Home Politics Europe Vapers’ Stories Broadcast in Brussels to Encourage Pro-Vaping Policies

Vapers’ Stories Broadcast in Brussels to Encourage Pro-Vaping Policies

The World Vapers’ Alliance’s (WVA) iconic electric pink ‘Vape Bus’, drove through Brussels, the European Union Capital, in a bid to encourage EU leaders to support vaping for smoking cessation.

Diane Caruana

December 21, 2021

The bus drove through Brussels displaying a powerful selection of real life quit stories by vapers from around Europe.

Launched in Barcelona last August, the bus tour aims to educate about tobacco harm reduction, as part of the WVA’s “Back Vaping. Beat Smoking” campaign. Travelling across Europe, the electric pink bus has been spreading the message that up to 19 million lives can be saved in Europe alone, if policymakers had to embrace the use of e-cigarettes for the purpose of tobacco harm reduction, such as in the UK.

Over the next year, EU policymakers will be reviewing the EU’s main legislation on tobacco, the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD). ECigIntelligence, the renowned independent data analysis resource for the tobacco-alternatives industry, has recently said that the EU Commission has carried out different assessments with industry members, commissioned research to in-house scientists and third parties, and put in place a validation workshop to check the consistency and accuracy of all the findings, since 2019.

These findings are expected to be used by officials as important sources in the document, which will be forwarded to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee, and the Committee of the Regions, with the aim of informing the revised tobacco legislation. To this effect the WVA team on tour will also be gathering stories and testimonies from vapers and sharing them with politicians.

Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan being finalized

To this effect, in November the bus drove through Brussels displaying a powerful selection of real life quit stories by vapers from around Europe. The demonstration brought these messages from across Europe directly to Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), who were currently debating the Beating Cancer plan which may set the direction for anti-smoking policies across Europe.

“The next few weeks will be crucial for smokers, vapers and public health in general with Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan being finalised. We came here today to make sure that vapers’ voices are heard and that the MEPs understand the real-life stories of people who have been able to quit smoking thanks to vaping. European policymakers have the opportunity to make history and save lives if they back vaping as a tool to beat smoking. Our message to them is clear: choose science and save lives,” said WVA Director Michael Landl.

Delivering the message to the WHO FCTC

Similarly, in the first week of November, the bus drove through the streets of Geneva, while the WHO’s infamous FCTC COP9 was being held in the city. “We came here today to make sure that vapers’ voices are heard, and that vaping is at the forefront of smoking cessation policies worldwide. Vaping can save 200 million lives globally, and it is imperative that COP9 delegates understand the real-life stories of people who have been able to quit smoking thanks to vaping.”

Landl added that they brought the message of vapers’ worldwide to “the WHO’s front door” asking them to listen. He said that if COP9 delegates were willing to listen they could make history by endorsing vaping as a smoking cessation tool and save millions of lives.