Reader opinion: Wishing a fond farewell to the Rotorua Weekender

The Rotorua Weekender has printed its last edition. Photo / NZME

OPINION

Wishing a fond farewell to the Rotorua Weekender, our weekly newspaper with a friendly small-town feel.

The Weekender has highlighted many of the services and social occasions of Rotorua and its citizens.

Thank you, Shauni James, in particular, for your work in developing the paper - many local clubs and organisations have benefitted from the exposure you gave them and will miss you not being there to consult with them.

Thank you, Rotorua Daily Post for offering the Weekender to readers for so many years. I do hope that our clubs and rural communities will continue to find a place within the Rotorua Daily Post.

Marjorie Griffiths

Lynmore

Heartwarming kindness

Thank you for your uplifting article (News, May 24) describing the Good Bitches’ Baking initiative, which has about 3,000 volunteers who bake for communities throughout New Zealand, including Rotorua.

In a world seemingly overwhelmed with conflict and negativity, the kindness of these volunteers, many of whom are in fulltime employment, is heartwarming.

They are to be congratulated.

Jackie Evans

Pukehangi

The Premium Debate

A “loophole” around the sale of vaping products has resulted in a proliferation of specialist outlets fuelling “the youth vaping epidemic in this country”, the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation says.

It comes as the Government announces new actions to reduce the number of young people vaping, including stopping new shops from setting up near marae and schools.

Read the full story here: ‘Loophole’ fuelling country’s youth vaping epidemic

Have your say by going to dailypost.co.nz and becoming a Premium subscriber.

Any substance with nicotine in it should be heavily controlled. Sold at a chemist and with a prescription.

It’s an addiction.

Pretty shops everywhere selling the stuff, after all the decades of moving to smoke-free, [by] failing to control vaping we have tripped up big-time and are letting a generation down.

- Daniel S

Why didn’t we just follow what Australia has done? Once upon a time NZ used to lead in doing the right thing, under the current Government we just keep lowering the bar.

-Warren S

Perhaps, to be fair, the Government didn’t foresee the uptake of vaping, or the influence of large tobacco companies, just as many other countries also failed to see the unintended outcomes.

Nevertheless the disturbing evidence is now plain to see.

-Rowan K

The answer here is not too difficult to work out. Vaping should only be used to encourage smokers to give up the cigarettes. Therefore prescription only, and dispensed by a pharmacy. It’s another epidemic just waiting to come to light. Nip it in the bud now. And the unintended consequence would be less than ram raids I am sure.

-Kerry H

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