Urgent request to save vaping in Australia
If you are an Australian vaper, this email is probably the most important one we will ever send you. It is vital that you write a personal submission to the Senate Inquiry into Tobacco Harm Reduction by 5 November 2020.
The Inquiry has specifically requested personal stories from vapers. Please write a brief outline of your own struggle to quit (1-2 pages), how vaping has helped you and why you are opposed to the new regulations. Examples of submissions can be found on the Inquiry website here.
The Committee needs to know that vaping is a genuine lifesaving aid to quit smoking that has worked for hundreds of thousands of Australian smokers. The more submissions received, the greater the impact.
You could also ask your family or friends to make a submission showing their support for vaping and the resulting benefits they have seen for you.
You don’t need to review the scientific evidence or comment on technical matters. ATHRA and other organisations can do that.
If Greg Hunt’s regulations are passed, you will no longer be able to import your own nicotine liquid. You will have to find a doctor who will write a prescription and a pharmacist who stocks it.
Vaping will cost more, the product range will dramatically reduce and the vaping industry will be decimated. Essentially this will be a disaster.
What to write
Your story should be no more than 1 or 2 pages and include some or all of the following information:
Who are you? Age, occupation/pension, marital status, children, suburb/state
Smoking history. Age started smoking, cigarettes per day, cost of smoking
Did you have any smoking-related diseases?
Attempts to quit. How long did you try to quit for, what methods did you try, why didn’t they work?
Vaping. When did you start, how long after starting vaping did you stop smoking?
Benefits. How has your health improved since you switched (breathing, cough), have medical conditions improved (eg asthma, emphysema, mental health), how much money have you saved?
Other comments. Feedback from kids, living longer to enjoy grandchildren, never thought I'd be able to quit, benefits to your family eg passive smoking
What you want eg nicotine liquid to be a consumer product available from a vape shop, product regulation with safety standards, childproof caps etc
Why the new regulations will not work for you. Will you go back to smoking or the blackmarket? Will you be able to access what you need to stay off the cigarettes?
Anything else?
How to make your submission
The submission process is very easy. Visit the Senate Select Committee on Tobacco Harm Reduction webpage and download the Information for Submitters.
If you have not previously submitted online to an inquiry, you will need to create a My Parliament login. Otherwise just go to log in and upload your submission.
More on the proposed regulations is available in some of ATHRA’s posts below. Please contact us if you have any queries or need some assistance: info@athra.org.au
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ALL VAPERS should make a brief submission to the Senate Inquiry into Tobacco Harm Reduction to ensure that vaping survives in Australia and is readily available for vapers and smokers. Please make a brief submission by 5 November 2020. You can make your submission through...
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THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT has continued its vendetta against Australian smokers by making vaping nicotine even more difficult to access. Under the new interim announcement by the TGA (medicines regulator) today and the changes to the Customs (Prohibited Import) Regulations, vapers will need to get a...
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GREG HUNT wants to ban nicotine imports and force vapers to go to the doctor for a prescription and then to a pharmacy to purchase nicotine liquid. ATHRA believes nicotine liquid should be available for sale as a consumer product so it can be easily...
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ATHRA HAS LAUNCHED a fundraising campaign to ensure lifesaving vaping products remains accessible to Australian vapers and smokers. Please help us to help you. In 3 months (on 1 January 2021), you will need to visit a doctor and go to a pharmacy to get the...
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NICOTINE POISONING did not double in Victoria from 2018 to 2019 as stated by the TGA and Health Minister Greg Hunt. In fact, according to data released under Freedom of Information, there was no increase in poisoning at all in that 12 month period. To...
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