Latest news with #CAPHRA
Scoop
6 days ago
- Health
- Scoop
CAPHRA Releases Report Clarifying The Truth About Nicotine
The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) has released a new report, Understanding Nicotine: The Facts, Not the Myths, calling for a shift in how nicotine is viewed by public health officials, policymakers, and the general public. The report challenges the common belief that nicotine is the primary cause of smoking-related disease, stating clearly that it is the act of burning tobacco—not the nicotine itself—that causes the most harm. CAPHRA's Executive Coordinator, Nancy Loucas, says the persistent demonisation of nicotine is a barrier to harm reduction and is costing lives. 'Nicotine is not the killer. The danger comes from the smoke,' Clarisse Virgino, CAPHRA Philippines representative, said. 'People deserve to know the truth so they can make informed choices about safer alternatives.' The report explains that while nicotine can lead to dependence, it is a mild stimulant that does not cause cancer, lung disease, or the majority of heart problems often associated with smoking. Products such as nicotine pouches, patches, gums, and ENDS far less harmful than cigarettes and should be part of a harm reduction strategy. CAPHRA warns that misinformation remains widespread. In the U.S., over 60% of smokers wrongly believe nicotine causes cancer—a misconception shared by many healthcare professionals. This confusion, the group argues, prevents smokers from switching to much safer products. The rise in use of safer nicotine alternatives is already helping reduce tobacco-related harm, but continued progress depends on accurate public education and risk-proportionate regulation. Loucas added, 'People aren't going to stop using nicotine, just like they won't stop drinking coffee. The focus should be on reducing the harm, not spreading fear.'
Scoop
08-06-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Australia's Anti-Smoking Push Fuels Crime, Fails To Curb Smoking
New data reveals one in four cigarettes consumed in Australia originates from the black market a direct consequence of the worlds highest tobacco taxes and restrictive vaping policies. The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) today condemned Australia's tobacco control strategy as a 'public health failure' that prioritises ideology over evidence, fuelling a A$6.3 billion illicit tobacco market while adult smoking rates remain stagnant. New data reveals one in four cigarettes consumed in Australia originates from the black market — a direct consequence of the world's highest tobacco taxes and restrictive vaping policies. CAPHRA argues this crisis exposes the fatal flaw in Australia's approach: prohibition without offering safer alternatives drives consumers to criminal networks rather than reducing harm. 'Australia's tobacco policy doesn't pass the pub test. Sky-high cigarette prices haven't made people quit—they've made criminals rich,' said Nancy Loucas, CAPHRA Executive Coordinator. 'The government's own figures show smoking rates flatlined at 11% since 2019 despite taxing a pack to A$50. Meanwhile, organised crime syndicates pocket A$2.3 billion annually in evaded excise, funding drug trafficking and violent turf wars.' Australia's illicit tobacco trade has surged by 46% since 2020, with over 800,000 smuggled cigarettes intercepted monthly at airports. Criminal syndicates increasingly exploit international travellers, while fire bombings of non-compliant retailers exceed 220 incidents since 2023. 'This isn't just about lost tax revenue—it's about community safety,' Loucas noted. 'Melbourne's 'tobacco war' has seen shops torched and innocent bystanders endangered. The government transformed a health issue into a national security crisis by ignoring basic economics: punitive taxes without alternatives breed black markets.' Compounding the issue, Australia's harsh vaping restrictions have pushed nicotine consumers toward unregulated products. Despite prescription-only access, 1.5 million Australians vape daily—87% sourcing devices illegally. CAPHRA contrasts Australia's approach with New Zealand, which halved smoking rates to 6% by legalising vaping and rejecting generational bans. 'New Zealand taxed tobacco heavily but gave smokers a ladder to climb down: affordable, regulated vapes. Australia took away the ladder and wondered why people kept smoking,' said Loucas. Pippa Starr, Director of Australia's ALIVE Advocacy Movement, added: 'The evidence is unequivocal: illicit trade has doubled since 2020, vaping restrictions fuel a A$2.3 billion black market, and smoking rates haven't budged. This isn't harm reduction—it's a policy failure that sacrifices public health for moral posturing.' 'Australia's strategy is a moralistic crusade, not public health. It's time to abandon prohibitionist dogma before more lives are lost to crime and complacency,'
Scoop
08-06-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Australia's Anti-Smoking Push Fuels Crime, Fails To Curb Smoking
The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) today condemned Australia's tobacco control strategy as a 'public health failure' that prioritises ideology over evidence, fuelling a A$6.3 billion illicit tobacco market while adult smoking rates remain stagnant. New data reveals one in four cigarettes consumed in Australia originates from the black market — a direct consequence of the world's highest tobacco taxes and restrictive vaping policies. CAPHRA argues this crisis exposes the fatal flaw in Australia's approach: prohibition without offering safer alternatives drives consumers to criminal networks rather than reducing harm. 'Australia's tobacco policy doesn't pass the pub test. Sky-high cigarette prices haven't made people quit—they've made criminals rich,' said Nancy Loucas, CAPHRA Executive Coordinator. 'The government's own figures show smoking rates flatlined at 11% since 2019 despite taxing a pack to A$50. Meanwhile, organised crime syndicates pocket A$2.3 billion annually in evaded excise, funding drug trafficking and violent turf wars.' Australia's illicit tobacco trade has surged by 46% since 2020, with over 800,000 smuggled cigarettes intercepted monthly at airports. Criminal syndicates increasingly exploit international travellers, while fire bombings of non-compliant retailers exceed 220 incidents since 2023. 'This isn't just about lost tax revenue—it's about community safety,' Loucas noted. 'Melbourne's 'tobacco war' has seen shops torched and innocent bystanders endangered. The government transformed a health issue into a national security crisis by ignoring basic economics: punitive taxes without alternatives breed black markets.' Compounding the issue, Australia's harsh vaping restrictions have pushed nicotine consumers toward unregulated products. Despite prescription-only access, 1.5 million Australians vape daily—87% sourcing devices illegally. CAPHRA contrasts Australia's approach with New Zealand, which halved smoking rates to 6% by legalising vaping and rejecting generational bans. 'New Zealand taxed tobacco heavily but gave smokers a ladder to climb down: affordable, regulated vapes. Australia took away the ladder and wondered why people kept smoking,' said Loucas. Pippa Starr, Director of Australia's ALIVE Advocacy Movement, added: 'The evidence is unequivocal: illicit trade has doubled since 2020, vaping restrictions fuel a A$2.3 billion black market, and smoking rates haven't budged. This isn't harm reduction—it's a policy failure that sacrifices public health for moral posturing.' 'Australia's strategy is a moralistic crusade, not public health. It's time to abandon prohibitionist dogma before more lives are lost to crime and complacency,'
Scoop
02-06-2025
- Health
- Scoop
CAPHRA Urges Transparency To Protect Trust In Public Health
A new report from the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) raises concerns about the long-term consequences of suppressing or distorting scientific information during public health crises. Titled The Cost of Concealment: The People Pay the Price, the report examines how failures in transparency and accountability can erode public trust and compromise health outcomes. The report identifies a recurring pattern in which political pressures, institutional interests, and reputational concerns have influenced how critical health information is communicated. This pattern, the report suggests, has been evident in past events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and more recently in the restructuring of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States and Argentina's withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO). 'In times of crisis, the public depends on officials and scientists to provide clear, objective, and timely information,' said Nancy Loucas, Executive Coordinator for CAPHRA. 'When this duty is compromised, the consequences are measured not just in lost trust, but in lost lives.' Historical examples such as the Tuskegee Syphilis Study are cited in the report to underscore the long-standing impact of withheld information, particularly on marginalized communities. It draws parallels to more recent instances where early suppression of scientific discourse during the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to public confusion and the proliferation of misinformation. Clarisse Virgino, CAPHRA's representative in the Philippines, stated, 'When science is manipulated or dissenting views are silenced, it ceases to be a tool of discovery and becomes a tool of conformity.' The report also references the opioid crisis as a case in which regulatory failures and inadequate communication contributed to a significant public health emergency. It emphasizes that limited transparency and selective reporting can have global ramifications, empowering misinformation, weakening public institutions, and leading to ineffective policy responses. CAPHRA's report concludes with a call for renewed commitment to ethical standards, transparency, and scientific independence. It urges officials, researchers, and institutions to prioritize public welfare over political or personal interests. 'As the world prepares for future health challenges, maintaining the highest standards of integrity is not optional—it is essential to restoring public trust and safeguarding lives,' the report concludes.
Scoop
25-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
CAPHRA Condemns WHO's Anti-Science Agenda On World Vape Day
The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) today challenged the World Health Organization's (WHO) anti-vaping stance as 'scientifically bankrupt,' accusing it of endangering public health by ignoring evidence that safer nicotine products save lives. The rebuke coincides with the upcoming WHO's World No Tobacco Day (30 May), which CAPHRA claims weaponizes misinformation to justify prohibitionist policies. ' The WHO's 'Health For All' mantra rings hollow when it dismisses vaping's life-saving potential,' said Nancy Loucas, CAPHRA's Executive Coordinator. 'Their 2025 theme masks a dangerous agenda: protecting cigarette markets by vilifying harm reduction.' Loucas condemned WHO's exclusion of consumer advocates from COP10 talks, noting: 'Silencing experts while citing debunked 'gateway' theories exposes their fear of facts.' She highlighted stark contrasts: UK youth smoking halved to 3.6% since 2012 under regulated vaping, while Maldives' vaping ban saw youth smoking rise 12%. "Vaping is 95% safer than smoking - a fact repeatedly proven, and has contributed to a fast declining smoking rate in countries where it is regulated - that WHO ignores to appease anti-nicotine ideologues,' Loucas stated. 'This isn't public health. It's prohibitionist theatre that sacrifices smokers' lives.' CAPHRA cited Malaysia's 2024 vaping legalisation, which cut adult smoking 4% in six months, versus Australia's $2.3billion black market under prescription-only rules. 'The WHO equates vaping with smoking, yet 82 million ex-smokers globally prove otherwise,' Loucas said. 'Their 1980s-style fearmongering helps nobody but cigarette traders.' 'This World Vape Day, we demand the WHO stop lying,' Loucas concluded. 'Regulate vaping strictly, educate honestly, and watch smoking collapse. The UK model works. Ideological bans kill.' About CAPHRA CAPHRA Position Statement on Industry Independence: The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Advocates (CAPHRA) is a regional alliance of consumer tobacco harm reduction advocacy organisations. CAPHRA is not related to, or funded by any commercial interests. It is composed of volunteer consumer advocates from the Asia Pacific Region. We hope putting forward this information would clarify any doubt as to our interests and intentions. CAPHRA stays committed to its mission to educate, advocate and represent the right of adult alternative nicotine consumers to access and use of products that reduce harm from tobacco use. We advocate for the rights of consumers in the Asia-Pacific region to access and use evidence-based, regulated, and properly marketed harm reduction products as a means of reducing the devastating impact of smoking-related diseases.
