Australian Retail Group Shames Medical Group With Award

The National Retail Association (NRA) has created the inaugural ‘Dirty Mirror Award’ and bestowed it on the Australian Medical Association (AMA) for its “breathtaking hypocrisy in public affairs”. NRA CEO Dominique Lamb said the AMA deserved the award for its efforts to protect the monopoly over nicotine vaping enjoyed by doctors and pharmacists.

“Doctors are set to make a lot of money from prescribing nicotine products for vaping, and then sending customers on to pharmacies so they can get a slice of the vaping action,” Lamb said, according to Convenience and Impulse Retailing.

“The only businesses in the equation who are not making money from nicotine vaping are Australian retailers. So, it’s understandable that in its public positioning the doctors’ union has sought to protect that monopoly at all costs.

“In doing so, they have attacked mum and dad retail businesses who would like to transition away from selling cigarettes and move to vaping, which has been recognised by the World Health Organisation as a less harmful alternative to smoking.

“So, for using anti-tobacco day to stop Australian businesses reducing their reliance on tobacco; for happily agreeing that GPs and chemists should take money for vaping but no-one else; and for all-round extraordinary hypocrisy, we happily nominate the AMA for the Dirty Mirror Award.

“In fact, the self-interest is so breathtaking, we wonder if the AMA has taken a Hypocritic Oath.”