The electronic cigarette lobby has already begun to organise in view of the revision of the Tobacco Products Directive (2014/40/EU) which could take place as early as next year. On Monday 5 October, the Independent European Vape Alliance (IEVA) organised a seminar which focused on the recent preliminary Opinion of the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER).
During the webinar, criticism was levelled at this Opinion, described as “calamitous” by pro-electronic cigarette activist Clive Bates. For his part, the President of IEVA, Dustin Dahlmann, regretted the very limited time and lack of room for stakeholders to comment on this Opinion. Published on 23 September, the SCHEER Opinion is open for consultation until 23 October 2020.
SCHEER’s Opinion
Overall, SCHEER’s preliminary Opinion, which is based mainly on data collected between 2015 and 2019, unravels the vape lobby’s argument that the electronic cigarette represents an alternative to smoking, or even an effective tool to quit smoking.
For SCHEER, in fact, “there is strong evidence that electronic cigarettes are a gateway to smoking for young people. There is also strong evidence that nicotine in e-liquids is implicated in the development of addiction and that flavours have a relevant contribution for attractiveness of use of electronic cigarette and initiation [to smoking]”. The Scientific Committee goes on to say that there is little evidence that vaping is actually effective in quitting smoking with “weak to moderate” evidence that it leads to a reduction in smoking.
The preliminary Opinion also analyses the health risks for smokers and their families. SCHEER refers to “moderate risk” of respiratory tract irritation for heavy smokers and “moderate risk” for passive smokers. It identifies a “strong” risk of long-term systemic effects on the cardiovascular system of smokers and a “weak to moderate” risk to those around them. It does not comment on other long-term effects, such as pulmonary, nervous system or reprotoxic diseases due to lack of relevant data.
TPD revision under preparation
The prevalence of current use of the electronic cigarette varies, depending on the EU Member States, between 0.2% and 27% of the population. The proportion of young people doubled between 2012 and 2017, reaching 14.6% in that year.
As a reminder, the 2014 TPD Directive tackles the safety, quality, information gathering and consumer protection aspects of e-cigarettes. It also sets out requirements for liquids containing nicotine, including a ban on certain additives.
Article 28 of the Directive provides for an implementation report, with further proposals if necessary by 20 May 2021.
Link to the consultation: https://bit.ly/33uNi4g (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)