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THR advocates to expose anti-vape agenda

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sCOPe is back! Last year’s popular global livestream featuring leading Tobacco Harm Reduction advocates will broadcast again on both World Vape Day (#WVD22) and World No Tobacco Day (#WNTD22).

sCOPe has announced that European, African, Indian, North and South American, and Asia Pacific THR consumer organizations will discuss, in one-hour blocks, advocacy and issues in their countries and take questions from viewers.

The two-day #sCOPe22 livestream will broadcast for WVD22 on 30 May and for WNTD22 on 31 May. It will run for eight hours each day from 0700 CDT / 1300 BST.

sCOPE’s theme for WVD22 is #THRworks and #Commit2Live, while the theme for WNTD22 is #THRworks and #TobaccoExposed.

“This sCOPe livestream is so important. Too many smokers continue to die from the narrow mindedness of an anti-vape agenda that has been funded by the likes of American billionaires,” says Nancy Loucas of CAPHRA (Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates).

sCOPe 2022 will shine some much-needed light on why the World Health Organization (WHO) continues to push for bans on safer nicotine products.

“The global evidence is overwhelmingly in favour of vaping, yet hundreds of millions of smokers are blocked from accessing harm reduced alternatives. People’s health and human rights are denied in favour of greed and ego. sCOPe 2022 will discuss where the money is coming from and expose the motivation,” says Ms Loucas.

The organizations set to feature include European Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (ETHRA), Campaign for Safer Alternatives in Africa (CASA), Vaping Saved My Life South Africa (VSML) Association of Vapers India (AVI), the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA).

The Americas are also well represented with Latin American-based ARDT Iberoamerica, Rights For Vapers Canada (R4V), the Tobacco Harm Reduction Association of Canada (THRA), and United States-based Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association (CASAA).

sCOPe 22 will undoubtedly add to increasing international pressure on the WHO to embrace safer nicotine products, not demonize them.

Ignoring the WHO, nearly 70 countries have now adopted regulatory frameworks on safer nicotine products, leading to dramatic declines in their overall smoking rates.

Last year sCOPe livestreamed around-the-clock from 8 to 12 November during COP9 – the 9th Conference of Parties for the WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The unprecedented broadcast gave a global voice to leading consumer advocates who were shut out of COP9.

“sCOPe made history last year and upset a few people. Our focus now is to prepare for COP10 in 2023 where harm reduced products will be a key discussion for delegates. sCOPe 2022 really kicks off that work,” says Nancy Loucas.

On 30 May’s WVD22 sCOPE 2022 will broadcast via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZo9WyRyafM

On 31 May’s WNTD22 sCOPe 2022 will broadcast via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7dEoBQHjfw

A global collaboration of THR consumer groups, sCOPe, has launched a comprehensive library of online panel discussions and presentations. To access sCOPe’s online library visit https://bit.ly/319zzkx

For a free digital media repository on tobacco harm reduction in Asia Pacific – including media releases, images and graphics – please visit https://apthrmedia.org

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