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Every April, the UK’s most important vaper awareness campaign takes place … and it’s up to each and every one of us to share the word.
In this article, we’ll explain what VApril is and why it’s such an important campaign. We’ll also show you ways that you, as a vaper, can support this campaign. With VApril, you can help your friends and family to finally leave smoking behind for good.
What is VApril and why do we need it?
VApril is an annual public awareness campaign to get the word out about the benefits of e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation tool. Now in its seventh year, VApril is organised by the UKVIA (The UK Vaping Industry Association) and works hard to challenge the misconceptions and confusion that surround vaping.
E-cigarettes improve a quitter’s chances of stopping smoking, and cause significantly less harm than cigarettes. This is a fact, backed up by independent research from the UK government (source: gov.uk) and the NHS (source: nhs.uk). But many people either don’t realise this or don’t believe it.
For instance, a 2022 review by the UK government found that “quit attempts involving a vaping product were associated with the highest success rates (64.9% compared with 58.6% for attempts not involving a vaping product)”. The same review found that “only 34% of adults who smoked accurately believed that vaping was less harmful than smoking.” (source: gov.uk) In other words, 2 out of 3 smokers think smoking is healthier than vaping, even though the evidence shows that vaping could improve their chances of quitting.
VApril exists to clear away all of this harmful confusion … and we’re encouraging our customers to get involved however they can.
What do you have to do for VApril?
Vapril is not like Stoptober or Dry January — you don’t have to ‘just vape for thirty days’ or anything like that. It’s more about speaking up for vaping. Ex-smokers who used a vape to help them quit are asked to share their own personal experience of quitting smoking with e-cigarettes.
Speak up for vaping
If you’re someone who used e-cigarettes to successfully quit smoking, to take part in VApril all you have to do is share your experience. Some vapers take part in VApril’s #VapingWorks hashtag, while others volunteer to take part in video interviews. You can also just take a few minutes to encourage any friends and family who are still smoking to at least give vaping a go. You just need to speak up and share your experience.
Make the switch to vaping
If you’re a smoker and you have never tried vaping before, then VApril is a good opportunity to just give vaping a go. You can start small, perhaps with a pod system or vape starter kit, and make an appointment with an NHS Stop Smoking Counsellor who can give you guidance on how to use vaping as a stop smoking tool.
The VApril website has advice for absolute beginners on its Start Vaping Stop Smoking page.
Does VApril Work?
Vaping gives people fresh hope that they can quit. It’s perfect for demoralised smokers, many of whom have had their confidence knocked by a few failed attempts to quit cold turkey or use gums & patches in the past. As far as we’re concerned, any campaign that grabs the attention of smokers and gives them unbiased, straightforward guidance on how to quit will always get our full support.
VApril works whenever someone speaks up for vaping. It’s a public awareness campaign, so it’s up to all of us, as one big vaping community, to make it work. If vaping is working for you, tell your friends. You don’t have to wait until April and you don’t have to give anyone a hard sell. Just encourage someone to look at the facts behind vaping. Show someone how vaping works and be honest about how it has helped you quit cigarettes.
Facts to share on Social Media
The VApril campaign people have created lots of different graphics, perfect for sharing on social media. We recommend their ‘facts not fiction’ page if you want to share a link. If you’d prefer to share a picture, these two are our favourites from VApril 2023:
We are members of the UKVIA, so when we were invited to take part in VApril this year we were really excited to help. This is such an important cause and it’s something we all believe in here.
If you have any stories that you would like us to share on our social media channels, please please get in touch.
Stay safe and happy vaping!
John Boughey