Pharmacy Daily | Don’t join VEEV vaping program: PSA

PHARMACISTS are being urged to snub Philip Morris International's (PMI's) controversial pharmacy program, with Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) National President, Dr Fei Sim, saying big tobacco has no place in healthcare.

The scheme, which is set to be rolled out by PharmaPrograms (PD 02 Aug), will provide payments to pharmacists to refer patients to get a prescription for nicotine vaping products, educating patients about vaping, and dispensing PMI's VEEV device.

"No healthcare professional should accept financial incentives or support from a tobacco company," Sim said.

"Big tobacco cannot, and should not, be trusted with the health of Australians.

"PMI's offer of financial kickbacks shows clear contempt for our profession and our dedication to the health and wellbeing of our communities.

"It's galling PMI are promoting these products while they remain unregulated and unregistered.

"No nicotine vapes are registered as medicines in Australia.

"Do not confuse a commercially motivated decision from a large multi-national tobacco company as a decision of Australian pharmacists.

"[The] Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has provided clear advice to pharmacists and the health sector -- nicotine vaping does not provide substantial benefits to patients as a smoking cessation tool, and nicotine vaping products are not a first-line option for smoking cessation."

Sim said pharmacists should use current practice guidelines to support patients to quit smoking, and called on any health organisations that have financial deals with big tobacco to terminate them immediately.

Meanwhile, Quit Victoria Director, Dr Sarah White, told BioPharma Dispatch that it was "almost inconceivable that any Australian health organisation would be willing to help one of the world's largest tobacco companies get access to Australian pharmacists and - through paid incentives - to people visiting those pharmacists".

"Any pharmacist who has signed up for payments to secretly promote PMI e-cigarettes to their patients should be publicly named and shamed," she said.

"This secretive, money-grubbing deal with big tobacco runs completely counter to what Australians expect of their community pharmacies and has the potential to ruin the trust between pharmacists and their patients."

PharmaPrograms has announced that it has postponed the launch of the VEEV Pharmacy Program "whilst a review of all components of the program are being completed".

"The intent of the proposed program was to support appropriate use for the approved patients, who have been prescribed nicotine vaping products by an authorised prescriber," a spokesperson said.