Paris, 12 February 2026 – The World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA) welcomes a new report from the French health agency ANSES, which clearly acknowledges that vaping is less harmful than smoking and should remain available as a risk‑reduction option for adult smokers.

In its expert opinion, ANSES concludes that the absence of combustion remains the major advantage of e‑cigarettes. The agency’s working group explicitly states that the overall health risks of vaping are lower than those of smoking. At the same time, ANSES notes that only around 2% of adult vapers in France have never smoked, showing that vaping is overwhelmingly used by current or former smokers rather than attracting large numbers of never‑smokers.

“This verdict from ANSES adds to the existing evidence in the French debate,” said Alberto Gómez Hernández, Policy Manager at the World Vapers’ Alliance. “The top health agency in France now clearly recognises that vaping is less risky than smoking and that the absence of combustion is the key advantage. Policymakers can no longer pretend that all nicotine products are the same.”

The report also sets out practical recommendations for smokers, encouraging them to switch to vaping if they cannot quit smoking with traditional nicotine replacement therapies. ANSES also notes a worrying gap between science and public perception: many French people still believe that e‑cigarettes are as risky as, or riskier than, smoking, even though the available evidence shows the opposite.

“That is exactly what tobacco harm reduction is about: giving smokers every possible tool to move away from deadly combustion and making sure they are not scared away from less harmful options by misleading risk perceptions,” added Gómez Hernández.