What a year. 2025 was intense but also inspiring. So, I’d like to look back together with you and share what we accomplished as a community, as well as where we pushed back against bad policy and made efforts to move things in the right direction.  

This is not a press release. It is a personal thank you from me to you. Without you, none of this would have happened.  

Open letter to the EU 100 000 voices they cannot ignore  

One of the biggest moments this year was our open letter to the European Commission and EU Member States. More than 100,000 people signed our petition against new restrictions on vaping and nicotine pouches.  

Many politicians still talk about vaping and pouches as if they were the same as cigarettes. You and I know that is wrong. People use these products to move away from smoking. The open letter made that clear. It called out the EU for ignoring science and real-life experience and for pushing rules that could send people back to smoking or into black markets.  

We started collecting signatures in 2024, and for me personally, seeing that number grow was emotional. Every signature is a story. A dad who stopped smoking with a vape. A mum who now walks up the stairs without getting out of breath. You gave this letter weight. Brussels cannot say that nobody cares anymore.  

Voices Unheard from Dublin to Geneva  

Another big step this year was our campaign Voices Unheard Consumers Matter. We launched it at the World Conference on Tobacco Control in Dublin because once again, consumers were kept out of the room while people made decisions about our lives.  

We went there anyway. We stood outside in a silent protest to show that millions of vapers are ignored. No shouting, no drama. Just people who changed their lives with less harmful products standing there, saying we exist. 

The light shows were my favourite part. We lit up buildings with messages calling for consumer voices to be heard. Later in the year, we took this idea to Geneva ahead of COP11, where the WHO was meeting to talk about global tobacco policy. Again, light projections. Again, the simple message: listen to us.  

These actions might look symbolic from the outside, but policymakers saw that we are not bots or letters. We are real people on the streets.  

Champions of Change turning Brussels into a stadium  

In summer, we had some fun with the Champions of Change campaign. Brussels is usually grey and bureaucratic, so we decided to turn it into a kind of Champions League arena for tobacco harm reduction.  

We organised a trophy ceremony outside the European Parliament and celebrated countries that actually reduced smoking by embracing less harmful alternatives. Sweden, the Czech Republic, and Greece were our top teams. Sweden is now below 5 percent daily smoking and has much lower cancer rates than the EU average. That is not an accident. It is harm reduction working in real life.  

By handing out trophies, we sent a simple message to EU politicians. If you want to win against smoking, copy the winners. Stop punishing vaping and nicotine pouches because ideology or old dogma tells you so. Many of you helped spread this online, and some of you joined the event in person. It showed again that our movement is creative, not just angry.  

Policy outreach to more than a hundred decision makers  

Much of our work is public, but some takes place behind closed doors at party conferences and in political backrooms. Throughout 2025, our team met with more than one hundred policymakers and key staff members in various countries worldwide. We spoke with members of parliaments, health officials, parliamentary groups and advisers who shape national and European positions on vaping and nicotine pouches.  

The SPD party conference in Germany was one example of this wider outreach. There, we discussed harm reduction with delegates and members at a time when Germany is considering stricter rules on flavours and marketing. 

Similar conversations happened in other capitals. Sometimes it was just explaining to a sceptical politician that a flavoured vape helped you or someone you know to quit smoking and that banning it could send people back to cigarettes. Over time, these personal stories change how policymakers think.  

Media outreach was another big part of our work this year. We had thousands of media mentions in 2025, with WVA quoted or featured in outlets all over the world. This meant that whenever governments talked about new restrictions on vaping or nicotine pouches, there was a real chance that a journalist would also include the consumer view and explain that less harmful alternatives help people move away from smoking. This growing visibility helps us challenge one-sided narratives and makes it much harder for decision makers to pretend that our community does not exist.

Vapeo Responsable and Latin America  

We also stepped up our work in Latin America. In Argentina, we launched Vapeo Responsable, calling on the government to end its irrational vaping ban and replace it with common sense regulation.

The idea is simple. Vaping exists in Argentina, whether politicians like it or not. A ban only pushes it underground and keeps smokers stuck with cigarettes. With Vapeo Responsable we encourage users to speak up ask for reasonable rules, and show that vapers care about safety, quality and proper standards.  

In Colombia, our policy manager, Alberto, participated in a Senate technical roundtable on a bill regarding the taxation of vaping products and cigarettes. That is important because many governments still try to tax vapes like cigarettes, which makes it harder for smokers to switch. By being at the table, we could explain that tax policy should reflect risk, not dogma.  

EU cardiovascular plan when evidence is ignored  

One of the most frustrating parts of the year was the EU Cardiovascular Plan (now called the Safe Hearts Plan). Earlier in the process, when the European Commission ran its public consultation, we analysed the input and saw strong support for including less harmful alternatives as tools to reduce smoking and heart disease. Many citizens and experts clearly backed harm reduction.  

But when the final plan was published, it ignored most of this. Harm reduction was sidelined. That is why we spoke up against the plan for ignoring harm reduction and for wasting an opportunity to cut smoking-related illnesses in a realistic way. It feels like Brussels once again chose ideology over what actually works for smokers in the real world.  

For our community, this is disappointing but not surprising. It shows how important it is that we keep speaking up and keep putting pressure on decision-makers. Without us, the only voices they hear are from groups that want to restrict everything and pretend less harmful alternatives do not exist.  

Looking ahead together  

So, where does this leave us at the end of 2025? We have 100,000 European signatures behind us, major campaigns in Brussels, Dublin, Geneva, and Latin America stronger evidence that citizens support harm reduction and more than one hundred policymakers who heard directly from vapers this year.  

At the same time, the pressure is not going away. The EU still considers stricter rules on vaping and pouches. The WHO still pushes anti-harm reduction positions. National governments still toy with flavour bans and high taxes. The Safe Hearts plan shows clearly that even when people speak up, decision-makers can still ignore them.  

But this year showed me something important. When vapers get organised and loud, things start to move. Light shows in Geneva or trophy ceremonies in Brussels might look small compared to big institutions, but they change the story. They make it harder for decision makers to ignore us.  

So thank you. For signing. For showing up. For sharing your story. For arguing with friends, politicians, and sometimes even doctors. In 2026, we will need this energy again. The WVA will keep fighting, but we depend on your support.   

We are vapers. We know what worked for us. And we will not let anyone take less harmful options away without a fight. Speak up wherever you can, vape on, and happy new year.