12 EU Countries Push for Crackdown on Flavored Vapes
Denmark leads a group of 12 EU health ministers in calling for a European clampdown on vapes to protect children and young people from harm. The coalition, which includes France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain, has backed a paper urging the European Commission to propose new legislation that could include banning flavored vapes and limiting nicotine content.
The health ministers also suggest that social media giants take “greater responsibility” for marketing and sales of vapes on their platforms. The pressure on the Commission to act on vapes comes after the EU executive delayed its planned reform of tobacco and nicotine rules earlier this year, triggering a backlash from Belgium’s Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke, who blamed industry lobbying for the Commission’s inaction.
The paper, presented at a meeting of health ministers in Luxembourg on Friday, cites a 2023 report showing that children and adolescents are “more sensitive to the negative side effects of nicotine consumption and are also more prone to addiction than adults.” It also states that tobacco and nicotine products are increasingly being “explicitly marketed to appeal to children and adolescents,” through flavors like bubblegum and chocolate, and are packaged “almost as if they were sweets.”
Latvia’s Artjoms Ursulskis, parliamentary secretary at the ministry of health, told ministers at the meeting, “The tobacco and nicotine industry truly continues to target our children with new products, with marketing techniques leading to early addiction.” Latvia has also authored a similar position paper.
While most ministers supported the paper, Greece’s Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis, while agreeing that member states must protect young people from tobacco and nicotine addiction, added that any revision of the tobacco legislation has to “stick to proportionality” and have an impact assessment.
Some EU countries, such as France and Belgium, have already taken national measures to clamp down on vapes. However, the group of 12 countries, which also include Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, and Slovenia, say national rules don’t always work because the products “are not limited by borders and national regulations.”
“They are easily accessible on the internet and from countries that have not developed a legal framework for such products,” the paper reads. A report from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids said earlier this year that tens of millions of young people see posts promoting nicotine pouches and vapes using discounts, giveaways, and paid influencers, largely through Instagram.
EU Health Commissioner Defends Commission’s Stance
EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides defended the Commission in Friday’s meeting, stating, “We are not standing passively.” She said that the revision of the tobacco products directive was coming and added that “ultimately, we are all exactly on the same page that we need to protect citizens, and especially our young people and our children from the harmful effect of these products.”
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