Can you believe it? Another year has passed. Somehow it feels like summer just began, but here we are, with 2022 drawing to a close. It has been a unique year, full of exciting events, and special occasions, not to mention our fantastic murals of the #FlavoursMatter campaign and quite eventful #BackVapingBeatSmoking tour, policy victories, consultations, open letters, parties at World Vape Day, vape expos where we met so many of you, and so much more. 

This year, we won against the flavour ban in Sweden, we toured across ten cities and six countries only this fall alone, we co-authored a study on vaping perceptions among German and French practitioners, our #BackVapingBeatSmoking petition was signed by 4,199 EU citizens, our Don’t Let 19 Million Lives Fall art installations were seen from European Parliaments in Brussels and Strasbourg, Colosseum, and even the 25 de Abril Bridge, and our community has grown to 4 fellows, 6 full time staffers, 32 partner organizations, 203 ambassadors, and 55,000+ members. What a beautiful year!

From everyone at WVA, we would like to say — thank you for being with us in 2022. It has been a fantastic year, and more is yet to come in 2023. May the next year bring us better vaping regulations, a larger variety of flavours available on the market, reasonable taxation, and more harm reduction champions amongst our politicians, journalists, and opinion-makers, and, of course, more vapers and fewer smokers. Below you can find a WVA 2022 recap with the most important activities. 

Therefore, I’d like to thank everybody who raises their voice, supports the WVA and cooperates with us. 2023 can become a great year for vapers if we keep up the fighting spirit. Eventually, science and the experience of millions of people from around the world will win! 

I wish you a happy and healthy New Year & vape on! 

Michael

Check out some of our favourite photos from this year before scrolling down to the 2022 recap!

WVA 2022 recap

• February – European Parliament releases its own version of the Beating Cancer Plan, in which it agrees that vaping helps people quit smoking, recognising that tobacco harm reduction works; 
• March – WVA launches the “Flavours Matter” campaign in Stokholm
• March – WVA holds the second protest within the “Flavours Matter” campaign in Hague in opposition to the impending ban on vaping flavours in the Netherlands. We used an art installation to deliver the message about the importance of flavours.

• April – WVA launches its second WVA Academy, training young vaping activists. 

• April – WVA launches the ambassador program, an accelerator program for vape shops aimed to extend the global network of vaping advocates.
• April – WVA participates at LibertyCon in Prague. 

• May- An art installation in Brussels in front of the European Parliament with the message “Flavours help smokers quit”,  attended by Member of the European Parliament Pietro Fiocchi.  
• May – WVA goes to Verona for the VapItaly expo, where Michael Landl participates in a panel discussion.
• May – WVA goes to Medellin for a vape expo.

• May – WVA with the group of Swedish vapers marched in front of the Parliament with the slogan “Flavours help smokers quit” during parliament’s session and delivered an open letter to members of parliament to urge them to vote against the ban.
• May– WVA goes to Birmingham vape expo.

• May – WVA asks members to participate in a public consultation from the EU commission and to urge policymakers to Back Vaping to Beat Smoking. 

• May – WVA celebrates the third World Vape day, with 3 hour long stream and public viewing in Tbilisi. Guests include Prof. Bernhard Mayer, Dr. Colin Mendelsohn, Ethan Nadelmann

• May – WVA has 45.000 members and 27 partners.

• June – Swedish parliament votes against the ban on vape flavours
• June– The Superior Health Council of Belgium acknowledged that vaping is less harmful than smoking and recommends smokers to switch to vaping.
• June –  WVA had 30 partner organisations. 
• July – WVA expresses disagreement with Pre-Legislative Scrutiny report that includes a vaping flavour ban, plain packaging and a ban on vaping advertisements, published by the Oireachtas Health Committee.
• July – WVA joins a coalition of vapers calling on the Australian Health Department to end the crackdown on vape businesses and consumers.
• July – The vape bill, aiming to regulate the importation, manufacture, sale, packaging, distribution, use, and communication of vapour and heated tobacco product, was enacted in the Philippines. WVA applauds the decision of the Philippines Senate.
• August – WVA launches fellowship program.
• August – WVA announces Back Vaping Beat Smoking campaign tour to deliver a message to policymakers that vaping can save 19 million lives in Europe.
• September –  WVA conducts a survey among its members, which once again proves the importance of flavours.
• September – Second consultation in the Netherlands about the potential flavour ban receives more than 1,500 submissions. During the consultation, the WVA organises a light show in Amsterdam to raise awareness about vape flavours’ importance.
• October – WVA launches BVBS tour in Strasbourg.
• October – WVA launches #BackVapingBeatSmoking action in Warsaw to draw the attention of Polish politicians by unveiling an art installation in the shape of a falling domino.  WVA also presented their “Vaping Products Directive.”
• October – A study about Vaping Perception in France and Germany, commissioned by the Consumer Choice Center and written in cooperation with the WVA is presented at a press conference in Brussels
• October –  WVA launches its #BackVapingBeatSmoking campaign in the Czech Republic and hosts a protest art installation in the city centre of Prague with the message Don’t Let 19 Million Lives Fall.  WVA also hosts a round-table discussion with Czech experts and media representatives on the future of harm reduction in the Czech Republic. 
• October – WVA delivers a 7-step strategy for the new Italian government to reduce smoking rates, announced during a press conference in Rome.
• November – WVA was present at vaping expo in Dortmund
• November – WVA presented a 7-step strategy for the Portuguese government to fight tobacco consumption
• November – WVA reacts to EU Commission’s leaked plan to increase taxation on vaping products and urges the EU to embrace tobacco harm reduction to reduce smoking-induced burdens on public health
• November – WVA team delivers a petition signed by more than 4,000 EU citizens to the members of the EU parliament, asking to refrain from flavour bans and higher taxation. This comes as a response to Commission’s announced EU Health Strategy, which excludes tobacco harm reduction.