What is the UKVIA?

What is the UKVIA?

The UKVIA (UK Vaping Industry Association) is a non profit organisation set up and run by its members in 2016. It funds and champions the goal of stopping smoking with the goal of educating people on the facts of Vaping.

Why was it made?

The UKVIA was made after major media outlets began smearing the vape industry with misinformation on what goes into the products and what they do to the human body. Its main goal, Education, is to try and counteract this misinformation and promote the benefits of vaping as a method of quitting smoking.

What does it do?

As stated, the UKVIA’s main focus is educating the public on what vapes and vaping actually is. It keeps a strict eye on its members to ensure that it does not have bad actors amongst them, doing checks on companies anonymously to ensure that they are not selling products to minors, or selling illegal products. It also talks to the government on behalf of the industry to try and help both the general public and the industry reach a mutually beneficial standard. While not all of the government's choices are accepted as good, for example, the environmental impact of 10ml bottle capacity is seen to outweigh any other benefits of smaller capacity bottles, the UKVIA does still enforce the rules. Members who break the rules are at risk of being kicked out of the association which would blacklist them to much of the industry as an “untrustworthy actor”.

To help its education front, in 2018 the UKVIA started something called Vapril. This is a focused month to bring awareness to the myths surrounding vaping and educate smokers on how vaping could help lead them to a healthier lifestyle. Year on year Vapril has been brought back with the sole purpose of getting the word out about the truths of vaping, even during the Pandemic where the Vapril campaign was moved to a digital campaign to help reduce the negative impact of poor lung health during that trying time.

Finally, as part of its duty to the industry, the UKVIA works with the government and attempts to temper the discussions that the government has on the products, customers and industry as a whole so that their decisions work for both the public and the industry. This includes things like making the government enforce the challenge 25 rule on online platforms that may be selling to underage users, too convincing them of alternatives to flat taxation which would cripple an industry's goals for a world in better health.

What can be done to support the UKVIA?

If you believe that the UKVIA and the vaping industry is a force for good like we do, and you want to support us in our aims to rid the world of nicotine dependency and tobacco addiction, then here are some things you can do to support us and the UKVIA.

1: Help spread awareness. This can be done by sharing social media posts by people such as the UKVIA and ourselves.

2: Support Petitions: The UKVIA and other vape industry groups put out petitions to force the government to hear what the public want or need. By signing and sharing these, you can help to educate the government on the products they are trying to moderate.