World Vapers’ Alliance today launched the #BackVapingBeatSmoking campaign in Prague to encourage politicians to support vaping

PRAGUE, CZ — Today, World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA) launches their 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, WVA delivered the Vaping Products Directive to the Minister of Health in the 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. 

Michael Landl, director of World Vapers’ Alliance, said:

“Every year, more than 700,000 people in Europe and 17,000 in the Czech Republic die from tobacco-smoking illnesses. These are catastrophic numbers if we think about how many lives could be saved by consumer-friendly vaping regulations. 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.”

Along with the installation, WVA hosted a round-table discussion with Czech experts and media representatives on the future of harm reduction in the Czech Republic. 

Michal “Godwin” Zrdazil, the founder of Spolek Nekuraku and WVA partner, commented:

“The situation around tobacco smoking in the 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.

WVA’s #BackVapingBeatSmoking campaign has already been launched in France and Poland and will extend to Italy, Portugal, and Belgium in the coming weeks. WVA is also running a public petition to call on 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.