Consumers have responded to the European Union’s SANT Committee Hearing that believes policy makers need to focus on harm due to cigarettes. These decision-makers are formulating policy on the back of “misinformation” and “innate prejudice towards harm reduction”, according to the World Vapers’ Alliance. The Alliance has also taken aim at The World Health Organization (WHO)’s director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as he denounced vaping and denied it works to reduce harm.

The SANT (Subcommittee on Public Health) held a hearing on “Preventing non-communicable diseases” to focus on possible solutions, on 1 June.

With nicotine consumption being one of the focus topics of the discussion, it becomes clear that there is still a lot of misinformation and innate prejudice towards harm reduction among the EU decision-makers, says Michael Landl, director of the World Vapers’ Alliance, an association that claims to amplify voices of vapers worldwide.

“Cé gur cheart galair neamh-thógálacha, amhail galar cardashoithíoch, galair ainsealacha scamhógacha, agus ailse a bheith mar chloch choirnéil chlár oibre sláinte poiblí an AE, tá sé ríthábhachtach freisin cur chuige atá bunaithe ar fhianaise agus ar eolaíocht a shaothrú. Ní mór dúinn dochar iarbhír a laghdú agus gan troid i gcoinne tomhaltas nicitín per se. Tagann an bhagairt iarbhír don tsláinte phoiblí ó chaitheamh toitíní. Tá táirgí malartacha amhail snus, vaping, agus málaí nicitín ag laghdú galair a spreagann caitheamh tobac, toisc go gcabhraíonn siad go héifeachtach le daoine a chaitheann tobac éirí as. Beidh iarmhairtí i bhfad níos díobhálaí ag baint le troid i gcoinne tomhaltas nicitín seachas dochar iarbhír,” said Landl.

Among the addressed misconceptions about the role of harm reduction, stood out comments of MEP González Casares and MEP Trillet-Lenoir.

Léigh an téacs iomlán anseo