{"id":3688,"date":"2026-02-24T09:07:04","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T14:07:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/?page_id=3688"},"modified":"2026-02-25T07:58:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T12:58:19","slug":"harm-reduction-vaping-fact-sheet","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/nl_be\/harm-reduction-vaping-fact-sheet\/","title":{"rendered":"Informatieblad over risicobeperking en vapen"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"3688\" class=\"elementor elementor-3688\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-775da440 elementor-section-height-min-height elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-items-middle\" data-id=\"775da440\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-64eb5be5\" data-id=\"64eb5be5\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2d3fec4b elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"2d3fec4b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The Science Behind Harm Reduction &amp; Vaping\n<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d2883b2 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"d2883b2\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0091100 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"0091100\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2fc43b6 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"2fc43b6\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-871d62a elementor-toc--minimized-on-tablet elementor-widget elementor-widget-table-of-contents\" data-id=\"871d62a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;exclude_headings_by_selector&quot;:[],&quot;no_headings_message&quot;:&quot;No headings were found on this page.&quot;,&quot;min_height&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:0,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;headings_by_tags&quot;:[&quot;h2&quot;,&quot;h3&quot;,&quot;h4&quot;,&quot;h5&quot;,&quot;h6&quot;],&quot;marker_view&quot;:&quot;numbers&quot;,&quot;minimize_box&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;minimized_on&quot;:&quot;tablet&quot;,&quot;hierarchical_view&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;min_height_laptop&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;min_height_tablet&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;min_height_mobile&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]}}\" data-widget_type=\"table-of-contents.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-toc__header-title\">\n\t\t\t\tTable of Contents\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__toggle-button elementor-toc__toggle-button--expand\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"elementor-toc__871d62a\" aria-expanded=\"true\" aria-label=\"Open table of contents\"><i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"fas fa-chevron-down\"><\/i><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__toggle-button elementor-toc__toggle-button--collapse\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"elementor-toc__871d62a\" aria-expanded=\"true\" aria-label=\"Close table of contents\"><i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"fas fa-chevron-up\"><\/i><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-toc__871d62a\" class=\"elementor-toc__body\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__spinner-container\">\n\t\t\t\t<i class=\"elementor-toc__spinner eicon-animation-spin eicon-loading\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-800aa28 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"800aa28\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4f598cf elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"4f598cf\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Introduction<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4e32e03 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4e32e03\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">Smoking remains one of the world\u2019s biggest preventable killers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/publications\/i\/item\/9789240088283\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1.2 billion adults still smoke<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <span style=\"color: #000000;\">roughly<\/span><\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/news\/item\/06-10-2025-who-tobacco-trends-report-1-in-5-adults-still-addicted-to-tobacco\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1 in 5 worldwide<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">Smoking causes<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/news-room\/fact-sheets\/detail\/tobacco\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">over 8 million deaths every year<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC11225136\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">more than 1 in 5 deaths globally in 2020<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/news-room\/fact-sheets\/detail\/tobacco\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">80% of smoking\u2011related deaths<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">occur in low and middle income countries.<\/span><\/li><\/ul><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>What is harm reduction?<\/b><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">Harm reduction minimises activity risks through practical solutions, like seatbelts for driving. Tobacco harm reduction (THR) allows smokers to consume nicotine without cigarette smoke&#8217;s toxins via vapes, nicotine pouches, and heated tobacco products. Not risk-free, but dramatically safer than smoking, these products offer a way to decouple nicotine consumption from the most harmful aspects of smoking.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-a276646 elementor-section-height-min-height elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-items-middle\" data-id=\"a276646\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-36f98c6\" data-id=\"36f98c6\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-eaea2b7 elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"eaea2b7\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-ece0a14\" data-id=\"ece0a14\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0ab2825 elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"0ab2825\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e5abd42 purple-bullets elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e5abd42\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" id=\"health-effects-factsheet\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2><b>Nicotine<\/b><\/h2><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nicotine is often blamed for the harms of smoking, but evidence shows it is not the main cause of smoking\u2011related disease. The real danger comes from cigarette smoke, which produces tar, carbon monoxide, and thousands of other toxic chemicals that damage the lungs, heart, and blood vessels.<\/span><\/p><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The British <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/live-well\/quit-smoking\/using-e-cigarettes-to-stop-smoking\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">National Health Service<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> stated that: <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhile nicotine is the addictive substance in cigarettes, it&#8217;s relatively harmless. Almost all of the harm from smoking comes from the thousands of other chemicals in tobacco smoke, many of which are toxic.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Shirley Cramer, Chief Executive of Royal Society For Public Health, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rsph.org.uk\/about-us\/news\/nicotine--no-more-harmful-to-health-than-caffeine-.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">said<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Getting people onto nicotine rather than using tobacco would make a big difference to the public\u2019s health.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/li><\/ul><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41598-023-34427-x\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Studies of biomarkers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> show vapers have much lower levels of harmful smoke\u2011related chemicals than smokers, and while nicotine can briefly raise heart rate and blood pressure, without smoke\u2019s toxins it is not driving the major long\u2011term diseases.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People who switch from smoking to vaping <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0735109719381938\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">improve their cardiovascular health<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, regardless of whether they continue using nicotine.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Because cigarettes deliver nicotine to the brain in 7\u201310 seconds, they create a strong \u201chit\u201d and high addiction potential, whereas slower delivery from vapes and heat\u2011not\u2011burn products is <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/25561385\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">associated with lower dependence<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over time.<\/span><\/li><\/ul><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC11734314\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Controlled quitting studies<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">find heavy smokers often need higher nicotine strengths at the start to fully replace cigarettes and avoid dual use, then reduce levels once they are stable as exclusive vapers\u2014suggesting very low nicotine caps would leave many smokers unsatisfied and less likely to switch completely.<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ca05ff1 elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"ca05ff1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-0be7a3a elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"0be7a3a\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-500ef28\" data-id=\"500ef28\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-dd8ea68 purple-bullets elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"dd8ea68\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" id=\"smoking-cessation\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2><b>Vaping<\/b><\/h2><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vaping products deliver nicotine using a battery\u2011powered device that heats a coil to vaporise a liquid, avoiding combustion and the thousands of toxic chemicals produced by burning tobacco.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The liquid (e\u2011liquid) usually contains four ingredients: propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, nicotine and flavourings, all widely used in food, medicines and pharmaceuticals with a long history of safe use.<\/span><\/p><h3><b>Vaping and Smoking Cessation\u00a0<\/b><\/h3><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cochranelibrary.com\/cdsr\/doi\/10.1002\/14651858.CD010216.pub10\/full\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cochrane Reviews<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">concludes with high certainty that nicotine vaping increases quit rates compared with traditional nicotine replacement therapies and behavioural support, with no evidence of serious harm from nicotine vaping.<\/span><\/p><h3><b>Switching to Vaping: Health Effects\u00a0<\/b><\/h3><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The UK Office for Health Improvement and Disparities\u2019<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/collections\/e-cigarettes-and-vaping-policy-regulation-and-guidance#e-cigarettes-evidence-reviews\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">independent reports<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, based on over 100 studies by King\u2019s College London, find that vaping carries only a small fraction of the risks of smoking and is the most commonly used and most successful quitting aid in England.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Public Health England has stated that vaping is around<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/e-cigarettes-around-95-less-harmful-than-tobacco-estimates-landmark-review\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">95% less harmful than smoking<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a conclusion that has been repeatedly upheld by subsequent independent reviews.<\/span><\/li><\/ul><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41598-023-34427-x#Abs1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Studies<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of smokers who switch completely to vaping show rapid and substantial improvements in health biomarkers: exclusive vapers have much lower exposure to harmful chemicals, with levels similar to never\u2011smokers even if they previously smoked.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/ntr\/article\/23\/12\/2153\/6308418?login=false\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reductions in exposure happen within days of switching<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, approaching complete abstinence levels.<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0278691524000735#abs0015\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A subsequent meta-analysis<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">has confirmed these results, while another<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S0376871622001326\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">study<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">suggests that switching is also linked to adopting healthier routines and exercising.<\/span><\/li><\/ul><h3><b>Studies linking Vaping to Diseases\u00a0<\/b><\/h3><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/reference-global.com\/article\/10.2478\/cttr-2025-0019\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recent research<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> shows many lab studies that claim harms use extreme temperatures, concentrations or puffing patterns that do not reflect real\u2011world vaping.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even in these conditions, vapes still emit dramatically <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/journals\/chemistry\/articles\/10.3389\/fchem.2021.743060\/full#h6\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">lower levels of harmful toxicants<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> than cigarette smoke and expose users to metals far <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/19\/3\/1892\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">below recommended exposure limits<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li><\/ul><h3><b>Second-hand Vaping\u00a0<\/b><\/h3><p><a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC11240186\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Passive vapers absorb only a small fraction of the nicotine<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> compared to passive smokers (around a 6th), and present <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S030646032500142X\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">much lower levels of biomarkers of exposure<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p><h3><b>Youth Vaping<\/b><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Concerns often focus on a supposed \u201cyouth vaping epidemic\u201d and fears of a gateway into smoking, but current data point in the opposite direction.<\/span><\/p><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fda.gov\/tobacco-products\/youth-and-tobacco\/results-annual-national-youth-tobacco-survey\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">US<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, youth e\u2011cigarette use has fallen from 27.5% in 2019 to 5.9% in 2024 (past\u201130\u2011day use), the lowest level in a decade.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/ash.org.uk\/uploads\/Use-of-Vapes-Among-Young-People-in-Great-Britain-2025.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UK<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, youth smoking is at record lows, with 11\u201317 ever\u2011smoking at 9.3% (2023) and daily smoking extremely rare, while youth vaping has stabilised at around 18\u201320% ever tried.<\/span><\/li><\/ul><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Sweden and New Zealand, two countries with the most progressive nicotine policies, youth smoking has dropped to historic lows despite easy access to alternatives: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.folkhalsomyndigheten.se\/the-public-health-agency-of-sweden\/living-conditions-and-lifestyle\/andtg\/tobacco\/use-of-tobacco-and-nicotine-products\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sweden<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reports only 4% of 16\u201329 year\u2011olds smoking daily, and<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.govt.nz\/system\/files\/2023-05\/smoking_status_of_daily_vapers.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New Zealand<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reports under\u201125 smoking at about 3%, effectively creating a \u201csmoke\u2011free generation\u201d.<\/span><\/li><\/ul><h3><b>Vaping and the \u201cGateway Theory\u201d<\/b><\/h3><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC6652100\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Systematic reviews<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> find no demonstrated causal link from vaping to smoking initiation, concluding that \u201ca true gateway effect in youths has not yet been demonstrated\u201d.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instead, personal and social factors\u2014such as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/full\/10.1080\/10826084.2019.1701035\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">dissatisfaction<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, anxiety, parental smoking, household income and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/18\/24\/13248\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">personality traits<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014appear to drive both smoking and vaping.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most youth who vape have either<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/ash.org.uk\/uploads\/Use-of-Vapes-Among-Young-People-in-Great-Britain-2025.pdf?v=1759415529\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tried smoking first or are merely experimenting<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">without progressing to regular cigarette use.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The vast majority of vapers are adult smokers trying to switch or former smokers who have successfully quit, with<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/europa.eu\/eurobarometer\/surveys\/detail\/2995\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">EU<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> data showing that 97% of vapers are former smokers, and 50% of them stating that vapes helped them quit or reduce smoking. Similarly, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ash.org.uk\/uploads\/Use-of-vapes-among-adults-in-Great-Britain-2024.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UK<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">data shows 95% of current vapers are former smokers or dual users.<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/mmwr\/volumes\/72\/wr\/mm7210a7.htm\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">US<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">data confirms that around 70% of adult vapers were smokers before starting vaping.<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e6e48df elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"e6e48df\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-82d2863 elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"82d2863\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-f790e67\" data-id=\"f790e67\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-92cbff1 purple-bullets elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"92cbff1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" id=\"no-gateway-effect\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2><b>Nicotine pouches<\/b><\/h2><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nicotine pouches are small, discreet sachets containing nicotine but no tobacco, typically made with pharmaceutical\u2011grade nicotine, plant fibres, and food\u2011grade flavourings and sweeteners. Users place them between lip and gum for 5\u201330 minutes, where they release nicotine slowly through the oral mucosa without combustion, smoke, vapour, or spitting.<\/span><\/p><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pouches have been shown to sit at the very<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC9985244\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">bottom of the toxicant and risk spectrum<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">among oral nicotine products, with levels of harmful and potentially harmful constituents far lower than cigarettes and comparable to NRTs.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They can <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC12709140\/#jcph70090-sec-0250\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">deliver enough nicotine to satisfy smokers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, supporting their use as a smoking\u2011cessation aid.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They release nicotine <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s00213-025-06961-1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">more slowly than cigarettes<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/ntr\/article-abstract\/22\/10\/1757\/5823724?redirectedFrom=fulltext&amp;login=false\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">similarly to other smokeless<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">products<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which reduces their addictive potential compared with smoking.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Biomarker <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/ntr\/advance-article-abstract\/doi\/10.1093\/ntr\/ntaf185\/8249912?redirectedFrom=fulltext\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">studies<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> find exclusive pouch users have much lower exposure to cigarette\u2011related alkaloids and metals than smokers.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oral health <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC12138386\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">research<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> shows improvements in gum health when people switch from cigarettes to pouches.<\/span><\/li><\/ul><p><a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1186\/s12889-022-13441-0\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Population modelling<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> suggests that widespread switching from smoking to nicotine pouches in the US could prevent up to 600,000 deaths by 2050.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-31712eb elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"31712eb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-4bb7058 elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"4bb7058\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-32aa968\" data-id=\"32aa968\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c04cbf8 purple-bullets elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"c04cbf8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" id=\"vaping-flavours\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2><b>Heat-not-burn<\/b><b><br \/><\/b><\/h2><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Heat\u2011not\u2011burn (HnB) products use a battery\u2011powered device to heat specially designed tobacco sticks at much lower temperatures than cigarettes, creating a nicotine\u2011containing aerosol without burning the tobacco. Cigarettes burn at roughly 900 \u00b0C, while HnB devices operate around 350 \u00b0C, avoiding combustion and therefore greatly reducing tar, carbon monoxide, and many other toxic by\u2011products of smoke.<\/span><\/p><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">HnB products <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/tobaccocontrol.bmj.com\/content\/28\/5\/582.info\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">cut harmful and potentially harmful constituents<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by at least about two\u2011thirds and particulate matter by around three\u2011quarters compared with cigarettes.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although HnB emissions still contain some harmful chemicals, their levels are <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2305-6304\/11\/12\/947#Conclusions\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">substantially lower<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> than in cigarette smoke.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Smokers who switch from cigarettes to HnB products see <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC11467123\/#Sec9\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">improvements<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in health biomarkers and other health outcomes.<\/span><\/li><\/ul><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Switching completely from cigarettes to HnB products significantly <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/38804903\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reduces both the formation of and exposure to harmful chemicals<\/span><\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-177edb4 elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"177edb4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-7334f40 elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"7334f40\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-d987b63\" data-id=\"d987b63\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9f2ced9 purple-bullets elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9f2ced9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" id=\"vaping-taxation\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2><b>Flavours<\/b><b><\/b><\/h2><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Survey data shows that adult vapers overwhelmingly prefer non\u2011tobacco flavours, especially fruit and sweet options, rather than tobacco\u2011flavoured e\u2011liquids.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Eurobarometer-two-pager.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">EU<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, adult vapers primarily use non\u2011tobacco flavours: that fruit and candy flavours are the most popular among vapers (68%), followed by tobacco (38%), and menthol (31%).\u00a0<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ash.org.uk\/resources\/view\/use-of-e-cigarettes-among-adults-in-great-britain\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UK<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, fruit is the leading choice at 51%, while tobacco is rarely the main choice (11%).\u00a0<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC10576309\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">US<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, only <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC10576309\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2.1% of vapers report tobacco<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as their exclusive flavour, while the rest consume different flavours<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li><\/ul><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Adult vapers strongly prefer non\u2011tobacco flavours because they break the sensory link with cigarette smoke, reduce cravings for the taste of tobacco, and make vaping more enjoyable and sustainable.<\/span><\/p><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Adults using flavoured e\u2011cigarettes have <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/32501490\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">230% higher odds of quitting<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> than those using non\u2011flavoured or tobacco flavours.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Smokers switching to non\u2011tobacco flavours (especially fruit\/dessert) show <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/ntr\/advance-article\/doi\/10.1093\/ntr\/ntaf240\/8374747?login=false\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">greater reductions in cigarette use and higher rates of complete cessation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Flavour users are substantially <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/ntr\/article\/22\/10\/1831\/5843872?login=false\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">more likely to report vaping as helpful for quitting<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> than tobacco flavour users.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/health.ec.europa.eu\/document\/download\/50b3adac-5451-47c1-8427-ea67e874c970_en\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">EU&#8217;s SCHEER report<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: \u201cTo date, there is no specific data that specific flavourings used in the EU pose health risks for electronic cigarette users following repeated exposure.\u201d<\/span><\/li><\/ul><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When flavours are restricted or banned, a large share of users either go back to smoking or turn to unregulated sources to keep using the flavours that helped them quit in the first place.<\/span><\/p><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0306460321003373?via%3Dihub#s0055\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Almost 5 in 10 vapers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> would either return to cigarettes or seek flavoured products on the black market if they get banned.\u00a0<\/span><\/li><\/ul><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Where flavour bans have been tried, many vapers kept using flavours through workarounds: in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/tholosfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Presentation-Estonia-.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Estonia<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, around 60% of vapers continued using flavours by mixing their own liquids or buying them illicitly; in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/tholosfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Denmark-DE.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Denmark<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, over 90% of vapers say banned flavours are easy to obtain. Flavour bans in US jurisdictions such as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jamapediatrics\/fullarticle\/2780248\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">San Francisco<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.medrxiv.org\/content\/10.1101\/2022.04.24.22274236v1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Massachusetts<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> were followed by increases in youth or overall cigarette smoking and higher cigarette sales.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5a5d4c5 elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"5a5d4c5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-95e219f elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"95e219f\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-aaf5826\" data-id=\"aaf5826\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-02866a5 purple-bullets elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"02866a5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" id=\"effects-of-nicotine\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2><b>Taxation<\/b><b><\/b><\/h2><p><a href=\"https:\/\/gsthr.org\/resources\/briefing-papers\/safer-nicotine-product-taxation-and-optimal-strategies-for-public-health\/safer-nicotine-product-taxation-and-optimal-strategies-for-public-health\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Risk-proportionate taxation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> aligns prices with relative health risks, making safer alternatives cheaper than cigarettes to incentivise switching. Equalising taxes across products instead sustains cigarette use, as smokers won&#8217;t switch to equivalently priced alternatives as rapidly.<\/span><\/p><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vaping products have a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/24935898\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">high price elasticity<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, meaning that when prices increase, their use often decreases, yet this happens <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC7880200\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">at the expense of increasing smoking<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This effect is particularly powerful <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/35852452\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">among young users<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, with research indicating that the unintended consequences of taxing vaping products <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nber.org\/papers\/w29216\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">may outweigh any public health benefits<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><p>\u00a0<\/p><\/li><\/ul><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/news.yale.edu\/2022\/07\/19\/higher-taxes-e-cigs-likely-boost-cigarette-smoking-among-young-adults\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yale analysis<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of US state taxes found a $1\/ml e-cigarette tax increase reduced daily vaping by 2.5 percentage points but increased recent smoking by 3.7 points among young adults. China&#8217;s 2022 30% vaping tax cut vaping short-term, but <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC12676999\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">most of the users who quit switched to smoking<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-77d7b6e elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"77d7b6e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-4e5a92f elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"4e5a92f\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-a0efcf5\" data-id=\"a0efcf5\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d87d76c purple-bullets elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d87d76c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" id=\"nicotine-pouches\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2><b>Success Stories in Harm Reduction<\/b><\/h2><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Harm reduction policies embracing vaping and alternatives have driven unprecedented smoking declines in select nations. These cases demonstrate practical, evidence-based strategies that are already effective in accelerating progress toward smoke-free goals.<\/span><\/p><h3><b>Sweden: the smoke-free leader<\/b><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sweden stands as the global pioneer in tobacco harm reduction, achieving official &#8220;smoke-free&#8221; status ahead of schedule through widespread adoption of nicotine pouches and other nicotine alternatives.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By 2024, daily smoking among Swedish-born adults dropped to just <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.folkhalsomyndigheten.se\/the-public-health-agency-of-sweden\/living-conditions-and-lifestyle\/andtg\/tobacco\/use-of-tobacco-and-nicotine-products\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">4.5%<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, below the WHO&#8217;s 5% smoke-free benchmark, while overall adult rates reached 5.3%, making Sweden <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/smokefreesweden.org\/2024\/11\/13\/breaking-news-swedes-first-in-world-to-become-smoke-free-its-a-lesson-for-the-world\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the first nation to hit this milestone<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 16 years earlier than the EU objective.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This triumph traces back decades to Sweden&#8217;s unique policy allowing snus: a moist, oral tobacco pouch. Snus later developed into the innovative, tobacco-free nicotine pouches that have gained massive popularity today. Their use now exceeds smoking, decoupling nicotine satisfaction from deadly smoke: while nicotine consumption mirrors Europe&#8217;s, Sweden boasts <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/smokefreesweden.org\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">41% fewer cancers and 44% lower tobacco mortality<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> than EU averages.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recent data reinforces the model. Sweden&#8217;s Public Health Agency reports nicotine pouches and e-cigarettes surging, correlating with sustained declines in smoking, with even immigrants&#8217; rates falling post-relocation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Smoke Free Sweden&#8217;s November 2024 report, &#8220;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/smokefreesweden.org\/wp-content\/themes\/smokefreesweden\/assets\/pdf\/data\/SFS_Missing%20the%20target_1%20Nov%202024.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Missing the Target<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,&#8221; credits accessible, affordable alternatives for outpacing the 2025 goal, positioning Sweden as a blueprint: high cigarette taxes paired with proportional rules for safer options.<\/span><\/p><h3><b>New Zealand: Informed Access<\/b><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New Zealand exemplifies pragmatic harm reduction through the provision of information and promotion of safer alternatives, slashing its smoking rates faster than most countries. Daily smoking rates plateaued at 6.8% in the 2024\/25 New Zealand Health Survey, down from 16.4% in 2011\/12, but remain <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.govt.nz\/news\/new-zealand-health-survey-highlights-long-term-decline-in-smoking-rates\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">on track to be under 5%<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, with under-25s already smoke-free at ~3%.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pivotal to this triumph was early endorsement of vaping as a cessation tool via the Ministry of Health&#8217;s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vapingfacts.health.nz\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vaping Facts<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> site, offering facts, helplines, and support. This evidence-based messaging positioned vaping as &#8220;far less harmful than smoking,&#8221; integrating it into quit programs with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/tobaccoharmreduction.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Youdan_New_Zealand_Vape_Kits.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">free starter kits<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> distributed to over 3,400 smokers by 2025.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Youth trends bolster the story: Youth vaping fell from 2022 peaks, while smoking stays negligible, per <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ash.org.nz\/youth_vaping_is_falling_and_smoking_rates_remain_very_low\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ASH&#8217;s 30,000-student survey<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. M\u0101ori and Pacific rates dropped significantly over five years through targeted efforts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New Zealand proves that transparent communication and regulated alternatives drive equitable progress.<\/span><\/p><h3><b>United Kingdom: Vaping Endorsement<\/b><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The United Kingdom is the clearest example of a major country embedding vaping at the heart of its national tobacco control strategy, with smoking now at record lows and vapers outnumbering smokers for the first time.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2023, the UK government launched the world\u2011first national <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/smokers-urged-to-swap-cigarettes-for-vapes-in-world-first-scheme\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cSwap to Stop\u201d scheme<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, pledging up to one million free vape starter kits for adult smokers in England. Local roll-outs show the impact: in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/post\/thousands-quit-smoking-through-swap-2-stop-free-vape-scheme\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dorset<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, for example, nearly 14,800 free kits had been distributed by early 2025, with over 3,500 smokers recorded as having switched to vaping after just four weeks of support. These initiatives are embedded in a wider ambition to reduce smoking prevalence to 5% or less by 2030, using vaping as the main tool rather than relying solely on prohibition or taxation.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a result, in 2024, only 10.6% of adults in the UK were current smokers, down from 20.2% in 2011, while about 10% of adults used e\u2011cigarettes daily or occasionally, according to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ons.gov.uk\/peoplepopulationandcommunity\/healthandsocialcare\/healthandlifeexpectancies\/bulletins\/adultsmokinghabitsingreatbritain\/2024\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">official data<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This long-term decline has been repeatedly linked by official reviews to the availability and uptake of vaping products as a quitting aid.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Together, the UK\u2019s evidence\u2011based communication, institutional endorsement, and large\u2011scale access programmes make it a flagship harm reduction success story that other countries can adapt to their own contexts.<\/span><\/p><h3><b>Japan: Heat-Not-Burn Surge<\/b><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Japan showcases the transformative power of heat-not-burn (HnBs) in accelerating smoking decline, with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/gsthr.org\/resources\/briefing-papers\/cigarette-sales-halved-heated-tobacco-products-and-the-japanese-experience\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">cigarette sales plummeting over 50%<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> since their introduction despite a stable total nicotine market. By 2023 exclusive cigarette smoking hit a record low of ~10% among adults. Smoking prevalence fell from 21% to 16% in under a decade, placing Japan among harm reduction leaders.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The story began with the launch of HnBs in the country in 2014. Cigarette sales, previously declining ~1.8% annually, accelerated to 9.5% yearly drops post-launch. Independent analyses confirm HTPs displaced cigarettes: a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/39472049\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2025 Tobacco Control study<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> found cigarette-only use dropped sharply as HTPs rose, with dual users often cutting cigarette consumption by two-thirds.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Health and economic projections amplify the impact. A <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC11476125\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2024 Healthcare study<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> estimates half of smokers switching to HTPs could avert 12 million tobacco-related illnesses by 2060, saving Japan&#8217;s healthcare system \u00a5454 billion (~$3 billion) annually.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite vaping bans, Japan&#8217;s permissive HnB regulations fueled adoption, proving industry innovation and pragmatic policy can shift millions from combustion without overall nicotine growth. This model offers lessons for scaling non-combustible alternatives globally.<\/span><\/p><h3><b>Greece and the Czech Republic: Emerging Leaders<\/b><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Czechia and Greece earned 2025 World Vapers Alliance &#8220;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/champions-of-change\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Champions of Change<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8221; awards for slashing smoking rates &#8211; 23% and 14% respectively over three years &#8211; via pragmatic policies favouring vaping and alternatives over prohibition.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Czechia emerged as a prominent harm reduction advocate and led EU reductions in smoking, falling from ~24% to 18.5% (2021-2024), per the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/europa.eu\/eurobarometer\/surveys\/detail\/2995\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Eurobarometer<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, as vaping grew proportionally. It all started in 2019, when the Czech government explicitly incorporated harm reduction as a strategic pillar in its <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vlada.gov.cz\/assets\/ppov\/protidrogova-politika\/National_strategy_2019_2027_fin_rev4.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">national strategy<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Later on, Czechia adopted a sensible regulation of vaping, ensuring accessibility and availability of different types of flavoured devices and deciding not to tax them, while taxing HnBs at a substantially lower rate than cigarettes. These regulations enabled alternatives to displace cigarettes.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From Europe&#8217;s highest rates (~42% in 2021), Greece dropped to 36% by 2024 via its <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.government.gov.gr\/ethniko-schedio-drasis-kata-tou-kapnismatos-i-igia-mas-enoni\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">National Action Plan<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> integrating harm reduction as the fourth pillar. Heat-not-burn use doubled alongside declines in smoking, backed by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kodiko.gr\/nomothesia\/document\/634794\/nomos-4715-2020\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">risk communication laws<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> empowering smokers with science on safer options. These progress examples within the\u00a0 EU underscore balanced strategies&#8217; power.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-b59aaed elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"b59aaed\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" id=\"case-studies\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-bccd1aa\" data-id=\"bccd1aa\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2b2057f elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"2b2057f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-eca1d6f purple-bullets elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"eca1d6f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2><b>Conclusion: a clear path forward<\/b><\/h2><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vaping, nicotine pouches, and heat-not-burn products represent proven, science-backed tools that can accelerate the global journey toward smoke-free societies. Countries like Sweden, the UK, New Zealand, Japan, Czechia, and Greece demonstrate that pragmatic harm reduction policies, risk-proportionate regulation, clear communication of relative risks, and sustained adult access drive faster smoking declines than prohibition alone.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When smokers have affordable, appealing alternatives backed by transparent health messaging, they switch in large numbers, reducing disease and death while youth uptake remains minimal.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The path is clear. Nations embracing tobacco harm reduction achieve results that traditional approaches cannot match. With 1.2 billion smokers worldwide and global targets slipping, the time for evidence-based policy is now.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-3a4bd927 elementor-section-height-min-height elementor-section-items-top elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"3a4bd927\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-49be3ec\" data-id=\"49be3ec\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-6aa8a7b8 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"6aa8a7b8\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-2285939d\" data-id=\"2285939d\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-99a0341 elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"99a0341\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div 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Vaping Table of Contents Introduction Smoking remains one of the world\u2019s biggest preventable killers. 1.2 billion adults still smoke, roughly 1 in 5 worldwide. Smoking causes over 8 million deaths every year, more than 1 in 5 deaths globally in 2020. 80% of smoking\u2011related deaths occur in low and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":1042,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3688","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Harm Reduction &amp; Vaping Fact Sheet - World Vapers&#039; Alliance<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When it comes to tobacco harm reduction, vaping is the best-case example for it. 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