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Global Vape Alliance Conference 2023. Photo credit: IEVA
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IEVA’s Dustin Dahlmann (center) on a panel at the UKVIA Forum 2023 in London. Photo credit: IEVA
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Aron Byrne-Carter. Photo credit: NGP Trends
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The IEVA board at InterTabac 2023. Photo credit: IEVA
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Innokin booth at the World Vape Show in Dubai, 2023. Photo credit: Innokin Technology
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Tao Cui, director of innovation, strategy and compliance at Innokin Technology. Photo credit: Innokin Technology
After uber-legislating tobacco, regulators now seem to be honing in on vaping.
Following the emergence of the first vape devices a little over 2 decades ago, they were almost universally feted by stakeholders as “the world’s best opportunity for forever banishing the big demon, tobacco” – or some other melodramatic words to that effect. Unsure how to handle them, regulators and healthcare authorities grappled with assessing the claimed reduced risk properties of these new nicotine delivery devices. Of course, some voices at the time warned that vaping eventually could become subject to the same stringent regulations as conventional tobacco products, a notion that all too many in the burgeoning industry dismissed as unsubstantiated. However, fast forward to the present and it is undeniably clear that exactly that scenario is happening all around the world. Country after country has introduced more or less crippling regulations while a good dozen others have plans in the pipeline to do so in the near future.
Eye-opening figures
Research conducted by Tobacco Asia yielded eye-opening results. Of the presently 195 independent countries and autonomous territories recognized by the United Nations, a whopping 16 have imposed complete bans on vaping, a handful of them even treating personal possession as a criminal offense. Another 28 countries have issued partial bans, outlawing import, local manufacture, sale, promotion, marketing, advertising, or distribution in one constellation or another. Although the devices themselves may not be illegal per se in those nations, the partial restrictions often pan out as nothing short of a de-facto complete ban. If local consumers are free to use vape devices but are actually unable to purchase them anywhere or bring them into the country from abroad, then… well, you get the picture. A total 19 nations have enacted comprehensive public vaping bans, disallowing the use of devices pretty much everywhere except within one’s own four walls. And then there presently are 6 countries which have banned all e-flavors except tobacco flavor. All considered, it is glaringly obvious that a growing number of nations are now treating vaping in precisely the same way as conventional tobacco smoking - if not worse in many instances.
Bans are spreading
One particularly ludicrous situation is that in practically all countries where vaping is completely or partially banned, combustible tobacco products generally speaking remain perfectly legal. “Of course, [it] is absurd if the more harmful product can continue to be sold and the harm-reduced alternatives are banned,” agreed Dustin Dahlmann, president of the Brussels-based Independent European Vape Alliance (IEVA; eurovape.eu). Even Bhutan, once the only country on earth where cigarettes were totally forbidden, has since legalized them… but not vaping. The latest country to impose an almost complete vaping ban was Venezuela, on August 1, 2023. This effectively means that out of 18 Central and South American nations, 8 now uphold more or less severe bans. The landscape is not looking any better in Southeast Asia or in the Middle East, where most countries are enacting either total or partial bans.
A matter of semantics?
Despite all that, Dustin Dahlmann did “not want to speak of a trend.” Interestingly, Dahlmann’s surprising view was echoed by Aron Byrne-Carter, managing director of UK-based NGP Trends (ngptrends.com), who told Tobacco Asia, “I would be reluctant to say that there is an anti-vape trend, but would need to see a dramatic decrease in sales, which right now I am not seeing.” It’s a curious stance nonetheless. After all, the on-the-ground fact is that presently 68 countries out of 195 are imposing vape bans of one or another description while regulators in a good dozen more nations are in the starting blocks to do exactly that. Dahlmann and Byrne-Carter are of course not denying that vape bans of various sorts exist, but the question in the room is: “How much more must happen before a trend is being acknowledged as such?” Should a stock investor become anxious if 68 of his or her total 195 stocks have already plunged while another 12 show signs of weakening? Of course, the answer should be “yes.”
Influential factors at play
Regardless whether globally spreading vape restrictions ought to be labeled as a “trend” or not, Byrne-Carter said that he thought several influential factors were being at play, unfortunately affecting adult smokers “who frequently are overlooked in these discussions.” Regulators often lacked a “one-source-of-truth” to refer to when drafting vape legislation, he said. He also readily admitted that he was indeed worried about the increasing number of vape regulations around the globe. “If adult smokers want to quit nicotine, then what options will they have if safer alternatives are banned?” Byrne-Carter’s peer Dustin Dahlmann offered the additional opinion that it also was the WHO's dismissive attitude towards harm reduction in tobacco use which encouraged some countries to introduce strict vaping restrictions of their own. “Given the clear evidence of the reduced harm and greater potential of e-cigarettes for tobacco cessation, IEVA calls for this very good alternative not to be subjected to unduly strict restrictions, as this would only discourage [tobacco] smokers from switching to vaping,” he said.
Some beef with the EU
Dahlmann also took issue with the European Union (EU), describing the current vaping situation in the EU as "inconsistent". He said that although the Tobacco Products Directive [TPD] is a "generally good instrument for regulating e-cigarettes in the EU, some countries have gone further on their own and introduced significant restrictions". For example, some member states have imposed a ban on flavors, most recently the Netherlands. "This significantly limits the potential of vaping for smoking cessation," he said. Nevertheless, Dahlmann paid tribute to those EU countries that "have introduced much less restrictive regulations and have largely understood what e-cigarettes can do for public health". He expected the inconsistent situation to be addressed in an upcoming revision of the TPD, but also warned that a prerequisite for constructive policy is the consideration of scientific evidence. "This must be the basis for political decisions."
Protecting youth at the expense of adults
General e-flavor bans are at the very core of the entire debate concerning youth protection. However, laws already prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes to minors anyway, thus a universal ban that affects everybody, including adult consumers, seems too harsh. “We know that flavors are not one of the main reasons for young people to try out e-cigarettes, but it's more about curiosity and group behavior,” said Dustin Dahlmann. If local authorities were only to better enforce the already existing youth protection acts and impose stiffer penalties on irresponsible retailers, it would be a big step in the right direction. Flavor bans or not, the numbers of young vapers remain very low compared to young tobacco smokers. “Flavor bans,” pointed out Dahlmann, invariably had “the effect of making e-cigarettes significantly less attractive to adult smokers and therefore do not help reduce smoking rates.” Aron Byrne-Carter agreed with this point of view. He said that it could be argued that by the same merit alcopops with their fruity, sweet flavors and appealing colors also appealed to youths... yet are not banned for everybody. “We must remember that some of the sweeter vape flavors can actually help certain adult smokers make the transition, because they do not want the familiarity of a cigarette in their alternative product.”
Unwittingly creating a black market
Then, of course, there is the not so slight issue of extensive vape bans playing into the hands of the black market, and indeed fostering it. One vivid example for this is Australia, which follows an unreasonably restrictive e-cigarette policy. The Land Down Under largely bans the import of nicotine-containing e-liquids, which can only be obtained from pharmacies against a medical prescription. However, according to a colinmendelsohn.com.au report from March, 2023, only 8% of Australia's 1.3 million vapers actually do have a prescription for nicotine e-liquids, while the other 92% resort to buying their products through illegal channels. “This has been a boon to organized crime groups in Australia and created a thriving black market, which also gives young people easy access to questionable products of unknown quality,” claimed Dahlmann. He added that a similar development could be observed in practically all countries that impose such bans or significantly restrict vaping.
Demand will continue despite all bans
On the other hand, Aron Byrne-Carter identified a wholly surprising side effect brought forth by these sorts of restrictions. They have helped increase demand for other, non-vapor-producing nicotine products, such as nicotine pouches, in markets like the UK and Japan where they previously were almost unknown. “We have seen quite a large uptake in the use of nicotine pouches over the last few years, as adult smokers needed options that provide a discreet and convenient nicotine experience in workplaces, on public transport and so on,” Byrne-Carter explained. But in the end, he said, demand for vape products was going to continue, potentially strengthening illegal sales even further. “But this would be extremely dangerous as [illicit] products would likely not meet the same safety and quality standards as legal vapes,” he warned. Meanwhile, Dustin Dahlmann concluded his Tobacco Asia interview with a most passionate statement: “Vaping is still the best way to achieve tobacco cessation. Nothing will change that. We are positive about the future. The evidence in favor of e-cigarettes is enormous, and these facts will prevail.” Now… if legislators only would lend an ear.
China in the maelstrom
The other major stakeholder in this whole saga is China, of course. The country is undeniably the world’s most important innovator, manufacturer and exporter of the latest vaping technologies. But with nation after nation falling under the sway of tougher regulations, it is a constant tightrope walk for the myriad of Chinese companies, like Shenzhen-based Innokin Technology (innokin.com). To keep their heads above water in markets such as the EU and US, it is critical for firms like Innokin to maintain close communication and collaboration with local regulators, associations, law firms and customers alike. “Investing in compliance is not only for the growth of each individual business, but also to preserve the credibility of our industry as a whole,” insisted Tao Cui, Innokin’s director of innovation, strategy, and compliance, during a recent interview with Tobacco Asia. “By demonstrating a sincere effort, we increase the likelihood that policy makers will see the potential of vaping as a tobacco harm reduction tool,” he said.
EU laws to affect many Chinese firms
The European Union’s single-use plastics directive (SUPD) as well as the soon-to-come-into-force single-use battery directive, which will outlaw all non-rechargeable batteries, are going to affect Chinese manufacturers of disposable vapes in particular. But although these policies will have a significant impact on both product development and manufacturing practices, they likely also will lead to greener solutions. “At Innokin, we see this as an opportunity for the industry to come together and look at new ways to create life changing products with a reduced environmental footprint,” asserted Tao Cui. That may hold true for firms like Innokin, whose core business for the past decade was centered on refillable, reusable devices with long life cycles. However, the two directives are going to deal a mighty blow to those outfits whose product focus is on disposables. In the end, they will just have to bite a bullet if they want to remain in business.
Health goals will win out in the long term
Tao Cui nevertheless acknowledged that each country had the right to take its very own approach to regulating the industry. “As a result of that, we observe a broad spectrum of policies [in the world], ranging from progressive frameworks like in the UK, where the government is implementing its ‘swap to stop’ program to supply 1 million smokers with vaping devices, to more restrictive policies such as those in the Netherlands, which has now banned flavored vaping products altogether,” he elaborated. However, he also said that from its very beginning vaping had always been overshadowed by skepticism, adding that from his own observations this sentiment had only grown over the past two years. While it was laborsome to stay compliant, Tao Cui expressed his belief that public health goals will win out in the long term, thus allow the vaping industry to become a permanent part of the global tobacco harm reduction toolkit. Whether that is going to pan out… only time will tell.
See: List of Countries with Partial or Full Vape Ban