Costello hands out free vapes

Written By: - Date published: 5:43 pm, January 5th, 2025 - 10 comments
Categories: casey costello, health, nz first, uncategorized - Tags:

It appears that the Government may be taking an arguably overly assertive step to assist Phillip Morris’s bottom line. It has been announced that they will be supplying vaping starter kits to stop smoking services. It is not known at this stage who will be the suppliers of these kits.

From Radio New Zealand:

Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said vaping starter kits would be supplied to stop-smoking services around the country from next week to help adults quit.

She said vaping had played a key role in reducing smoking rates and she wanted to support adult smokers to switch to a product less harmful than cigarettes.

This has been met with incredulity from those who know what they are talking about. Again from RNZ:

Asthma and Respiratory Foundation chief executive Letitia Harding said the use of vapes to quit cigarettes was controversial and the announcement came as a shock.

“These products have not been approved for smoking cessation by the World Health Organisation, the FDA (United States Food and Drug Administration), or Medsafe here in New Zealand.

“So to have these basically handed out as a therapeutic product and not go through the proper rigourous process of consultation is really strange,” she said.

“And the fact they’re rolling out next week just seems crazy.”

Harding said the plan was lacking in detail and simply shifted people from one product to another, with no clear exit strategy.

Casey Costello has shown before an inclination to support companies that sell vapes. Can you remember her decision to delay changes to vape rules in a move that allowed Phillip Morris to get rid of its excess stock.

She also trumpeted the banning of disposable vapes and legislation has been passed to make sure this happens. But the ban does not come into force until 17 June 2025. Maybe there are left over supplies that need to be distributed?

This all seems rather strange. I am sure that parliamentary questions will be asked.

10 comments on “Costello hands out free vapes ”

  1. Kat 1
    5 January 2025 at 7:26 pm

    This 'associate health minister' is definitely a few sandwiches short of a picnic and should be kept well away from our fragile health system………along with Dr Cigareti…….

    https://www.cancer.org.nz/about-us/our-advocacy-work/position-statements/cancer-societys-position-statement-on-vaping/

    Reply
  2. Reality 2
    5 January 2025 at 8:31 pm

    Good timing from her point of view – media, some public health organisations, and Parliament on holiday, so less scrutiny.

    Reply
  3. Tiger Mountain 3
    6 January 2025 at 7:37 am

    What the…???

    This MP Costello should have a media flame thrower directed at her given the Atlas and Tobacco industry links, but I guess what remains of NZ media channels with half a brain do not want to go there.

    Dr Shane Cigaretti needs a blast of scrutiny too, the Parliamentary pecuniary interest register shows he has personal financial and governance interests in private health–particularly at Kensington in Whangārei.

    https://wheretheystand.nz/people/shane-reti/interests

    When public health services are cut and downgraded where are people going to go? yes that's right–private sector. Many cannot afford premiums, so basically taxpayers will be funding the transfer one way or another.

    Reply
  4. Kay 4
    6 January 2025 at 8:33 am

    I was so innocently naive about corruption in NZ politics until being part of warfare against Pharmac and the government a few years ago. After reading screes of OIA requests (the ones they let us see), it became very obvious, and I have never felt more despondent about anything.

    This has got to be our most openly corrupt government, ever. But on the plus side, if it's all out in the open with no attempt to hide it, then any attempt to deny it can never be taken seriously, and we can all see it.

    My biggest concern is how is this able to happen so openly, with no checks and balances from anyone?

    Reply
    • Craig H 4.1
      6 January 2025 at 8:53 am

      We don't have an upper house which might stymie bad legislation, and we don't have superior law like a constitution for courts to strike down bad legislation. Bribery and corruption are crimes, but very hard to prosecute.

      From an accountability perspective, voting them out is the ultimate option. However, people get inured to bad press about particular issues quite quickly, so it takes a long time and a lot of different issues to turn the public against the government if they were popular to begin with.

      Reply
      • Tony Veitch 4.1.1
        6 January 2025 at 2:16 pm

        I've floated this idea before, but I'll repeat it.

        We need an Upper House composed of Iwi leaders, tasked with the job of overseeing that all legislation has the best interests of ALL NZers at heart.

        This would go a long way, too, of fulfilling the Treaty idea of Partnership.

        Reply
        • Kay 4.1.1.1
          6 January 2025 at 4:44 pm

          I like that idea, but does it have to be just iwi? In fact, it shouldn't even be politicians, but people from a cross-section of society, capable of employing common sense and logic. A citizen's assembly of sorts.

          Reply
  5. Marnie 5
    6 January 2025 at 8:49 pm

    Great to see you shining a light on this move which was almost certainly made during holiday time in the hope less people would take notice. Our voluntary group Vape-Free Kids NZ did a press release asking these questions too:

    https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK2501/S00012/costello-needs-to-explain-how-the-government-are-funding-vapes.htm

    Time for some answers…

    Reply
  6. adam 6
    6 January 2025 at 9:46 pm

    At any other time in our history Costello would have been rolled as a minister.

    But we now have a far right ideological pure mob running this country – so get used to it, or fight back.

    Reply

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