Why would a vaping organization be considered as a charity some might ask. In the press release to announce this event, AVCA said “This development will allow us to continue the work we are currently doing and expand upon it to deliver our mission of Educate, Inform and Advocate throughout New Zealand. This is what AVCA does – we educate the public and any interested party regarding e-cigarettes – what we do, why we do it and how to best utilise them to switch from combustible tobacco.”
Working to help people quit smoking
The organization pointed out that they have recently been focusing on educating and mentoring smokers free of charge, whilst assisting them in switching to the safer alternatives in a bid to quit smoking. AVCA has also been involved in sharing peer reviewed research and scientific information with the government” and other health experts.
The newly registered charity’s members are hopeful that this new status will make it possible to reach a wider audience, amongst whom to share the available knowledge, and it also provides them with an avenue to collect donations in order to fund new projects such as offering training online through seminars, and info sessions.
They aim to build support networks and make sure that people who are looking for and need an effective smoking cessation tool for support have access to all the information required about these products.
Just last April, a group of scientists also from New Zealand, released a study on the efficacy of electronic cigarettes as smoking cessation tools, adding “it is difficult to conceive that the extent of any negative health consequences from even decades of vaping will rival that produced by decades of inhaling toxic tobacco smoke”.
Empowering through sharing information
“Information is key. Knowledge is power. We are about empowering people to make choices based on recent, scientific information combined with the anecdotal experiences of those who have successfully made the switch from combustible tobacco to e-cigarettes.”
