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Politicians listen to stories from real people as these cut through in politics in a way that even science does not .
Clive said it was vital that the UK government doesn ’ t agree anything at COP9 that it thinks is wrong , from a public health point of view . He said : “ If you want to influence what happens at the COP and at WHO level , you have to do your influencing in your own country , through your own government ’ s representation . “ Politicians listen to stories from real people as these cut through in politics in a way that even science does not . “ So simply tell your story and don ’ t be afraid that the debate is too sophisticated , too scientific or too statistical for your input .
“ Politicians take notice of people writing about their own very personal experiences , in their own words and it does not matter if it is full of spelling mistakes and written in green ink .” Martin said the UK government could help ‘ drive the agenda ’ at the COP9 conference but had no plans to include consumers or harm reduction experts in its delegation .
He urged vapers to write to their MPs and demand that the UK delegation includes people who will tell the conference just how beneficial reduced risk products are to helping smokers quit . The NNA chair added : “ Whether you like it or not , the WHO is seen as a global health leader , and … sooner or later some UK politicians will begin to doubt that we are actually doing the right thing because the rest of the world is going a different way .
“ This is why UK consumers must tell our politicians that the message we want to bring to COP9 is that the rest of the world should be following us , not the other way round .” Vapers can share their personal stories with MPs by following the link to the # BackVapingSaveLives campaign on the We Vape website - https :// we-vape . org /
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