Once again, consumers and vapers around the world are being ignored, their voices silenced by committees and bureaucratic processes which consistently fail to take their experiences into account. Moreover, crucial scientific evidence about the benefits of vaping and its positive role for smoking cessation are once more completely ignored.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is having this week a meeting of its Executive Board, where it will be assessing recommendations provided by the WHO Study Group on Tobacco and Product Regulation.

These recommendations (from page 6 onwards) offer a slew of options that have nothing to do with improving public health or helping people quit smoking. Amongst other things, they propose reducing or prohibiting altogether the available information on vaping and banning open systems.

The World Vapers’ Alliance submitted comments in a letter sent to the Executive Board this week, which you can read here.

All of these recommendations would harm public health, and in our letter, we focus on the three most outrageous and damaging points, explaining the real-life implications to society and consumers. We equally urge everybody to make their voices heard on this very important matter as well.

The decisions the WHO takes and opinions it expresses should be based on scientific evidence – whereas the recommendations received by the Board are certainly not. We urge the Executive Board to dismiss these recommendations and consult with citizens and experts transparently in the future.