Vapouround Magazine Issue 32 | Page 103

“ Smokers and

vapers face increasing challenges to find clear and balanced information regarding vaping .
The internet is full of information on just about any subject you may care to choose and vaping is no exception . A search for ‘ vaping information ’ brings up 31 million hits , ‘ vape facts ’ will give you 35 million results and ‘ vaping help ’ fetches 67 million returns .
However , just because something is posted online does not necessarily mean that it is either accurate or helpful . Just cast your minds back to the recent American EVALI lung injury moral panic , which began in 2019 and was hardly out of the news last year , for the perfect example of disinformation about vaping .
Even though the cause of the EVALI lung injuries and deaths was traced back to the addition of vitamin E acetate in illegal THC vape products , the wider vape community has been tarred with the EVALI brush . The many special interest groups which exist to discredit e-cigarettes still point to this as ‘ evidence ’ that vaping is harmful and potentially deadly . Furthermore , these anti-vape advocates are more than happy to allow people to continue smoking , despite the fact that tobacco kills eight million people per year .
There can be no better way of getting the very best vaping information than visiting your local specialist vape store ( if you are lucky enough to have one ), although at the time of writing they have all been closed here in the UK as we enter our third national lockdown due to the coronavirus crisis .
Where face-to-face interaction is not possible , the internet can be a useful source of information - if you know where to look . In recent months , many of the big vaping companies have devoted a lot of resources into their online presence , which has created a useful source of information . Naturally the vapouround . co . uk website is a great resource for you too . Not only will you be able to access back issues of Vapouround Magazine on our website , but our blog is full of valuable and unbiased information .
Now British and American Tobacco ( BAT ) has launched its own digital vaping platform – VapeExplained . com – which promises to give accurate answers to the industry ’ s most pressing questions . The site aims to help adult smokers and vapers avoid false , skewed and biased data by providing a one-stop hub of relevant information . A company spokesperson said : “ To find answers about vaping , smokers and vapers are increasingly turning to the internet . In 2020 , there were more than 700,000 monthly internet searches for questions about vaping in the US and UK alone . Of these , approximately 70,000 searches specifically ask about the dangers of vaping . “ The site launches at a time when smokers and vapers face increasing challenges to find clear and balanced information regarding vaping .”
VapeExplained . com monitors online trends and consumer-driven search terms to identify the most popular queries related to vaping . It then employs the expertise of over 1,500 scientists and engineers , as well as the organisation ’ s own experiences within the international vaping sector , to offer reliable , fact-based guidance .
BAT remains steadfast in its position on smoking , stressing that “ combustible cigarettes pose serious health risks .” Instead , the group encourages nonsmokers to avoid starting and smokers to switch to “ scientifically substantiated , reduced-risk alternatives .”
Chief Marketing Officer Kingsley Wheaton said : “ BAT is committed to building A Better Tomorrow by reducing the health impact of our business . To achieve this ambition , we must ensure adult consumers have access to the facts about the potentially reduced-risk alternatives available to them .” The site is live in the UK and the USA and will roll-out to other countries in 2021 .
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