Category: Prohibition

South Africa’s self-harming anti-vaping legislation

South Africa’s parliament is consulting on anti-vaping legislation that is so extreme and ill-designed that it would, if enacted, cause more harm than good. What’s wrong with it, and who is influencing it?

Flag of Aouth Africa

South Africa’s parliament is scrutinising new tobacco and nicotine legislation that would throttle harm reduction approaches for its citizens. South Africa has a high prevalence of smoking (25.8% – see chart), especially among men, and low rates of vape use (2.2%). Yet the legislation is designed to obstruct South African citizens from switching from high-risk cigarettes to low-risk vape products.

Chart of smoking prevalence by age and sex showing overall smoking prevalence of 25.%, male smoking prevalence of 41.2% and female 11.5%.
South Africa has very high smoking rates ay all ages, especially among men.
Source: GATS factsheet, 2022

Why is there such hostility to a strategy that could work especially well in South Africa? Harm reduction relies on consumers and producers acting in their own interests and at their own expense to radically reduce disease risks and improve their welfare and wellbeing. It does not require significant public expenditure or public sector capabilities. The post below, (1) includes links to our analysis of the Bill, (2) raises concerns about the role of foreign influencing operations, and (3) ends with a call for greater transparency.

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Using models disconnected from reality to justify huge ‘endgame’ interventions

New Zealand is planning to introduce so-called ‘endgame’ measures, including the removal of nicotine from legally available tobacco. We examine and review the modelling used to justify the measure and find multiple fatal flaws.

With thanks to Dilbert @SottAdamsSays

In this blog, we take a look at modelling used to justify ‘endgame’ legislation under discussion in New Zealand. Among other things, this would reduce nicotine in cigarettes and other tobacco available through legal channels to minimal levels. We find the modelling and data assumptions bear no relation whatsoever to the underlying processes and the effects that such legislation would trigger. Deep cuts in smoking are assumed as inputs to the model. Unsurprisingly, therefore, the model results show deep cuts in smoking, and this determines the resulting health benefits. But the assumptions have no grounding in reality and misinterpret and misuse trial findings.

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Will Brazil rethink its vaping prohibition?

“O Brasil vai repensar sua proibição de vaping?” Brazil is consulting on lifting its ban on vaping products. Will it recognise the perverse consequences of prohibition and shift to risk-proportionate regulation? We argue it should rethink its approach to nicotine.

Prohibition is about the worst regulatory response to safer alternatives to smoking

Brazil’s public health agency, ANVISA, has been consulting on whether the long-standing policy of prohibition of vaping products should be retained or lifted. The consultation questionnaire seeks comments on a technical document.

Shortcut to full response (PDF).

Here’s my take…

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