BRUSSELS – This Sunday, the WHO marks Wereld Anti-Tabaksdag by demanding tighter restrictions on vapes and nicotine pouches. On Saturday, the world marks Wereld Vapedag by pointing out how many lives that approach is costing.

Michael Landl, Director, World Vapers’ Alliance.

“The WHO is lecturing the world about nicotine addiction while 8 million people a year die from smoking. Every country that has cut smoking fast did it by embracing less harmful alternatives. The WHO’s answer is to restrict them. After decades of that approach, 1.2 billion people still smoke.”

World Vape Day 2026 runs under the theme Eén schakelaar – iedereen wint. When a smoker switches, it is not just their own health that changes. Secondhand smoke raises children’s risk of asthma, pneumonia, and bronchitis. Maternal smoking causes low birth weight, preterm birth, and stillbirth. Children of smokers are up to four times more likely to become regular smokers themselves. One switch removes almost all of that from the home.

De wetenschap is clear. Vaping, nicotine pouches, and heat-not-burn products all dramatically reduce exposure to the chemicals that kill smokers. Nicotine is addictive, but it is not the cause of smoking-related disease. The real danger is combustion. Remove the smoke, and the risk profile changes dramatically.

Consumers know this. This week, vapers and harm reduction advocates in Argentina, Germany, and South Africa have taken to the streets to demand sensible policies that give smokers real alternatives instead of pushing them back to cigarettes.

The WHO’s WNTD 2026 campaign calls vapes and nicotine pouches industry tactics designed to hook a new generation. Sweden, the UK, New Zealand, Czechia, and Greece, the countries that reduced smoking faster than anywhere else in the world, call them public health tools.

“Smoke is the problem. Nicotine is not. Eight million deaths a year make that distinction urgent,” Landl added.