Two professional cyclists held the long tour called “Ride for Vape” for the third time, with the aim of educating the public and politicians about the reduced risk of electronic cigarettes in comparison to combustible tobacco. Following the initial two purely Italian tours in 2020 and 2021, this year the tour was extended to other places in Europe.
One of the riders, e-cigarette entrepreneur Umberto Roccatti shares how his life changed thanks to switching to vaping. “Before I switched to e-cigarettes, I smoked up to 30 cigarettes a day for 15 years. With this tour, we want to concretely show that by switching to vaping, someone like me can normalize their health, change their lifestyle and successfully exercise,” he said.
Roccatti is also the president of Italy’s e-cigarette association ANAFE and vice-president of Europe’s Independent European Vape Alliance (IEVA), and highlights the need for the WHO to rethink its outdated smoking cessation strategy. “WHO needs to rethink and recognize the potential of e-cigarettes to reduce global smoking rates. Especially in poorer countries we register particularly high smoking rates. Ignoring e-cigarettes means leaving people to their own devices”, he explained.
IEVA launches new vape campaign
Meanwhile, the Independent European Vape Alliance (IEVA) has recently launched a new campaign aimed at educating smokers about the benefits and potential of vaping products as harm reduction and smoking cessation tools.
The group explained that sadly the number of smokers educated about actual e-cigarettes’ facts remains relatively low, making it unlikely for them to switch to the products, and leaving them at a higher risk for smoke-related diseases. “Tobacco consumption is the single largest avoidable health risk, and the most significant cause of premature death in the EU, responsible for nearly 700,000 deaths every year. Around 50% of smokers die prematurely,” highlights the European Commission.
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