Dutch Court Upholds Ban on Flavored E-Cigarettes
The District Court in The Hague has ruled that the Dutch government had the right to impose a ban on flavored e-cigarettes to protect public health. The court made this decision in a substantive procedure initiated by tobacco product manufacturer British American Tobacco (BAT) and its affiliated company Nicoventures, who argued that the ban was unlawful.
The court stated that the harmfulness of e-cigarettes and the “attractiveness” of sweet flavors to young people are sufficiently established. The 2020 ban allows only certain types of tobacco flavors to be added to e-cigarettes, primarily because young people are sensitive to other flavors, particularly sweet ones. The government also saw indications that sweet-flavored e-cigarettes may eventually lead to smoking regular cigarettes, while the government aims for a “smoke-free generation” by 2040.
According to the court, the potential for e-cigarettes to encourage smoking regular cigarettes does not need to be scientifically proven for a ban to be implemented. The harmfulness of e-cigarettes and the attractiveness of sweet flavors to young people alone justify the flavor ban.
The court acknowledged that the flavor ban infringes on the free movement of goods within the EU but stated that such an infringement may be allowed to protect public health if it is “appropriate, necessary, and proportionate.” The court recognized that the state has the “political discretion to give greater weight to the interests of youth and of a future smoke-free generation in the context of public health.”
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