This letter was sent to the Framework Convention Alliance, an international organization which works in support of implementation and enforcement of the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
Subject: Re: [fca_all] World No Tobacco Day 2020 & Africa
If we're truly serious about "Protecting youth from industry manipulation and preventing them from tobacco and nicotine use" (the theme of WNTD 2020), Big Tobacco/Big Nicotine must be phased out. No more baby steps... it's time to bring out the sledge hammers!
- Raise the minimum age for the purchase (and possession/use) of all tobacco/nicotine products by one year, annually...so that no one born on or after January 1, 2000 can legally buy, possess or use tobacco/nicotine products.
- Make cigarette filters -- the biggest public health scam in history -- illegal. See Plastic straw ban? Cigarette butts are the single greatest source of ocean trash.
- Regarding e-cigarettes: 1) ban all e-cig marketing and advertising, 2) with a few exceptions, ban all e-cig flavours and 3) make e-cigarettes available by prescription only!
Please, don't dismiss any/all of the above as fantasy. I've given a great deal of thought to each of the 3 ideas, above...and yes, a great deal of political will is required, but we can -- we must -- achieve it. Regarding the "prescription only" idea, I'll be happy to share details with any of you, upon request.
Breaking News: I was literally just about to hit the send button (for this e-mail) when, while listening to CBC Radio, I heard discussion about a new music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-XH92Wie0U. And then I discovered this 5-part mini-series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xvWFAMrfI0. Warning: extremely coarse and sexually explicit language throughout both videos!
Messed up as all that coarse and sexually explicit language is, the biggest warning needs to be for the product that both the music video and the mini-series revolve around: They are nothing more than glitzy and glamorous ads... for JUUL... and if that isn't sufficient reason to start swinging the sledge hammers, I don't know what is.
Errol E. Povah
President, Airspace Action on Smoking and Health