Tobacco giants lobbying power must be reined in by Govt – AAAP
Auckland Action Against Poverty is calling on the Government to better regulate tobacco giants such as Philip Morris and Imperial Brands following attempts by Philip Morris to aggressively sell vaping products to low-income communities. Philip Morris has written to DHBs and organisations such as AAAP to try and sell its vaping products at a time where the vaping market is still unregulated.
“We support people finding solutions that work for them and make them feel empowered to reduce the harm that comes from smoking, which is why big tobacco companies who profit from marketing tobacco products need to be better regulated”, says Ricardo Menendez March, Auckland Action Against Poverty Coordinator.
“If tobacco companies were genuinely interested in public health and reducing the harm that comes from nicotine based products, they would not be aggressively targeting low-income communities to sell highly addictive and expensive products. The way in which Philip Morris has approached AAAP is disingenuous because it does not factor the health and financial harms associated with its own vaping products.
“As the Government considers regulating the vaping product market, we ask that politicians shift from regressive tobacco taxes and laws that criminalise drug users, and instead focus on curbing the power big tobacco companies have over communities and lawmakers. If the Government wants to genuinely treat drug use as a health issue we can’t have big tobacco products making a profit out of people’s addiction.
“Better regulating big tobacco companies means introducing more restrictions on the advertisement of their products, as well as taxing the companies’ big profits in order to better fund grassroots public health initiatives. The current regulations focus too much on consumers themselves, with the tobacco excise tax putting the onus on consumers who are the ones most affected by the lack of regulations on big tobacco companies.
“Spaces where people can discuss alternatives to traditional tobacco products without being targeted by companies are crucial, which is why Philip Morris and other tobacco giants undermine the Governments’ own Smokefree targets. We are calling on the Government to do more to uphold the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control which clearly states that there’s an irreconcilable conflict between the interests of companies such as Philip Morris and public health policy interests.
Vaping is dangerous also and Tobbacco knows this but wil make money anyway they can.
Test. Big tobacco will look to make money any way they can.
My god, just witnessed an abomination of an interview on Q+A, Jack chirpily interviewing some ex journo Peata Melbourne who is now a mouthpiece for Philip Morris. Wtf, for a start the first rule of research is avoiding information produced on behalf of a corporation as it can be perceived as biased (it usually is). And here we have TVNZ not just seeking the opinion of this disgusting company on vaping (who fucking cares what this sellout and her slave master think) but treating this company as a valid voice of reason in the debate (free advertising for these degenerates perhaps?). For Melbourne to grin like a Cheshire cat when confronted with the fact that Philip Morris has caused the deaths of millions of users of their product says it all. She must be gagging for another tangi. Sorry world if you were offended by TVNZ and this interview, we as a people are not all like this.
As well this brown washing of companies like the smoking lobby and the gun nuts now using women of colour to spin their message domestically is disgusting. And who has TVNZ got lined up for future programs, the NRA on how to reduce noise pollution by using silencers? An oil company giving driving tips to help reduce emissions? Any other money obsessed, planet-destroying sociopath trying to spin and sell? Fuck. Off.