The hypocrisy of harm reduction

Smoking is something I'm very familiar with.

My dad was a smoker, my sister was a smoker, my uncle was a smoker, my partner was a smoker and I was a smoker too.

You could say that smoking was a bit of a family habit.

I gave up my addiction to smoking after having surgery, but others in my family have used vapes to manage their addictions or to give up altogether.

The Tasmanian government has introduced changes around vaping that mean you can only access vapes if you're over 18 and have a prescription from a doctor.

I don't know about you, but I'm not sure how many doctors are going to write a prescription for something they think is harmful, addiction or no addiction.

And don't even get me started on how requiring adults to have a prescription to access vapes means they will clog up Tasmania's already overstretched doctor waiting lists or how, when they can't get a doctor's appointment, people will turn to other means to access the vapes they need to manage their addiction.

It will be harder to access vapes, which will make it harder for people trying to give up smoking.

Not only is this ban the harshest in the country but it's harmful and leaves those struggling with addiction with few options, one of those being the black market.

This isn't just a broken promise; it's a public health disaster in the making.

Vaping has been a lifeline for many smokers trying to quit.

I've already told you about how I've watched family members successfully switch from smoking to vapes and some of them have quit, but I've also spoken with other Tasmanians who have used vaping to quit smoking and have improved their health in the process.

Even the federal government acknowledges that vaping can be an acceptable alternative to smoking tobacco.

The Therapeutic Goods Authority—TGA—provides guidance to medical professionals looking to prescribe vapes to their patients.

The TGA says that 'therapeutic vapes may be a reasonable intervention' if smokers have tried other quitting aids like patches, gum, lozenges, mouth spray or even inhalers.

The Tasmanian government's approach is going to make things tougher for people to quit smoking, and it will negatively impact our already struggling health system.

So why would the Tasmanian government make it harder for Tassies to access a harm-reduction approach to give up smoking?

Does the Tasmanian government want more people to smoke and fewer people to vape?

That doesn't seem like harm reduction to me.

Tasmania already has the highest rate of smoking in people aged over 14—a not-so-good statistic we share with the Northern Territory.

If we know something will help smokers give up, why wouldn't we make it available to them?

Vaping is one of multiple proven methods when it comes to quitting smoking.

Look, I know smoking is bad and I know smoking damages people's health, but I also know my state government should not be telling adults what to do when it comes to managing their nicotine addictions.

Restrictions like those the Tasmanian government has introduced guarantee the rise in a black market for vaping products.

When a product is pushed underground, the rules that provide safety and quality are stripped away and the products people buy might be even more dangerous than the cigarettes they are trying to give up.

This approach puts Tasmanians at greater risk.

The state government's stance is dangerous.

If the Tasmanian government were truly concerned about people's health, the approach should be to manage and educate through effective regulation, not restrict and punish those who are trying to quit.

To put it simply, this approach makes it so much harder for Tasmanians to access safer alternatives to cigarettes.

We're all addicted to something.

It might be alcohol, cigarettes or gambling—all of which have been the subject of debates in this place over the years—but what about other addictions that have been normalised?

I can't function without coffee, and I like chocolate and KFC too.

Do I know too much of these things isn't good for me?

Yes, but that doesn't stop me from having them.

I'm an adult and I should be able to choose what I put into my body.

If I decided to get healthier and stop eating chocolate or drinking coffee, I'd be applauded.

Why is it different for those people who choose to use vaping to help them give up smoking?

The Tassie government needs to support people who are trying to give up smoking by allowing them to access vapes without jumping through hoops.

Banning vapes and pushing them into the black market is not a minor stumble off the kerb; it's taking a big leap off the cliff altogether.