Czech Government Plea
The World Vapers’ Alliance has issued a call to the Czech government to encourage tobacco harm reduction
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by Dave Cross
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The World Vapers’ Alliance launched its European campaign to back vaping and beat smoking in Prague to encourage Czech politicians to support vaping as an effective harm reduction tool. As a part of the campaign, the World Vapers’ Alliance delivered the Vaping Products Directive to the Ministry of Health in Czech Republic.
The global advocacy group for vapers’ rights hosted a protest art installation in the city centre of Prague with the message “Don’t Let 19 Million Lives Fall”. The installation displayed a set of falling dominoes that represent lives fallen from smoke-induced illnesses.
World Vapers' Alliance's installation "Don't Let 19 Million Lives Fall"
Michael Landl, director of World Vapers’ Alliance, said: “Every year, more than 700,000 people in Europe and 17,000 in Czech Republic die from tobacco-smoking illnesses. These are catastrophic numbers if we think how many lives could be saved by consumer-friendly vaping regulation. Therefore, we hope the Czech government further increases its commitment towards harm reduction.
“The Czech government also needs to push back against attacks on vaping and other less harmful alternatives on the EU level. Our #BackVapingBeatSmoking campaign serves to raise awareness that 19 million lives in Europe could be saved if we embrace vaping as a powerful tool to quit smoking in the Czech Republic and on the EU level.”
World Vapers' Alliance team in front of the Czech Ministry of Health
Along with the installation, WVA hosted a round-table discussion with the Czech experts and media representatives on the future of harm reduction in Czech Republic.
Michal “Godwin” Zrdazil, founder of Spolek Nekuraku and WVA partner, commented: “The situation around tobacco smoking in Czech Republic is still worrying. Smoking numbers are one of the highest in Europe. But as vapers, we encourage the government to commit to tobacco harm reduction even more. Vaping has proven to be the most successful aid in helping people quit cigarette smoking and should be the cornerstone of the national harm reduction strategy against tobacco smoking.
“The EU is once again deliberating over the European Tobacco Products Directive. Despite all evidence, this time, EU policymakers are preparing to make a grave mistake and treat vaping the same way as smoking. All we ask is that politicians listen to the science and consumers, and prevent this public health disaster from happening,” concluded Landl.
The World Vapers’ Alliance’s #BackVapingBeatSmoking campaign has already been launched in France and Poland and will extend to Italy, Portugal, and Belgium in the coming weeks. The World Vapers’ Alliance is also running a public petition to call on the European legislators to embrace vaping as a smoking cessation aid on the EU level. The petition is available at www.worldvapersalliance.com/back-vaping-beat-smoking.
References:
- The Vaping Products Directive can be found here.
- Learn more about the #BackVapingBeatSmoking campaign here www.worldvapersalliance.com/back-vaping-beat-smoking.
- More information about the community tour can be found here: https://worldvapersalliance.com/backvapingbeatsmoking-community-tour/
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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