Vapouround magazine Issue 03 | Page 60

T F E AT U R E he meeting was chaired by Chris Dodge, Secretary General at the Global Vaping Association (GVA) and attended by Mark Pawsey MP for Rugby & Bulkington, Colin Mansell and Ria Amber Tesia from Team Vapouround. We’re thrilled to report that the GVA bestowed ‘Leader of the Year’ award to Mark, who has been a strong voice in raising the awareness of vaping through his work as Chair on the All Party Parliamentary Group for E-Cigarettes. It was a constructive, informative meet, and a fantastic opportunity to speak with industry experts passionate about the vaping industry. Chris is a loud and proud advocate for vapers worldwide, having had work featured in The Wall Street Journal and The Huffington Post amongst others, bringing extensive experience in international trade to the table. Mark too, spoke of the need to raise awareness of the benefits of vaping through exploration of regulating e-cigarettes in the most practical manner. Areas of discussion included the future of vaping in the UK post-TPD and the classification of the e-cigarettes which is something of a misnomer. Why, for example, are e-cigarettes universally called so, when they’re technically not cigarettes? This only heavily implies that by being in the same category as tobacco cigarettes, e-cigarettes carry similar risks. It is all about public perception and by lumping e-cigarettes We’re thrilled to report that the GVA bestowed ‘Leader of the Year’ award to Mark, who has been a strong voice in raising the awareness of vaping through his work as Chair on the All Party Parliamentary Group for E-Cigarettes. 58 ISSUE 03 VAPOUROUND MAGAZINE with tobacco products, the latter which actually don’t contain any tobacco, is misleading and disingenuous. This is something Vapouround is currently looking into and we’ll update you accordingly. We, as esteemed members of the vaping industry need to raise public awareness of the health benefits of e-cigarettes; which is why the Public Health England report published earlier this year made for excellent reading. This landmark review was a game-changer and one of the messages at the forefront of the report’s findings, is that e-cigarettes consist of a nicotine delivery system with the potential to make a significant contribution to the endgame for tobacco. We need to focus on the report’s statement that e-cigarettes are 95% safer than traditional tobacco cigarettes. Mark put the following question to Prime Minister David Cameron. Here is the pivotal question and answer in its entirety: Mark Pawsey: “By the time the House next meets for questions, many people will have started their new year’s resolutions. For many, one resolution will be to give up smoking. Given that Public Health England recently stated that e-cigarettes are 95% safer than tobacco and half the population is unaware of that fact, will the Prime Minister join me in