Last September, the International Vaping Association (WVA) launched a new campaign urging EU policymakers to include e-cigarettes in the EU’s strategy to fight cancer, Vapingpost reported.

It is well known that smoking is one of the leading causes of cancer, the second leading cause of death in Europe. About 90% of lung cancers can be prevented simply by eliminating tobacco use. In fact, Sweden has the lowest smoking rate in Europe due to the widespread use of snus as an alternative to cigarettes, and Sweden has the lowest lung cancer rate in the entire continent.

EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides is committed to developing a plan to beat cancer in the EU to reduce the incidence of cancer and improve the European response to the disease. A study published in 2017 on BMJ Tobacco Control found that the cancer risk from e-cigarettes was 1% that of conventional cigarettes.

Given the relative safety of vapes, WVA director Michael Landr called on European institutions to encourage the use of vapes. Smoking is the leading cause of cancer in Europe, and vapes have helped hundreds of thousands of smokers quit smoking completely. "We would like to see policymakers introduce vapes in the EU's Fight Against Cancer programme to ensure that millions of Europeans can benefit from a successful and effective way to quit smoking," he said.

The WVA campaign encourages European vape users to help traditional cigarette users quit smoking by sharing their success stories to help them beat cancer. Vape users in Europe are also encouraged to get in touch with their elected representatives in the hope that they can influence policy changes.

There are clear signs that a majority of European citizens support the idea of including vapes in the EU's fight against cancer. An analysis of data by Italian think tank I-Com showed that one in six people in the plan's public consultation supported the inclusion of harm reduction tools.

"By supporting vapes and including them in the EU's fight against cancer, the European Commission will recognise the voice of European citizens and send a clear message that they will be desperate to beat cancer once and for all," Rand added.