ETHRA’s monthly roundup of news: Council Recommendation on Smoke Free Environments - Tobacco Tax Directive - Spanish Public Consultation - UK Tobacco & Vapes Bill - E-Cigarette Summit 2024 Round Up - Health Impacts of Vapes on Non-Smokers - SCOHRE Nicotine Pouch Webinar. Read on for more.
Contents:
Council recommendation on smoke-free environments
A resolution to include vape aerosol in the updated Council Recommendation on Smoke-Free Environments was rejected by a large majority in the European Parliament. 
However, just days later at a meeting of the Council of the European Union, which is made up of Ministers from EU Member States, a vote was cast which supported the resolution.
Read more here:
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_24_6185
EU-Parlament stimmt gegen WHO Ideologie / EU Parliament votes against WHO ideology
See our letter to members of the SANT Committee ahead of the vote in parliament:
https://ethra.co/submissions/162-letter-to-the-sant-committee-on-the-updated-council-recommendation-on-smoke-free-environments
German MEP and doctor, Peter Liese stated: “The majority in the European Parliament do not believe that tobacco and e-cigarettes should be treated equally”
https://www.peter-liese.de/20-gesundheit/4276-ratsempfehlung-zu-rauchfreien-umgebungen
Tobacco Tax Directive
Sixteen EU Member States have written to the European Commission to ask that vapes be included in the next Tobacco Tax Directive. The initiative is being led by the Netherlands, with the support of Ireland, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Slovakia, Spain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Slovenia and Portugal.
Read more here:
https://www.rte.ie/news/2024/1209/1485392-vaping-eu-law/
Cyprus
The Ministry of Health has decided to classify nicotine pouches as a pharmaceutical product until such times as they are regulated at an EU level, possibly in the next TPD.
See more here:
https://www.moh.gov.cy/Moh/phs/phs.nsf/All/6419238898ACC32CC2258BCB0024671C/$file/Ανακοίνωση%20για%20Nicotine%20Pouches.pdf
Netherlands
A Bill amending the Tobacco and Smoking Products Act was adopted by the Senate on 1 October. The Bill will ban nicotine pouches and come into force on 1 January 2025.
See more here:
https://www.eerstekamer.nl/wetsvoorstel/36403_regeling_van
Norway
The Ministry of Health introduced a bill to amend the Food Act, which includes provisions to place the Health Directorate in charge of approving nicotine-containing vapes. The Bill will also see the current ban on vapes lifted.
See more here:
https://www.stortinget.no/no/Saker-og-publikasjoner/Saker/Sak/?p=99941
Spain
Spain has opened a public consultation on a new Draft Royal Decree which would ban all vape flavours apart from tobacco, regulate the nicotine content of pouches to 0.99 mg of nicotine per sachet (a de facto ban), and also ban flavours for pouches. The consultation will run until 13 December. Do consider sending in a response.
Read more here:
https://vaping360.com/vape-news/8298/final-spanish-flavor-ban-consultation-ends-dec-13th/
Advice on sending a submission for Anesvap:
Los sabores no son el problema, y su prohibición nuestra perdición / Flavours are not the problem, and banning them is our undoing
The Decree can be found here:
https://www.sanidad.gob.es/normativa/audiencia/home.htm
More from Spain
New data from the Survey on Alcohol and Other Drugs in Spain (EDADES) finds that smoking prevalence is at a historic low. The fall in smoking rates coincides with an increase in vaping prevalence, once again proving that vaping is a gateway OUT of smoking.
Read more here:
https://www.eleconomista.es/salud/noticias/13116845/12/24/adios-al-cigarrillo-tradicional-disminuye-el-consumo-de-tabaco-en-espana-pero-crece-el-uso-de-dispositivos-electronicos.html
Sweden
Sweden is the first country in the world to be officially smoke-free, thanks in a large part to the use of snus as an alternative to smoking.
Read more here:
https://www.planetofthevapes.co.uk/news/vaping-news/2024-11-27_sweden-becomes-smokefree.html
UK
NNA UK has warned the UK’s Labour led government that the measures proposed in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will derail efforts to achieve smoke-free targets.
Read more here:
Labour’s all-out offensive on vaping will cause unnecessary and avoidable deaths and disease
Read more on the Tobacco and Vapes Bill:
https://ethra.co/news/161-ethra-october-news-roundup-4#countries
E-Cigarette Summit 2024 Round Up
James Dunworth provides a detailed breakdown of the presentations at this year's E-Cigarette Summit which took place at the Royal College of Physicians on 5 December.
Read more here:
https://www.ecigarettedirect.co.uk/ashtray-blog/e-cig-summit-2024
Health Impacts of Vapes on Non-Smokers
A new study examined how vaping affects the lungs of people who have never smoked. The study found that the difference between vapers and non-vapers who’d never smoked was very slight and not large enough to be clinically significant.
Read more here:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-80221-8
Something to watch:
SCOHRE webinar:
Nicotine pouches regulation: Questions, uncertainties and ways to maximize public health benefits.