Tobacco Asia

E M B R A C I NG G RE E N E R RE S O U R CE S E M B R A C I NG G RE E N E R RE S O U R C E S and a few other nations are currently pondering similar laws. In most of Southeast Asia vaping is already completely illegal. All of that begs the question whether vaping eventually is going to become "the next big demon" in the same manner as tobacco is slowly but surely being "regulated away." Vaping would be nothing without flavors However, the sheer variety of flavors available to consumers has of course always been one of the most attractive and important characteristics of vaping – and a major cause for its phenomenal success. A Eurobarometer market study in 2021 revealed that around 48% of adult consumers in Europe chose fruity notes as their favorite vape flavors. But, it is exactly those fruit flavors which are being targeted by pending flavor bans… because they also are what teens allegedly enjoy the most. It's quite the conundrum, because according to Dustin Dahlmann, chairman of the Independent European Vape Alliance Association (IEVA), "research on the impact of flavor bans also shows that many vapers return to [tobacco] smoking as a result [of the ban], or they purchase their favorite flavors illegally in the unregulated black market." "That is a very bad development, as it achieves the opposite of what legislators wanted to achieve." "No over-regulation for no reason" Dahlmann pointed out that EU authorities certainly cannot be oblivious to that im- pact either because these research data are freely available to them, too. A general ban on flavors in the EU would be a big mistake, in Dahlmann's opinion. "[IEVA's] engagement is largely focused on communicating the facts about e-cigarettes, and that includes the consequences of mis-regulation," he told Tobacco Asia, adding that, luckily, IEVA sees "a good chance that EU-wide flavor bans will be prevented." Dahlmann's message leaves no margin for misinterpretation: "The product must not be over-reg- ulated for no reason." Existing youth protection laws should be sufficient Still, one actually is tempted to wonder why an outright ban appears to be the only op- tion regulators have if the aim truly is to prevent youths from engaging in an unhealthy habit. As far as tobacco and vaping products are concerned, there already exist laws that bar underage people from purchasing them. Why doesn't that suffice? After all, it seems to work reasonably well for alcohol, pornography, medications, and so on. "One thing is very clear: young people or non-smokers should neither smoke nor vape," Dahlmann "Ride4Vape 2022: Umberto Roccatti, IEVA vice chairman and president of the Italian vaping association ANAFE, cycled 700km from Italy to the European Parliament in Strasbourg to demonstrate the harm reduction potential of vaping compared to combus- tible tobacco. Credit: IEVA

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