VAPING SAVED MY LIFE
South African consumer advocacy group Vaping Saved My Life recently launched a social media campaign on Twitter to address misinformation on vaping .
Co-founder Kurt Yeo said the campaign also recruited eight smokers who wanted to quit and gave them vaping products to meet their needs .
Kurt said : “ We asked them to participate in a 90 day vaping challenge and seven of the eight smokers successfully quit cigarettes .
“ Providing accurate information for smokers who want to quit has been a crusade of mine for the last five years and we have asked the government to see vaping as the solution , not the problem .
“ We have spent too much time focusing on the tobacco industry and not on smoking .
“ We need to help people quit smoking rather than engage on a war against nicotine and that is why we need events like World Vape Day .
“ Increasingly people are seeing the huge potential to use vaping to help smokers quit and live healthier and better lives .”
PHILAPPINES PRESIDENT ‘ UNSYMPATHIC ’
Anton Israel from the Nicotine Consumer Council of the Philippines said new legislation to legalise and regulate vaping has not yet been
signed into law by the president .
Israel said : “ We are being opposed by powerful figures and it was an uphill battle to get the vape bill drafted .
“ At the moment the president is unsympathetic to the situation so this is worrying us but we remain hopeful that the president will sign this legislation .”
He said as the country became more aware of vaping , more smokers knew that it had the potential to help them quit .
SUPPORTING VAPING IS TREASONOUS
The most shocking World Vape Day revelation came from Joel Sawa from advocacy group Tobacco Harm Reduction Uganda .
Under the country ’ s Tobacco Control Act it is illegal to import , sell , manufacture or distribute vape products .
Sawa said that any actions which ran against current laws were considered to be rebellious or treasonous .
He said : “ In our case , advocacy runs against an existing law so we are fighting the government and that is perceived to be treasonous .
“ What makes me positive about the future of vaping is the fact that a new breed of legislators are questioning the existing law .
“ I am positive for the future because once we get more likeminded people , vaping will quickly become popular in this country .”
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