1
00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,760
Speaker 1: There's a big puffy cloud of smoke hanging over the

2
00:00:02,800 --> 00:00:05,720
Speaker 1: vaping versus cigarettes debate this week. You might have noticed this.

3
00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:08,719
Speaker 1: It's all kicked off because the government's handing out free

4
00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:11,840
Speaker 1: vapes to smokers to stop them getting what we know

5
00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:14,760
Speaker 1: basically could be a death sentence, and they've done a

6
00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:17,160
Speaker 1: deal to buy a bunch of them four half a

7
00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:22,239
Speaker 1: million dollars. Now. Between January last year and July, they

8
00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:25,920
Speaker 1: gave out three thousand vaping kits and hand them out

9
00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:28,639
Speaker 1: to all the smokers, and nearly half of them stopped smoking,

10
00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:32,159
Speaker 1: which ordinarily you would think would be a good news story.

11
00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:37,080
Speaker 1: Not so for Calli Burrows Auckland University vaping researchers. She

12
00:00:37,320 --> 00:00:40,400
Speaker 1: said this on news Talk ZB Basically, it's not.

13
00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:42,559
Speaker 2: I mean, I don't know if it's working, but I

14
00:00:42,560 --> 00:00:44,919
Speaker 2: guess I just the main point I think is that

15
00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:48,839
Speaker 2: vaping is not a registered medicine for smoking festation. It's

16
00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:52,840
Speaker 2: not been approved. It's not as stringently registered or regulated

17
00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:56,960
Speaker 2: and tested as other smoking testation products that are already available.

18
00:00:57,360 --> 00:00:59,680
Speaker 2: So to me, it seems quite crazy that they are

19
00:00:59,720 --> 00:01:00,880
Speaker 2: giving mystery bakes that.

20
00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:04,840
Speaker 1: Okay, So yesterday I spoke to Robert Beegelhol, Yes, the

21
00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:08,600
Speaker 1: Robert Beegelhol, former boss of the World Health Organization, public

22
00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:12,920
Speaker 1: health expert. He said this about these anti vapors.

23
00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:15,679
Speaker 3: It's a mystery, but clearly some of the search is

24
00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:18,960
Speaker 3: the one you refer to in particular, is a laboratory

25
00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:24,800
Speaker 3: based scientist who has no epidemiological, no public health experience,

26
00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:28,120
Speaker 3: doesn't have the big picture in mind. One of the

27
00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:33,959
Speaker 3: other antagonists to this approach clearly doesn't comprehend the evidence.

28
00:01:34,319 --> 00:01:37,120
Speaker 3: I mean, it's a mystery to why someone would to

29
00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:41,400
Speaker 3: pose something that is much less harmful, helps people stop,

30
00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:42,840
Speaker 3: and it's cheaper.

31
00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:45,559
Speaker 1: I don't know about you, but to me, this feels

32
00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:47,880
Speaker 1: a little bit like the COVID days, you know, when

33
00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:50,520
Speaker 1: you had the so called experts piping up about the

34
00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:54,320
Speaker 1: harms of a disease without taking a helicopter view of

35
00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:57,360
Speaker 1: the best way that a society should actually manage the

36
00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:00,840
Speaker 1: risk for the least overall harm. You know, you have

37
00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:03,360
Speaker 1: your people who are your specialist in your WII area

38
00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:04,960
Speaker 1: and they say this is evil, and we're like, yeah,

39
00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:07,320
Speaker 1: we know that's bad, but what is the best way

40
00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:09,320
Speaker 1: for a society to deal with it. That's a very

41
00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:12,640
Speaker 1: different question, right there's also a political element to this,

42
00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:15,720
Speaker 1: I think, because we know there are certain politicians who

43
00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:18,920
Speaker 1: were out there desperate to paint Casey Costello as some

44
00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:22,679
Speaker 1: sort of big vape lobbyist in drag. But the choice really,

45
00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:26,320
Speaker 1: I mean, when individuals need to come and choose and decide,

46
00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:28,480
Speaker 1: if it's really a choice, and you can call it that,

47
00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:31,360
Speaker 1: it seems to come down to the devil we know

48
00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:35,320
Speaker 1: versus the devil we don't. For more from Early Edition

49
00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:38,239
Speaker 1: with Ryan Bridge, listen live to News Talks it be

50
00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:42,200
Speaker 1: from five am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.