💧Craig Shillington (Unsupervised Ex Smoker)

Tobacco harm reduction, or THR, is losing political ground in some key countries. Now, to be clear right up front, this shift isn’t happening because the risk continuum suddenly stopped being true. It didn’t. This is about politics. Premiering on Monday 16 February: youtu.be/H-iF0sWy-UE

web.archive.org/web/2025110321… This article is pure sensationalism another attempt to blame vapes for problems created entirely by the government’s own failed policy. The journalist frames “formaldehyde and antifreeze” as shocking discoveries, but conveniently omits that these findings come from illegal, black-market vapes products that only exist because Mark Butler banned legal, regulated ones. When you prohibit quality control, you invite contamination. This isn’t a vaping problem it’s a prohibition problem. They even admit the testing was commissioned by the tobacco industry, which should raise alarm bells. Why would Big Tobacco fund a scare story about its supposed competitors unless it served their interests? Conveniently, this article helps them by pushing the idea that vaping is dangerous and only cigarettes are “properly regulated.” And then we get the predictable quotes from Becky Freeman calling the pharmacy-only model a “really good law” that’s simply “not enforced.” That line has become public health dogma: ignore the failure of the policy itself, and blame police, retailers, and “criminal gangs.” Meanwhile, Australians are still buying vapes just now from gangs instead of legitimate businesses. Let’s be clear: if legal, TGA-approved products were actually accessible and affordable, there’d be no demand for cheap imports like Alibarbar. Instead, the government outlawed all viable alternatives, drove the market underground, and is now pretending to be shocked that dodgy goods contain unsafe chemicals. This story proves one thing prohibition has failed. You don’t stop demand by banning; you just hand the supply to criminals. Australia didn’t learn from alcohol prohibition, and it’s repeating the same mistake with nicotine. If anything, the “formaldehyde and antifreeze” headlines should be pinned directly on Mark Butler, Becky Freeman, and the public health lobby who insisted on this ban. They created the black market and now want applause for condemning the mess they made. @ALIVEadvocacy @LivePippas @Anne_Ruston @Mark_Butler_MP

The media has been cheering on the government’s new vape laws, calling them “tough” and saying they’re “protecting young Australians.” But they’re ignoring the uncomfortable truth that smoking is going up again, especially among young adults. Instead of asking hard questions, most journalists just copy what’s written in government press releases. There’s no real investigation, no fact-checking, and no chance for ordinary people, the smokers and vapers actually affected, to have their say. That’s not honest public health communication. @abcnews @Newscorpaus @Australian @7NewsAustralia @SkyNewsAust @10NewsAU @9NewsAus @WestAustralian @AAPNewswire @SBSNews @theheraldsun @theage @smh @MelissaSweetDr @independentaus @BernardKeane @newscomauHQ @TheCalebBond @theTiser @themercurycomau @dailytelegraph @canberratimes @ballaratcourier

@Mark_Butler_MP lied!! “I had a couple of issues with it… it dealt with a different age cohort… and there was no engagement, as far as I’m advised, between the government and Roy Morgan.” On involvement: Butler insisted government had “no engagement” with Roy Morgan. Yet FOI shows MRU embargoing the report, CCV rewriting it, and internal discussions about “sensitivities.” That is engagement. @ALIVEadvocacy @LivePippas @drjoesDIYhealth @Anne_Ruston @mattjcan @RossCadell @caphraorg @SenatorJordon @abcnews @Newscorpaus @Australian @7NewsAustralia @SkyNewsAust @10NewsAU @9NewsAus @WestAustralian @AAPNewswire @SBSNews @theheraldsun @theage @smh @MelissaSweetDr @independentaus @BernardKeane @newscomauHQ @TheCalebBond @theTiser @themercurycomau @dailytelegraph @canberratimes @ballaratcourier @squigglyRick

The Cure - Pictures Of You ('Not Only Pictures' Remix by matt one) youtu.be/T4hMYZr86MY?si… via @YouTube

"The FOI trail shows a government and its allies more interested in controlling the narrative than confronting reality." aliveadvocacymovement.com/post/the-smoki… @abcnews @Newscorpaus @Australian @7NewsAustralia @SkyNewsAust @10NewsAU @9NewsAus @WestAustralian @AAPNewswire @SBSNews @theheraldsun @theage @smh @MelissaSweetDr @independentaus @BernardKeane @newscomauHQ @TheCalebBond @theTiser @themercurycomau @dailytelegraph @canberratimes @ballaratcourier @squigglyRick

UNBELIEVABLE voices leave London crowds SPEECHLESS | Adele - Skyfall youtu.be/EkxAXKnGXE4?si… via @YouTube

The Church - Under The Milky Way (Official Music Video) [HD Upgrade] youtu.be/CtThVRs0u8k?si… via @YouTube

Magic Molecule: If you put it a transdermal patch or gum made by Big Pharma, regulators approve it and @WHO puts it on its Essential Medicines List. If you put it in a pouch or vape, it is magically transformed into a "tobacco product" and stigmatized, taxed and banned.

Today I spoke to several smokers in the smoking areas just outside the Brisbane Ekka grounds ( no smoking anywhere in grounds), 3/4 of smokers believe smoking is safer than nicotine vaping! That’s a national disgrace and shows just how deadly Australia’s public health misinformation campaigns are & have done a job! A royal commission into this needs to happen immediately! @jamomartin @ALIVEadvocacy @RossCadell @Anne_Ruston @TammyTyrrell_ @mattjcan @D_LittleproudMP @sussanley

Jeff Buckley - So Real youtu.be/EcaxrqhUJ4c?si… via @YouTube

Jeff Buckley - Last Goodbye (Edit) youtu.be/3MMXjunSx80?si… via @YouTube

Jeff Buckley - Dream Brother (from Live in Chicago) youtu.be/3fs9hRUTOnU?si… via @YouTube

Burn - The Cure (Cover by Salt Ashes) youtu.be/Y6HMYlja9Ws?si… via @YouTube

health.gov.au/ministers/the-… Health Minister Mark Butler admits that illegal tobacco is now “probably the biggest threat to our tobacco control efforts.” That’s a stunning admission especially when you realise his government’s own policies directly supercharged that black market. 1. He caused the problem he’s now blaming others for Butler is trying to paint illegal tobacco as a sudden external threat, but it was his crackdown on legal nicotine alternatives (vapes) combined with relentless tobacco tax hikes that created the perfect conditions for the illicit market to explode. When adults lose access to safer alternatives like nicotine vapes, and legal cigarettes become unaffordable due to extreme taxes, they turn to cheaper illegal options. It’s not rocket science it’s basic economics. You restrict supply, demand doesn’t vanish, it shifts underground. 2. Still demonising retailers, not fixing policy failure Butler blames small retailers for supposedly bankrolling sex trafficking and organised crime. That’s an extremely serious allegation and a convenient way to shift responsibility away from federal policy decisions. Retailers aren’t the root cause here. They’re reacting to a distorted market where legal products are either banned or price-inflated beyond reach. The fault lies with the government for creating that distortion. 3. Ignores the logical solution: regulated vaping If Butler were serious about protecting public health and undermining the black market, he’d champion access to regulated, consumer-safe nicotine vapes. These are vastly less harmful than cigarettes, and already proven to help people quit smoking. Instead, his government doubled down on a prohibition-style policy that removed low-risk alternatives and pushed people toward smuggled, unregulated, and dangerous products. Passing the buck to the states Note how Butler quickly passes responsibility to state governments, calling on them to ramp up raids and shutdowns. It’s a classic federal deflection. Why not admit the core issue is flawed national legislation? Enforcement won’t fix a market failure created by misguided federal health policy. The harder you crack down on the black market without addressing the root cause, the bigger and more profitable it becomes 5. Public health vs political theatre Butler talks about illegal tobacco being a “threat to public health” but it’s his policies that are now pushing people back to smoking. The latest Roy Morgan and AIHW data show smoking is already on the rise, especially among young adults. That’s not a coincidence. If this were really about public health, he’d focus on harm reduction @ALIVEadvocacy @LivePippas @drjoesDIYhealth @jamomartin @Anne_Ruston @TammyTyrrell_

The Emptiness Machine (Live) - Linkin Park youtu.be/7F5MKaJMxDc?si… via @YouTube

Guy Sebastian - Battle Scars ( Battlescars On ANZAC Day Performed for Th... youtu.be/ZdhqRvQxvDQ?si… via @YouTube

Australian government rejects research that found vape ban increased smoking among young people. "Mark Butler refuted the report's findings and said government-led research showed that fewer young people are vaping and fewer young people are smoking." 9news.com.au/national/vapin…

"During a national crisis over tobacco and vaping policy, one critical source of objective public health data has quietly vanished or been delayed: Australia’s national wastewater reports." @ALIVEadvocacy @LivePippas @drjoesDIYhealth @jamomartin @Mark_Butler_MP @Anne_Ruston @TammyTyrrell_ @Kimpossibillity @PamThis aliveadvocacymovement.com/post/where-s-t…

The Cure - The Drowning Man (KD Remix 2024) youtu.be/USzvsmiEOSQ?si… via @YouTube