poison in Australia, and it’s illegal – the only exception being nicotine found in traditional cigarettes.
Speakers at the rally included Dr. Attila Danko, president of the New Nicotine Alliance Australia (NNA), and Professor Colin Mendelsohn of the University of New South Wales. Mendelsohn's speech at the rally came the same day as an opinion piece in support of nicotine legalization in The Age newspaper.
“Despite the intuitive ideas behind harm reduction, harm reduction strategies have struggled to overcome resistance in Australia for many years. Proposals such as car seatbelts, needle exchanges for injecting users and methadone for heroin users have been opposed but have ultimately become incredibly successful.
The anti-vaping narrative has followed a similar path. The federal government, states and health organisations in Australia have all agreed with the negative views and banned e-cigarettes without considering their health benefits.”
- Quoted from Professor Colin Mendelsohn in The Age -
Over the weekend, Professor Mendelsohn published another opinion piece in Australia’s Huffington Post, arguing against new laws that would impose additional burdens on shops in the state of Victoria. “The proposed laws focus on avoiding potential risks, but also ignore the health benefits for smokers,” Professor Mendelsohn wrote. “This law could have unintended consequences such as eliminating a medical technology. It could reduce the appeal of vaping and even stifle the industry, allowing an unregulated black market to flourish.”
“E-cigarettes are a huge opportunity for Victorian smokers and have the potential to significantly improve public health,” Professor Mendelsohn wrote. “We cannot afford to ignore them.” Professor Mendelsohn is speaking to all Australian vapers, and to those who advocate vaping as a way to reduce the harms of smoking.
