The European Commission said on Wednesday it wanted to ban the sale of all flavored heated tobacco products as part of its goal to reduce tobacco consumption to 5% of the bloc’s population by 2040.
Sales of heated tobacco have exploded in Europe. From 2018 to 2020, sales of heated cigarettes rose from 924 million to 19.7 billion, an increase of more than 2,000%, according to a Commission report in June.
Soaring sales rates and the fact that these products now exceed 2.5% of total tobacco product sales provide the conditions for EU action.
Heated tobacco products allow people to smoke a form of cigarette at a lower temperature than regular cigarettes, which reduces the level of toxins compared to combustion.
Nevertheless, they carry serious health risks associated with the consumption of tobacco and nicotine, as well as other cancer-causing chemicals.
“With nine out of 10 lung cancers caused by tobacco, we want to make smoking as unappealing as possible to protect the health of our citizens and save lives,” said Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides.
As part of Europe’s plan to fight cancer, the EU wants to reduce tobacco consumption to 5% or less by 2040.
“Stronger actions to reduce tobacco consumption, stricter enforcement and keeping pace with new developments to cope with the relentless flow of new products entering the market – particularly important to protect young people – are essential for this”, added Kyriakides.
This is a trend that can also be observed across the Atlantic. Last week, the US Food and Drug Administration banned the sale of Juul flavored vapes, arguing that there was too little data on the toxicity of these products, which contain nicotine.
The Council and the Parliament will debate the Commission’s proposal before it enters into force 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal. EU countries will have eight months to transpose the directive into national law, and a further three months before the provisions apply.
politico Gt