Right now, millions of people – including children – are using e-cigarettes, also called vapes, either for fun or as a "safer" alternative to cigarettes. But the reality is far more uncertain. A recent review by researchers in Australia shows that vaping exposes users to harmful substances like heavy metals, carcinogens, and chemicals linked to serious lung damage, and possibly cancer.
Sign the petition to demand that e-cigarettes are regulated like tobacco to protect public health.
Although e-cigarettes were first introduced as a safer option, research is already linking them to DNA damage, cellular changes associated with cancer, and conditions like "popcorn lung."
Concerningly, regulation has not kept pace. There are more than 16,000 flavors available worldwide, and 88 countries still have no minimum age requirement for purchase, while dozens more have little to no oversight.
The World Health Organization has already laid out clear recommendations: strengthen bans where they exist, and where e-cigarettes are legal, enforce strict regulations – including banning flavors, limiting nicotine, and taxing these products.
But governments are not acting fast enough.
Sign the petition now to urge the European Union, United States, and Canada to regulate e-cigarettes like tobacco and implement strong protections to reduce harm.
