[Dublin, 21 September 2023] — Today, the Irish Health Minister Stephen Donnelly announced his intention to tighten regulation on vaping – including a ban of disposable vapes and a potential flavour ban. The World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA) urges policymakers to reconsider the far-reaching consequences this move would have on public health and harm reduction. Such bans contradict successful harm reduction approaches seen in other countries such as Sweden.

Ο Michael Landl, Διευθυντής του WVA, δηλώνει:, “Η απαγόρευση δεν λειτουργεί. Ποτέ δεν έχει λειτουργήσει και ποτέ δεν θα λειτουργήσει. Η απαγόρευση των ατμιστικών μιας χρήσης δεν θα εξαλείψει τη ζήτηση, αλλά θα τη μεταφέρει από τις ρυθμιζόμενες αγορές στη μαύρη αγορά, δημιουργώντας αρνητικές, ακούσιες συνέπειες για τη δημόσια υγεία.”

Η απαγόρευση των ατμιστικών μιας χρήσης είναι αντιπαραγωγική για τη μείωση της βλάβης, αναφέρει η Παγκόσμια Συμμαχία Ατμιστών. “Disposable vapes can act as a crucial stepping stone for smokers looking to quit,” comments Landl. “They offer an easy entry point, and many consumers eventually transition to open systems. Making that path from smoking to vaping as frictionless as possible is essential for public health. While cigarettes, known to be extremely harmful, remain readily available, banning a 95% less harmful alternative defies logic.”

Vaping flavours are widely used by adult vapers to move away from cigarettes, and research shows that their use can αυξάνουν τις πιθανότητες διακοπής κατά 230%. Ο περιορισμός των γεύσεων απλώς θα οδηγήσει πολλούς ατμιστές στη μαύρη αγορά ή πίσω στο κάπνισμα. Για παράδειγμα, η Εσθονία απαγόρευσε τις αρωματικές ουσίες το 2020, αλλά υπάρχουν στοιχεία που αποδεικνύουν ότι η πλειοψηφία των ατμιστών συνέχιζε να τα χρησιμοποιεί, είτε παρασκευάζοντας τα δικά τους υγρά είτε στρεφόμενοι στη μαύρη αγορά.

Michael Landl, Director of the World Vapers’ Alliance, emphasised flavours’ pivotal role in aiding smokers in their journey to quit. “Banning flavours would spell disaster for smokers who want to quit, current vapers, and public health. It’s essential to offer a variety of flavours for smokers to successfully transition. Banning flavours would steer countless Irish consumers back to smoking. This would be an unnecessary roadblock on the way to a smoke-free Ireland.”

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom has widely acknowledged vaping as a smoking cessation tool through its “Swap-to-Stop” program, committed to further reducing smoking rates and embracing vaping as a harm reduction tool.

Landl adds, “Countries with an open harm reduction approach, like Sweden, which recently μειωμένοι φόροι on snus, and the UK have successfully reduced smoking rates with openness towards less harmful alternatives. Instead, Minister Donnelly is ignoring science and the experience of other countries. With these policies, he risks guiding Ireland further along the counterproductive path of prohibition, failing to effectively address the most harmful form of nicotine intake—smoking.”