Vaping the only hope for quitting

THANK you, Robert Mallett and the Tasmanian Small Business Council (Mercury, September 25) for your thoughts on vaping. I am dismayed that the government has decided to crack down on vaping, not only because it is an assault on consumer rights, but it is a very effective anti-smoking method.

I have a family member who has cut down from a pack a day to 6mg vapes in just 8 weeks, and will soon be on 0mg. He tried all the “proven methods”, none worked. I disagree with the Australian Medical Association view it will lead young people to smoking, this is absurd. Cost alone makes this a nonsense argument. Cigarettes are about $2 each, so a 20-pack a day 12mg smoker is spending at least $40 per day, $280 for the week. Vape liquid is relatively cheap, 30ml 18mg nicotine lasts a week, costing $21.

Vapes don’t make you cough and do not contain tar, or the myriad chemicals in cigarettes. If there’s limited evidence of harm, do some studies and get some. At the same time make an effort to see how many people quit using vapes. Use it as another tool.

Keitha Granville Copping