ETHRA’s monthly roundup of news: EU COP10 position & ETHRA letter - Alternative reading list for #COP10 delegates - Gateway myth busted - Flavour bans increase smoking - Expert advice for COP10 delegates - Belgium bans pouches - Country updates. Read on for more
Contents:
EU COP10 position
Worrying developments in the EU as the European Commission sends its proposed position for COP10 to member states. German outlet Table Media reports that the proposal refuses to acknowledge the harm reduction potential of safer nicotine products, calls for advertising bans, and potentially an online sales ban.
Subcommittee on Public Health (SANT)
Positive news from the SANT Committee as amendments are tabled which would address the issues in the Draft Report which we raised with MEPs. The main issue with the Draft Report was the lack of clarity around risk factors for Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs), as it failed to mention smoking but instead identified ‘tobacco use’.
Tabled amendments can be found here:
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/ENVI-AM-752914_EN.pdf
Our letter to SANT has been covered in detail in Planet of the Vapes and Eureporter:
https://www.planetofthevapes.co.uk/news/politics-campaigns/2023-09-05_ethra-writes-to-sant-committee.html
Smoke Free Partnership position papers
Smoke Free Partnership has published a position paper on vapes and heated tobacco products. The papers make a range of policy recommendations at EU and member state level. Recommendations include treating vapes the same as cigarettes (flavour ban & increased taxation), and banning online sales.
Position paper on vapes:
https://www.smokefreepartnership.eu/our-policy-work/position-papers-briefings-reports/position-paper-on-electronic-cigarettes
Position paper on heated tobacco products:
https://www.smokefreepartnership.eu/our-policy-work/position-papers-briefings-reports/position-paper-on-heated-tobacco-products
Alternative reading list for #COP10 delegates
COPwatch has published a reading list, which should be compulsory, for COP10 delegates to be better informed of the evidence around tobacco harm reduction and safer nicotine products.
Read more here:
https://copwatch.info/alternative-reading-list-for-cop10-delegates/
Belgium
Belgium’s public health institute, Sciensano, warned that smoke free 2040 targets will not be achieved unless new policies are adopted. Perhaps a total ban on nicotine pouches was not such a good idea, under the circumstances.
Read more here:
https://www.thebulletin.be/sciensano-belgiums-goal-tobacco-free-generation-2040-will-fail-without-new-policies
Nicotine pouch ban will come into force on 1 October:
https://www.belganewsagency.eu/total-ban-on-nicotine-pouches-in-belgium-from-1-october
Finland
Vapers Finland wrote to the Ministry of Finance on its proposal to amend the law on tobacco tax to include nicotine pouches.
Read the letter here:
Vapers Finland ry:n lausunto valtiovarainministeriölle nikotiinipussien verotuksesta / Vapers Finland statement to the Ministry of Finance on the taxation of nicotine pouches
Germany
The hot topic of vape flavours and flavour bans was up for discussion at a hybrid event in Berlin on 25 September. Despite strong evidence on the importance of flavours it was clear that there is still a lack of understanding among politicians. ETHRA partner BVRA represented consumers at the conference.
Read more here:
https://bvra.info/politik/aromenverbote-politik-vs-wissenschaft/
Poland
Smoking prevalence in Poland has increased to 29% in recent years, 6% higher than the EU average. Polish experts argue that traditional tobacco control policies are not working and that a move towards tobacco harm reduction could be the solution.
Norway
Research by the Norwegian Cancer Registry, the Norwegian Working Environment Institute (STAMI) and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI), which claimed to show an increased risk of cancer from snus, has been described as alarmist and not within the ethical limits the presentation of research should be.
Read more here:
https://www.tv2.no/nyheter/innenriks/forskning-fra-70-tallet/16037849/
Sweden
Great news for Sweden as the government and Sweden Democrats announce plans to reduce the tax on snus by 20%.
Read more here:
https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/skatten-pa-snus-sanks-nasta-ar
UK
In a reply to a parliamentary question the Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care, Neil O'Brien, stated that the UK delegation at COP10 "will not agree to any decisions which would impact on our ability to make #vapes available for adult smokers who wish to quit".
See the question and answer here:
https://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2023-09-01.196493.h&s=Neil+O%27Brien#g196493.r0
More from the UK
Scott Butler, executive director at environmental charity Material Focus, warned that banning disposable vapes could result in the market being flooded with illegal products being sold on the black market.
Read more here:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/sep/12/ban-on-single-use-vapes-in-uk-may-flood-market-with-products
Working Party on Public Health - EU COP10 position
On 8 September the European Parliament's Working Party on Public Health met to discuss information from the Commission and Presidency on COP10 preparation. Ahead of that meeting we wrote to members of the Working Party to outline why restrictive policies on safer nicotine products would be a disaster for public health.
Read the letter here:
https://ethra.co/submissions/140-working-party-on-public-health-eu-cop10-position
Eyes on the Ball
Clive Bates has stepped up yet again and provided COP10 delegates with possibly the best advice they could get. “Senior officials should approach COP10 with skepticism but not cynicism, with clarity about their national goals and with some tough questions about trade-offs, unintended consequences and evidence”.
Read more here:
https://tobaccoreporter.com/2023/09/01/eyes-on-the-ball-3/
[Commentary] The WHO strategies to reduce tobacco-related deaths are insufficient
Lars Ramström provides a scathing critique of the WHO’s refusal to acknowledge tobacco harm reduction and the huge benefits to public health it would provide.
Read more here:
https://www.qeios.com/read/YGO7VO
E-cigarette Flavour Restrictions’ Effects on Tobacco Product Sales
Restrictions on vape flavours have become a worrying trend in many jurisdictions but do policymakers ever stop to think about the consequences of such a measure? A new study published in Social Science Research Network finds [to no one's surprise] that flavour bans increase smoking.
Read more here:
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4586701
The 'gateway' myth takes another hit
A study examining youth smoking from 1991 to 2022 has found that the emergence of vapes coincided with the most rapid declines in smoking over the past thirty years.
Read more here:
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/19/6866
Something to watch:
Nordic Reform Conference 2023
Karl Erik Lund, senior researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, gives a fascinating talk on the importance of tobacco harm reduction strategies in reducing smoking.
Tobacco harm reduction hearing Brazil - video submission
Clive Bates makes a strong case for tobacco harm reduction in his contribution to a consultation and parliamentary deliberation held in Brazil in September 2023.
