Vapers Digest 30th May
Friday’s News at a glance:
World Vape Day: An Opportunity ~ The UN is Ignoring Science ~ Maldives Risks Repeating Failures ~ Vapers In The Dark ~ Pushback Against Spanish Ban ~ World No Tobacco Day 2025: Former WHO Executive Director Dr. Derek Yach Calls for Embracing Harm Reduction ~ World Vape Day 2025: Exposing the WHO’s War on Harm Reduction ~ World No Tobacco Day 2025: A Call to End Misconceptions on Nicotine ~ The danger of e-cigarette prohibition and illicit trade ~ Q&A: What does the science REALLY say about vaping? We ask an expert. ~ New-Technology nicotine pouch design may reverse gum irritation and improve oral health ~ People will switch to smoking when disposable vapes are banned, new survey reveals ~ Cost and convenience, the secret of a successful quit smoking tool ~ Opinion: Health Canada should thank business for great smoking news ~ The EU Commission’s Misinformation on Vaping: A Deadly Disservice to Public health ~ EU Health Commissioner Under Fire for Spouting Vape Misinformation ~ Texas Legislature Close to Passing a Ban of All Vaping Products ~ FDA boss under fire for exaggerated teen vaping claim ~ NEW: EU Finance Minsters push for new vape and pouch taxes ~ Vapers face £600 fines as disposable ban hits UK ~ ‘People are bulk-buying vapes to beat the ban’ ~ Panel of Global Experts Criticizes WHO for Undermining Its Own “World No Tobacco Day” Goals ~ Tobacco control bill: a weapon against smokers ~ Brit holiday warning as major destination BANS nicotine pouches – and visitors face ‘terrifying’ six-figure fine & jail ~ Mark Butler’s Advisors Built This Black Market, Not Criminal Gangs ~ IBVTA Chair, Marcus Saxton, speaks to BBC Radio Lancashire, 29th May 2025 ~ How the WHO Undermines World No Tobacco Day
Five from Dave Cross, Planet of the Vapes
World Vape Day: An Opportunity
Ahead of World Vape Day on 30 May, Professor Heino Stöver writes an op-ed for Planet of the Vapes on the case for vaping as a harm reduction tool being stronger than ever. Backed by real-world data and rigorous reviews such as Cochrane and Public Health England, he believes the evidence shows that vaping is significantly less harmful than smoking and more effective than many traditional quit methods – yet excessive regulation threatens to undermine this progress.
The UN is Ignoring Science
The newly published draft United Nations declaration on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) aims to reduce global tobacco users by 150 million by 2030 – an 11.5% reduction from the current 1.3 billion. While this ambition is welcome, says the World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA), it issued a warning that the declaration’s reliance on traditional tobacco control measures risks repeating past failures and missing a historic opportunity to accelerate progress through harm reduction.
Maldives Risks Repeating Failures
The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) has issued a measured response to the Maldives’ proposed rolling generational smoking ban, recognising its public health intent but warning that prohibition without the promotion of harm reduction products like vapes will likely repeat the mistakes of past tobacco control efforts.
Vapers In The Dark
One in ten vapers are set to be left vulnerable to purchasing illegal vapes, as industry experts raise concerns about vape black market. With just days to go until the disposable vape ban on June 1st, industry experts raise concerns that over half a million vapers are at risk of purchasing potentially dangerous illegal vapes.
Pushback Against Spanish Ban
EU nations are pushing back against Spain’s ‘dangerous’ nicotine pouch ban, according to harm reduction experts at Smoke Free Sweden. A powerful bloc of European Union member states has formally opposed Spain’s proposed ban on nicotine pouches, as the international health experts warn that adult access to safer nicotine alternatives is essential in the fight against smoking.
World No Tobacco Day 2025: Former WHO Executive Director Dr. Derek Yach Calls for Embracing Harm Reduction
Derek Yach, 2 Firsts
In 1988, as the world prepared for the very first World No Tobacco Day (WNTD), I found myself at the heart of a movement that would change the course of public health in South Africa and beyond. At the time, South Africa was isolated from the World Health Organization (WHO) due to its apartheid policies, but that did not deter us. Instead, we launched a special edition of the South African Medical Journal, igniting the national conversation about tobacco control and laying the groundwork for policies that would eventually save countless lives.
World Vape Day 2025: Exposing the WHO’s War on Harm Reduction
Alan Gore, Australia Let’s Improve Vaping Education (A.L.I.V.E.)
Each year on World Vape Day, consumers, advocates, scientists, and public health reformers come together to celebrate a life-saving reality: millions of smokers around the world have quit deadly cigarettes thanks to vaping and other safer nicotine alternatives. But as we mark World Vape Day 2025, we’re forced to confront a bitter truth: the World Health Organisation (WHO) and its governing treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), continue to deny the principle of harm reduction in tobacco policy. And their refusal to evolve is killing people.
World No Tobacco Day 2025: A Call to End Misconceptions on Nicotine
Soko Directory
Every year on May 31st, the world marks World No Tobacco Day, a vital moment to reflect on the global battle against tobacco use and the millions of lives it continues to claim. In Africa, where smoking rates remain stubbornly high in many countries and policy responses often lag behind, this day is more than symbolic; it is a call to action.
People will switch to smoking when disposable vapes are banned, new survey reveals
Nikki Brady, Yorkshire Cancer Research
A new survey by Yorkshire Cancer Research has found that 18% of people living in the region who use disposable vapes will switch to tobacco when a new ban comes into force in June.
Cost and convenience, the secret of a successful quit smoking tool
Simon Clark, Talking Liberties
From Sunday (June 1) the sale of disposable vapes will be banned in the UK.
Yesterday I was asked to comment on that, and the claim that 200,000 former smokers may return to smoking tobacco.
Misinformation about tobacco harm reduction, though sadly rife, is especially damaging when it comes from the most senior health officials. That’s exactly what happened when European Commissioner of Health and Animal Welfare Olivér Varhelyi spoke about vapes at a recent meeting with members of the European Parliament (MEPs).
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