THE vaping community and the industry’s stakeholders are invited to participate in the public hearing on the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill which takes place at Greenwood Park Community Hall on Sunday, November 10 starting at 10.00.

Initiated by the Portfolio Committee on Health, hearings began at the beginning of November in the Northern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

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“These public hearings are a crucial opportunity to shape vaping regulations and the future of harm reduction in South Africa. It is an opportunity for the vaping public, public health specialists and the vaping industry to work collaboratively with Parliament to craft workable regulations that clearly distinguish smoking from vaping through differentiated regulations that account for the respective harms of the different products,” said Asanda Gcoyi, CEO of VPASA.

In its consistent advocacy for a balanced, science-based Electronic Delivery Systems Bill, VPASA says that the bill recognises and promotes harm reduction rather than obstructing it.

“Such a bill should protect both the interests of minors and smokers who are looking for alternatives to smoking without necessarily seeking to quit. By equating vaping with smoking, the current bill fails to protect the interests of smokers,” added the CEO.

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