WVA Advisory Board Grows
The World Vapers' Alliance has grown with the addition of two new members to its Advisory Board
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by Dave Cross
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The WVA said: “Former Georgian Minister Andrew Urushadze and President of ANPVU Italy, Carmine Canino, will help strengthen the voice of the Alliance and bring additional expertise, ensuring that the WVA continues to fulfil its important mission of representing the voices of vapers’ around the globe.”
Andrew Urushadze served as a Minister of Labour, Health and Social Affairs for Georgia from 2010 to 2012 and has been a health and social policy expert for more than 25 years. Andrew worked at the forefront of implementing Georgian healthcare reforms during 2006-2012.
During the last eight years he has been working with international and governmental institutions in more than ten countries, including Georgia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Albania and Tajikistan.
Andrew is a leading expert in the healthcare sector in emerging economies, with extensive in-country experience advising governments and multilateral organizations, in CIS countries Eastern Europe, central Asia.
Carmine Canino has been the President of ANPVU (National Association of Italian E-cig Consumers) since 2018. Aside from his work advocating for vapers’ rights, since 1999 he has been working for a public-private joint-stock company, where he specialises in the management of purchases and tenders.
Andrew Urushadze commented: “It is crucial that consumers are heard and the WVA enables them to raise their voices. Vaping can help many people to quit smoking, saving millions of lives, so it is time that policymakers start to listen to them and to science. That is why I hope I can contribute to this important work. It is a great pleasure to support the WVA."
WVA Director Michael Landl said: “I am delighted that our efforts to defend vaping and vapers will be supported by these extremely capable Advisory Board members who have joined us this month. They come with a wealth of political and consumer experience, and I am looking forward to working with both of them. They will make us even stronger.”
Carmine Canino will add his “vast experience of activism in Europe to the advisory board”. He said: “In the coming months, decisive challenges to the future of vaping await us, including the European Beating Cancer Plan, the revision of the European Directive on Tobacco Products (TPD) - which regulates vaping - as well as the discussion on the Tobacco Taxation Directive. This is why it is so important to make our voice heard. It is my pleasure to contribute to the great work of the WVA in this role especially in Europe.”
Other members of the Advisory Board include:
- Bernhard Mayer, a professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Graz in Austria
- Brian Mayer, the Executive Director for the Australian Taxpayers' Alliance
- Francisco Ordoñez, the founder of the first Latin American association for vape users: ASOVAPE Colombia
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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