It didn't take long for vapers in Ontario to strike back after a grocery association's surprise attack last week.
Vapor Advocates on Ontario (VAO) - An organization of vape shop owners and vape advocates - has reactivated the website VapingIsntSmoking.com, and asked interested vapers and residents to visit the site, using its automated mail system to send a pro-vaping message to Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and Health Minister Eric Hoskins.
The Ontario Grocers Association (OSCA) launched its project last week, asking stakeholders to send a message to the Premier and the Minister of Health to complain about vape shops being allowed to offer samples to adult customers. Because grocery stores allow minors, they can’t offer samples, and in fact, most tobacco products are required to be kept out of sight.
This is clearly an attempt to protect tobacco sales. And VAO is criticizing them for it. “Anyone who advocates for tobacco should reflect on their contribution to the terrible deaths and illnesses that the product causes, and look for ways to help consumers quit rather than create obstacles for them,” VAO spokesperson Maria Duic said in a press release.
“VAO encourages all Canadians who support vaping, or who support the fundamental rights of Canadians to life and freedom of expression as written in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, to visit www.vapingisntsmoking.com and follow our instructions on how to make a petition,” she added.
VAO has a trump card that grocery stores can’t match: David Sweanor. A University of Ottawa law professor, tobacco control expert, and national harm reduction advocate, he’s squarely on the side of vapers and the vaping industry in this battle.
“Equating regular cigarettes with safer alternatives like vapes is more about protecting tobacco sales than protecting public health,” said Professor Sweanor. “It’s like asking a whisky distiller to regulate orange juice on the same level as themselves.”
Professor Sweanor has helped this advocacy group before. He spoke at a rally in Toronto’s Queen’s Park last year, part of the VAO’s campaign against Ontario’s vaping laws. That effort came too late. But this time, the VAO responded quickly to the threat.
The grocery group is struggling with its own campaign. It has blocked many vapers from its Twitter feed, and as of this writing, its anti-vaping website is down, whether temporarily or permanently. This is a result of underestimating the ability of vapers to fight back.
Reference link: Vape gains more support for legalization in Australia
Source: Jim McDonald - Vaping360
Translated by: The Vape Club
