Europe takes aim at tackling youth vaping

Bans urged

The soaring popularity of disposable vapes has sparked a sense of urgency among governments, with medical experts calling for bans.

European nations are following the lead of Australia and New Zealand and taking action to restrict young people's access to e-cigarettes and disposable vapes, as concerns mount about the worrying trend.

Belgium has banned online sales of e-cigarettes, with Ireland and France eyeing potential bans. And others, including the UK, are considering raising the age limit at which people can buy them.

Health authorities in Italy, Germany and France have measured an increase in vaping among young people in recent years. In some countries, the surge has been threefold. The upswing in popularity is worldwide and has prompted politicians and campaigners to push for policy changes.

E-cigarettes, which do not contain tobacco, heat liquids that are converted into an aerosol to create vapor.

Vaping serves as a tool to assist in quitting smoking traditional tobacco cigarettes, being a safer alternative, though not entirely risk-free, the World Health Organization said. Smoking tobacco cigarettes is known to significantly damage and cut short lives.

The long-term effects of vaping remain largely unknown, the WHO said, and all electronic nicotine delivery systems are under constant investigation.

The main health concern with vaping is that it could potentially introduce a new generation to nicotine addiction.

The global health authority adds that there is a lack of evidence supporting the safety of the devices, and the potential health risks associated with their users are largely unknown.

Examples of health issues recorded so far include respiratory problems, and in some severe cases, vaping has been linked to serious lung injuries, a condition known as EVALI, which stands for e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury.

Some recent studies suggest that vape use can also increase the risk of heart disease.

Vaping poses significant risks for young people in particular, the WHO said, because the nicotine in e-cigarettes can have harmful effects on the developing brain. It highlights that young people who use e-cigarettes are more likely to use traditional cigarettes in the future.

National plans

Disposable vapes will soon be banned in France as part of a national plan to combat smoking.

In September, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said the government would "soon present a new national plan to fight against smoking with, in particular, the prohibition of disposable electronic cigarettes, the famous 'puffs', which give bad habits to young people".

There is concern that manufacturers are targeting teenagers, appealing to them with cheap disposable e-cigarettes containing sweet flavors, including candy, marshmallow and bubblegum.

Different strategies for tobacco and e-cigarette control are being deployed globally, shaped by each country's unique cultural, social and economic landscape.

More than 180 countries will gather in Panama early next year for the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, where potential regulations will be discussed, including potential rules for regulating vape sales. Following the convention, countries will consider adopting recommendations from it.

Australia has already banned all vaping without a prescription, and New Zealand has outlawed most disposable vapes and put curbs on marketing the products to children.

Leading doctors and councils in the UK have expressed support for an anticipated ban on single-use vapes in the country.

Steve Turner, registrar for the UK's Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, told The Guardian that medics are "really worried" about the surge in vaping among young people.

He said vapes were an "effective entry into nicotine addiction and smoking" and that the situation was "a public health disaster". "Children should not be becoming addicted to nicotine," Turner said.

Sarah Woolnough, chief executive at Asthma+ Lung UK, said: "If you're a smoker and you want to quit tobacco, vaping can be a helpful way to give up smoking. But for children and those who don't smoke, starting to vape isn't a good idea, especially if you have a lung condition."

However, there is resistance to policy change on vape sales in some quarters.

Lobby groups, including the European Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates, warn that the key policy recommendations to be discussed in Panama would deny continued use of safer nicotine products for millions of European consumers who have successfully stopped smoking with the help of the products.

Those resistant to bans say a prohibition would only lead to a growing black market featuring products that are unregulated and uncontrolled. Instead, they would support more controls and limits around access for children and teenagers, and a proper licensing system to dictate who can sell vapes.

Andrej Kuttruf, chief executive of vape retailer Evapo, told China Daily vaping is "at least 95 percent less harmful than smoking and almost twice as effective as any other cessation solution", playing a vital role.

"In our view, disposable bans or flavor bans are not the solution and would be a tragic mistake," he said.

"Current laws already forbid sales to minors and these laws need enforcing. Without enforcement, no new regulations will have any impact. Bans will only lead to a thriving black market, taking the products out of the existing regulatory framework and safety controls and handing the market to the rogue players who currently violate the law."

Kuttruf said he believes the rise in vaping among young people is mainly caused by the wide proliferation of shops selling disposables and the lack of enforcement of age verification laws.

In line with the UK Vaping Industry Association, Evapo is asking for a licensing system to be introduced that is similar to the one related to alcohol sales, which would restrict products to licensed shops and specialized retailers, with strict age verification in place.

"We are also asking for drastic fines of up to 10,000 pounds ($12,670) for shops being found to sell to minors," Kuttruf said. "Repeated offenders would lose their license to sell."

Money raised through a licensing fee and from the increased fines could be put into enforcement to ensure existing laws are being adhered to.

"Instead of bans, we need restriction to access and enforcement to really solve the problem. Otherwise, kids will continue to buy from the black market," he said.

Philip Morris International, or PMI, the tobacco and vaping company behind Marlboro cigarettes, is waging a big lobbying campaign to prevent countries from cracking down on vapes and similar products.

The company made $10.19 billion in revenue last year from e-cigarettes and other smoke-free products such as heated tobacco devices.

Gregoire Verdeaux, PMI's senior vice-president of external affairs, described the agenda for the WHO's Panama meeting as a "prohibitionist attack" on smoke-free products.

In an email message sent to employees in September that was seen by The Guardian, he wrote that the WHO was set to compromise the "historic" opportunity for public health presented by "the recognition that smoke-free products, appropriately regulated, can accelerate the decline of smoking rates faster than tobacco control combined".

Zheng Wanyin in London contributed to this story.