The Politics of Vaping
With just over a month to go before the general election we look at two groups hoping to influence the electronic cigarette policies of the incoming government.
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by Dave Cross
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The UK is no stranger to single-issue parties, we have seen them campaigning on issues such as the EU, immigration, cannabis and taxation. The growth in such bodies mirrors a decline in membership of the main parties who people see as not reflecting the issues they care most deeply about – and the VIP care about vaping.
Following a successful round of crowd funding, Liam Bryan is set to campaign on behalf of VIP for the seat representing Kingswood in Bristol. If further money can be raised to cover the deposit of a second candidate, VIP have another budding politician waiting in the wings.
Their message is clear: “We are not militant vapers - we are everyday people who appreciate the enormous difference this simple and effective alternative to smoking has made to us. We need the next UK Government to understand that the vapers of today and the smokers who will become the vapers of tomorrow deserve a future too. We need the options that have enabled us to make the change to be there for the millions of people whose lives could be improved, even saved, the way ours have.”
But not even this positive story could persuade the Mirror not to write: “The legislation which has angered vapers - a notoriously touchy group at the best of times - is called the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD).”
While the VIP have chosen to follow the political route, the New Nicotine Alliance (NNA) is a group of individuals working together with the intention of “improving individual, organisational and public understanding of what is known as ‘tobacco harm reduction’.”
Thus far the NNA has attended national and international smoking cessation and public health conferences, briefed media and politicians, briefed members of tobacco control organisations, written for the mass media and in professional and scientific journals, advised local NHS bodies and engaged with the Royal College of medicine among other activities.
In fact, the full list of NNA activities is quite exhausting to go through and compliments the public debate being sparked by the VIP. You can support the VIP by contributing to the crowd funding or joining their Facebook page, and it is free to become a supporter of the NNA.
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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