Dr Buzz Burrell: General Practitioners Aotearoa Chair on Health NZ ordering thousands more vapes to help smokers quit

A boost for the vaping industry as the Government asks for tenders for devices for long-time smokers.

Health New Zealand's provided three thousand of the devices since January, under a pilot programme.

But Newstalk ZB can reveal it plans to order more - including flavours like cinnamon and blueberry at the maximum legal nicotine level. 

Health NZ is talking up the PR benefits to suppliers, saying it will increase their health system profile, credibility and visibility. 

General Practitioners Aotearoa Chair Dr Buzz Burrell shares his thoughts with Ryan. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chelsea Zealand's ordering thousands more vapes to help smokers quit.
They say the pilot programs that they've already done have
helped more than four thousand. Kiwis ditched the Darries in
just six months. Doctor Buzz Burrow is gp altra cheer.
Good morning, Buzz, Good morning Ryan. Good to have you
on the show. Is this a good thing? I mean,
we've better off vaping than we are smoking, that's what

(00:21):
we're told.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
Well, it's a good question, and your opening line is
not incorrect. We are better off vaping than smoking. However,
we're better off not doing anything than vaping. And I
think that's where GPR is disappointed. We believe that the
government and two and whoever's in between them almost misleading
the public on the apparent success of this initiative. It's

(00:44):
not as successful as it looks. It's almost like saying, look,
it's better to drive a little bit drunk than very drunk.
It's a step in the right direction, but it's certainly
not as good as that making it out to be.
It's just give you some idea of how we believe
it's been a mislead. I work at a Southalkland General practice.
And only last week I saw a teenager pick up

(01:06):
one of the two leaflets saying babe, and he said, look, Mama,
I told you they're safe, and that's the message getting across.
They're not safe. And we wish there was just a
little bit more honestly behind the data.

Speaker 1 (01:20):
So you're just saying it's a branding thing. Really by
making it telling people it's lest bared the hearing it's healthy.

Speaker 2 (01:29):
Yeah, perfectly worded. And moreover, we're replacing one addiction with
another addiction, which is not safe. If you think about
the science, it is very clever. Whoever invented the idea
of inhaling a substance got it right. If you're addicted
to something, you swallow it, your brain gets it hit
in about twenty minutes. If you intravenously injected, your brain

(01:49):
gets it hit in about sixty seconds. But if you
inhale it, your brain gets that hit in fifteen to
twenty seconds. That cycle, that addictive cycle, I wanted. I
got it. That was great. There's no fast way of
rewarding that than inhaling something. So someone's used inhaling tobacco
and getting a hit. If we're giving them a vape
they're going to get the.

Speaker 1 (02:08):
Same because what do they do then? What are they
damned if they do? Damed if they don't, do they
just not order these things? Or do they need to
say here, you know, put up a skull and crossbone
on it.

Speaker 2 (02:17):
In In fact, well look it up. Until about eighteen
months ago, that's what we had and the entire medical
profession was a gas at this current government reversed the
smoking legislation and that was really everybody thought, a step
in the completely wrong direction, which to see why it's
fiscally driven, but that actually is unhelpful in the long term.
So yeah, I think the answer is, I'll be honest,

(02:39):
the eighty percent of people are still vaping when they've
officially quit. Twelve months later. The UK did a study
and worked out that two thirds of people who said
they'd quit by tato vaping, two thirds were still vaping
five years after they've given up. And this stuff is
not safe. There are there's lung conditions, there's a cardy

(03:00):
of asking for conditions. This is this is not a
safe alternative from.

Speaker 1 (03:03):
One bad thing to another. Doctor Buzz Burrow with us
this morning

Speaker 2 (03:07):
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