VApril
TV’s Dr Christian is launching VApril in London today. Events will be taking place across the country.
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by Dave Cross
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VApril is established as the largest consumer awareness and education campaign dedicated to the vaping sector. It is designed to help the 7 million smokers in the UK to quit smoking by switching to a less harmful option (at least 95% less harmful according to Public Health England). VApril is a non for profit campaign run by the UK Vaping Industry Association.
Doctor Christian Jessen, best known for his involvement in C4’s ‘Embarrassing bodies’, says that despite clear advice from public health bodies and a growing bank of research about the positive impact a switch to vaping could have on smokers, the medical profession is still reluctant to encourage smokers to make the switch.
Dr Christian said: “We’re in danger of missing out on the huge public health prize of a smoke-free society if the medical profession doesn’t start encouraging smokers to take up vaping. Vaping has so far helped 3.2m vapers either quit or reduce smoking, saving the NHS billions in treating those with smoking related health conditions.”
“There is a growing bank of evidence which shows it can reduce smoking relating harm and yet despite that, more than half of hospitals across the UK ban vaping on their grounds. It’s time we were consistent and gave clear advice to smokers to help combat the misinformation they are all too often bombarded with about vaping.”
VApril’s launch coincides with the release of findings from a study commissioned by the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA).
The research was conducted by OnePoll amongst 1,790 former smokers and smokers trying to quit using vaping. The fieldwork was conducted between 14/3/19 and 26/3/19. It shows that smokers who switch to vaping say that the best things for them about making the switch are that they feel healthier (47%) and nearly a third (31%) of vapers said that the reason they made the switch was because of personal health reasons.
More than two-thirds of vapers (68%) said that they never thought they would quit smoking until vaping came along, with many having tried a variety of other nicotine replacement products that are available on prescription.
The study, the widest to date into the health, financial and social benefits of vaping found that vapers make an average saving of £346 a year compared to when they were smoking. Based on the 3.2m vapers across the country this equates to an annual saving of £1.1bn
John Dunne, a director of the UKVIA, which runs the VApril campaign, said: “There are still almost 7 million smokers in the UK that are putting their own and the health of those around them at risk. That needs to change. But to do that we need education on a significant scale, not just to smokers, but to the wider public too, to provide vapers with the support to make the switch. It’s sad that despite the clear benefits to their health and the health of those around them, nearly 80% of vapers reported feeling judged for vaping.”
“That’s the point of the VApril campaign. By countering the misinformation around vaping we can encourage more smokers to Switch on to Vaping so that we can start to make a smoke free society realistic.”
Resources:
- VApril - www.vapril.org
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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