The WHO has published yet another report which spreads fake news and false myths about vaping. 

Among the worn-out and debunked theories peddled by the WHO report ‘on the global tobacco epidemic 2021: New and Emerging Products’ is the so-called gateway effect theory, which postulates that vaping leads to smoking. This dangerous and misleading theory has long since been disproved by numerous studies, as well as through nationwide case studies, such as in England where upwards of 50,000 smokers are using vapes as a gateway out de (not into) smoking every year.

Michael Landl, Director of the World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA), commented on the report:

“Besides being riddled with biased anti-vaping scaremongering and false claims, the entire direction of travel set out in the latest WHO report is nonsensical. Rather than focus on the all-important goal of beating smoking, the WHO is turning its guns on vaping, the most powerful smoking cessation tool on the planet. They clearly find it more important to fall into line with the narrow-minded ‘quit or die’ approach trumpeted by the WHO’s billionaire sponsors, like Mike Bloomberg. The reality is that if the world follows the WHO’s lead, fewer smokers will quit and more will die as a consequence.”

In light of the actively hostile attitude to vaping promoted by the WHO and its backers, the WVA has launched its #BackVapingBeatSmoking campaign. It aims to educate politicians about the 200 million lives that can be saved globally through better pro-vaping regulations, 19 million of them in Europe.

“The reality is that the WHO systematically ignores the wealth of scientific evidence pointing to the benefits of vaping, not to mention the first-hand experience of millions of vapers. Public Health England research has found that vaping is 95% less harmful compared to smoking and a more effective method to quit smoking than traditional therapies such as gum and patches. Restricting or banning access to vaping will do nothing but cost lives.”, adds Michael Landl.