What was this billboard all about?

1. HELP A LOVED ONE QUIT SMOKING
As a former smoker and a retailer, I don't know of a single smoker who hasn't tried to give up. Parents genuinely don't want their children to take up the habit either. But it's really difficult to quit.
Nicotine salts double your chances of quitting - see reference below.
"A recent study shows that vaping is almost twice as effective as Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRTs) in helping smokers quit. A clinical trial in the UK compared 886 people trying NRTs vs vaping. They were given three months of product and four weeks of support from a quit coach, then left to keep going.''

2. GIFT THEM SOMETHING WONDERFUL TODAY
Smokers are great customers. They have a good sense of humour. They tell great stories and they laugh a lot. They are also used to facing adversity. They are resilient and good people, in general. Their coping mechanism of smoking has seen them targeted socially and politically. They have been put down and made to feel badly about themselves. Surely, this is prejudice on a grand scale? Give your parents, your grandparents, your children, and loved ones back their self esteem. What a wonderful gift it would be to give them back their dignity.

Current treatment limitations
One of the limitations of current treatments is that none adequately address the sensory and behavioral aspects of smoking, and these are what smokers miss when they stop smoking - for example, holding a cigarette, taking a puff, and the general enjoyment of smoking.
Electronic cigarettes may offer a way to overcome this limitation.
Electronic Cigarettes for Smoking Cessation, Cochrane Systematic Review, 2016

Each year, taxpayers' hard earned dollars has been granted to ASH from the Ministry of Health. They are granted up to a whopping $900 million, some of which is used each year to fund research which essentially only replicates previous research but with minor variations. What is the purpose and benefit of this continued costly research? All it does is keep proving to us what we all already know and that is that "smoking kills and causes harm''. We all know this already!

Surely there is a better way for us to effectively and sensibly invest our resources?
In the early 2000s I took part in a parliamentary select committee hearing. Advocating then to put the smoking age up each year and to change the way in which nicotine is delivered. I also argued that serious penalties should fall on retailers who deliberately sold to minors.
It's very encouraging that the Ministry of Health, after careful consideration, is now endorsing the benefits of vaping as a mechanism to reduce the harm of tobacco and to aid quitting.
It would be even more encouraging if the Ministry took a stand to publicly dispel the current fear surrounding vaping. Should they speak out against the false and misleading spin and advertising messages that the media are driving?

What is the actual problem with vaping products in the United States?
The United States' problem is simply caused by illicit drug use in electronic vaping devices.
These devices are fit for purpose for the vaping of nicotine containing and non-nicotine containing e-liquids only.
They are NOT designed for vaping other products such as cannabis (liquid THC). In the US reported cases, the vaping device has been adapted so that Vitamin E Acetate is included in order to dilute and aid THC drug use. This is when the product potentially becomes dangerous. It's not rocket science!
The press is incorrectly implying that it is vaping itself that is causing the health harming incidents. This is simply not the case and I believe their actions constitute a deliberate breach of the Fair Trading Act. It is false and misleading. It is also damaging to an evolving industry that actually has better motives than the tobacco companies.
These misleading elements of the press are inadvertently playing into the hands of the tobacco industry. Surely, they need to be held to account? Are they crossing the line, under the guise of the freedom of the press, and are breaching the commerce laws of engagement?
I can sense an imminent legal case. It's about time someone had the courage to take on these areas of the press and properly question their motives.

3. HELP A LOVED ONE LIVE A LONGER HAPPIER LIFE
A University of Otago study from earlier this year shows that ``liberalising the rules around vaping products has led to a gain of 236,000 life years for the general population, and savings of $3.4 billion in the health system over their newly extended lifespans''. (Petroviĉ-van der Deen et al. Epidemiology (2019) 30:3).

4. SAVE THEM UP TO $6570 A YEAR

Graham's cost calculator
"I've got pensioners who cannot afford to eat two days out from pension day, let alone put the heating on in winter.''
"Couples who cannot afford to buy their kids new shoes, enter them in weekend sporting teams, and sometimes even feed them.''

The cost of tobacco is socially and financially crippling!
Ministry of Health vaping facts website - see below for estimates and even greater savings:
You'll have $173 more in your pocket each week - that's $9,030 over your first 12 months.
Weekly
$188 (smoking cost)
$15 (vaping cost)
Monthly
$807 (smoking cost)
$65 (vaping cost)
Yearly
$9819 (smoking cost)
$788 (vaping cost)
"The lower cost of e-cigarettes, as well as their ability to help respondents quit or reduce smoking, were also common reasons cited for usage.'' (Ministry of Health Evaluation of the Tobacco Excise Increases as a Contributor to Smokefree 2025, final report 2018)