The World Alliance of E-cigarette Users today launched a massive global campaign, backvaping.beatsmoking, aimed at influencing international public health policy and saving 200 million lives around the world.

MichaelLandl, director of the world alliance of e-cigarette users, said: “significant research and real-world evidence show that trendy e-cigarette policies can help millions of smokers quit successfully. However, the adoption of e-cigarettes continues to struggle as policy makers come under pressure from anti-e-cigarette groups. Our campaign will ensure the public can hear the evidence and the voices of e-cigarette users, so governments can seize the opportunity to save 200 million lives.”

2021 is a critical year for global public health policy. Two major milestones this year will determine whether governments seize the opportunity to save 200 million lives or restrict smokers‘ access to life-changing tools to quit. The first is the ninth Conference of the Parties (COP9) to the global Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which will set the direction for global anti-smoking and vaping-related policies. The second is the EU’s tobacco Products Directive, currently being debated in Brussels, which will serve as a benchmark for e-cigarette policy worldwide.

Landl said: “At COP 9 and at the EU level, it is possible that global leaders, under pressure from anti-e-cigarette activists, will introduce laws that put e-cigarettes on an equal footing with conventional cigarettes. This would be a disaster for e-cigarette users, traditional smokers and public health. “Millions of e-cigarette users could be forced to take up cigarettes again if there are significant tax increases on e-cigarettes, bans on the sale of aromatic bombs and tougher e-cigarette purchasing policies.”

MichaelLandl added: “if governments ignore the fact that e-cigarettes are 95 per cent less harmful than conventional cigarettes and have already helped millions of people quit smoking, they will miss a golden opportunity to save lives. If countries put in place the right e-cigarette policies, nearly 200 million lives could be saved. And 2021 is an absolutely critical year for that to happen.”

The World Alliance of E-Cigarette Users today launched a global campaign aimed at ensuring that the millions of users who successfully quit traditional cigarettes through e-cigarettes have their voice heard by all concerned parties. The Backvaping.Beatsmoking campaign will send a clear message to all decision makers around the world: the best way to eradicate smoking is to promote e-cigarettes and integrate them into public health policy.