Published 2024-09-06
Last update 2025-02-21
Vape Flavour Bans Could Increase Smoking
Vape flavours will be on the agenda as the Tobacco and Vapes Bill makes it way through Parliament and the House of Lords to become law.
A major focus of discussion has been the prevention of youth uptake and the potential role of flavours.
Unfortunately, the default position for many of those in favour of banning flavours is that this will be the magic bullet that eliminates or reduces the recruitment of non-vapers, in particular youth.
Restricting Flavours Increases Smoking
Real world experience, however, shows that the consequences of vape flavour bans are unpredictable, with several studies having already shown that the effect of banning flavours can be to drive people back to smoking.
A new study, using a dataset involving 376,963 young adults in the US, would seem to confirm this.
This study investigated how policies restricting the sale of flavoured vapes in the US affected smoking rates and cigarette smoking.
"While the intended outcome was to reduce vaping, there was an unintentional increase in cigarette smoking, which will have serious consequences for those individuals who started smoking and, potentially, serious consequences for the population by offsetting any public health gains,"
Professor Peter Hajek, Director of the Health and Lifestyle Research Unit at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), agreed, calling flavour bans ‘misguided.’
“Smokers of all ages prefer vapes with non-tobacco flavours,” he said. “Regulations need to make sure that concerns about very hypothetical future risks of youth vaping do not trump concerns about the very real and present risks of adult smoking.”
He also pointed out that smoking rates are at an all-time low, and many vapers are “would-be smokers.” Despite claims made in a report by the British Medical Association (BMA), Hajek highlighted that “vaping is less addictive than smoking.”
Vapers Need Flavours
Flavours play a crucial role in helping smokers switch to vaping. A study in Canada, published by the Public Health Agency of Canada, found that most smokers looking to quit used fruit-flavoured vapes in their latest quit attempt. The study’s authors concluded that flavour bans would hinder smokers’ attempts to quit.
Professor Lion Shahab, Co-Director of the UCL Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group, echoed this concern. “Flavours are important to adults switching from cigarettes to e-cigarettes, not just to youth,” he said. “An outright flavour ban could increase smoking, which has happened in the US where flavour bans were introduced.”
Shahab emphasised the need for balanced regulation.
"We must be mindful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater and should focus on regulations that can achieve their stated aims without discouraging smokers who are struggling to quit."
A Sensible Approach to UK Regulations
Dr Marina Murphy called for a measured response to the issue.
“We need a sensible approach to flavours in the UK,” she said. “We know that flavour can be the most important attribute when vapers are making a product choice, so it is not surprising that banning them can have such drastic consequences. There are almost 6 million vapers in the UK, the vast majority of whom are current or former smokers, and the vast majority of them use flavoured products.”
The UK Tobacco and Vapes Bill was introduced into Parliament in March 2024 and its progress through the House of Parliament is part of a formal process before any new laws on nicotine-containing products like vapes can come into effect.
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