ETHRA’s monthly roundup of news: ETHRA letter to SANT - Bulgarian ban - French fiasco - Should we just let the last smokers die? - Irresponsible unpublished vaping study backlash - Teen Vaping Has Virtually Eliminated Teen Smoking - A full guide to vapes - Cochrane podcast. Read on for more.
Contents:
On Thursday, February 6th, EU Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra (Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero, Clean Growth and Taxation) participated in a meeting of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Tax Matters. At the meeting, French MEP Pierre Pimpie, asked the Commissioner about the future of the Tobacco Excise Directive. In his response Commissioner Hoekstra made the extraordinary and false statement that “Smoking kills, vaping kills”. ETHRA wrote to the Commissioner and all members of SANT to correct this dangerous misinformation.
Read the letter here:
https://ethra.co/news/166-false-and-misleading-statements-about-vaping
For more information on the meeting:
The European Commission: A source of misinformation
Bulgaria
Amendments to the Tobacco and Related Products Act which will implement a total ban on vaping products passed through parliament in its first reading with a unanimous vote of 197 - 0 in favour.
Read more here:
https://vaping360.com/vape-news/8363/bulgarian-lawmakers-pass-vape-ban-197-to-0/
Denmark
New laws will allow the Danish Safety Technology Authority to confiscate illegal tobacco and nicotine products without a court order. Fines for selling illegal tobacco and nicotine products will also increase, with fines starting from €6,700.
Read more here:
https://www.euractiv.com/section/health-consumers/news/denmark-strengthens-nicotine-and-alcohol-prevention-to-protect-youth/
France
Despite having a smoking prevalence 3 percentage points higher than the EU average, France decided to ban nicotine pouches. The move comes not long after a ban on disposable single-use vapes came into force. Addiction specialists sent a letter to the health minister to voice their concern over the ban.
Read more here:
https://filtermag.org/france-ban-disposable-vapes-nicotine-pouches/
France notified the European Commission it will ban sales of nicotine pouches
Ireland
Ireland’s Health Service Executive continues to misinform the public about the relative risk of vaping compared to smoking.
Read more here:
https://nnai510701598.wordpress.com/2025/02/09/reaction-to-clickbait-from-the-hse/
Italy
Harm reduction strategies for alcohol and tobacco use are among a range of measures set to be examined by a newly formed parliamentary Intergroup for prevention and healthy lifestyles.
See more here:
https://stream24.ilsole24ore.com/video/italia/salute-intergruppo-parlamentare-prevenzione-e-stili-vita-sani/AGJXJLqC
Poland
Experts caution that the new tax regime for non-combustible nicotine products could shut down the legal market for SNP and lead to an increase. ETHRA Scientific Partner, Prof. Andrzej Sobczak, argues that taxation should be risk-proportionate.
Norway
Snus, vapes, and tobacco-free nicotine pouches could be the key to helping older smokers who are unwilling or unable to quit, according to researchers at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
Read more here:
Skal vi bare la de siste røykerne dø? / Should we just let the last smokers die?
Spain
Former Canary Islands Health Minister advocates using everything to reduce tobacco consumption, including nicotine pouches.
Read more here:
https://www.europapress.es/islas-canarias/noticia-ex-consejero-canario-sanidad-aboga-usar-todo-reducir-consumo-tabaco-incluidas-bolsas-nicotina-20250131132918.html
Irresponsible publicity related to an unpublished vaping study
Clive Bates writes to the lead author of an unpublished study which made headlines in the tabloid press: “I write to request that you stop the irresponsible promotion of your incomplete vaping study and follow a credible scientific process for releasing its findings. The study has received considerable publicity”.
Read more here:
https://clivebates.com/papers-and-letters/irresponsible-publicity-related-to-an-unpublished-vaping-study/
Dr Micheal Siegel adds his commentary on the study:
Researchers of Severely Flawed Study Conclude that Vaping is Just as Harmful as Smoking and Causes Heart Disease and Dementia
Teen Vaping Has Virtually Eliminated Teen Smoking
A new report examines trends on teen vaping and smoking between 2000 and 2024. The report finds that teen cigarette smoking is on the verge of complete extinction, and the reason why that has happened is because vaping exists.
Read more here:
https://ecigone.com/featured/teen-vaping-eliminated-smoking/
Study challenges belief that vaping leads to youth smoking
There is "very low-certainty evidence" to support a commonly held belief that nicotine vaping is a gateway to cigarette smoking for young people, according to researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Read more here:
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20250211/Study-challenges-belief-that-vaping-leads-to-youth-smoking.aspx
A full guide to vapes
Roberto Sussman provides a series of posts describing how vapes work, the aerosol they generate, their properties, their optimal regime of operation, overheating conditions and dry puffs, as well as comparisons with tobacco smoke and other aerosols.
Read more here:
https://robertosussman.substack.com/p/a-full-guide-to-vapes-post-1
Something to listen to:
Jamie Hartmann-Boyce and Nicola Lindson have used their latest podcast to explain Cochrane Living Review latest findings and their new area of research.
