BRUSSELS, Radarseluma.disway.id, GLOBE NEWSWIRE -- This Sunday, the WHO marks World No Tobacco Day by calling for stricter restrictions on vapes and nicotine pouches. A day earlier, on Saturday, the world celebrates World Vape Day by highlighting how many lives this approach is costing.
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Liza Katsiashvili, Operations Director of the World Vapers' Alliance:
"The WHO is lecturing the world about nicotine addiction while 8 million people a year die from smoking. Every country that has managed to reduce smoking rates quickly did so by embracing less harmful alternatives. The WHO’s response is to restrict them. After decades of this approach, 1.2 billion people still smoke."
Across Asia, countries such as India, Thailand, Hong Kong, Turkey and others continue following the WHO’s recommendations by restricting adult access to less harmful nicotine products. In many cases, this leads to growing illicit trade and the criminalisation of consumers. Is this really the answer to high smoking rates?
The science is clear. Vaping, nicotine pouches, and heated tobacco products significantly reduce exposure to the chemicals that cause smoking-related diseases. Nicotine is addictive, but it is not the main cause of smoking-related illnesses. The real danger comes from combustion. Remove the smoke, and the risk profile changes dramatically.
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World Vape Day 2026 runs under the theme “One Switch - Everyone Wins.” When a smoker switches, it is not only their own health that improves. Secondhand smoke increases children's risk of asthma, pneumonia, and bronchitis. Maternal smoking is linked to low birth weight, preterm birth, and stillbirth. Children of smokers are also up to four times more likely to become regular smokers themselves. One switch removes almost all of that from the home.