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https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/jun/23/smoking-vapes-tobacco-industry-world-health-organization-gains-dangers-global-health>
"Aggressively marketed vapes threaten to undo progress made on smoking control,
according to the World Health Organization.
Officials, speaking at the World Conference on Tobacco Control in Dublin, said
efforts were stalling when it came to helping tobacco users to quit,
campaigning in the media on the dangers, and imposing higher taxes on tobacco
products. Young people were particularly vulnerable, it added.
Countries should consider extending the graphic health warnings already
required on cigarette packets to vapes or e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products
and nicotine pouches, the WHO said.
In many countries, tobacco products had become more affordable in the past
decade, the report said, despite a WHO recommendation that cigarettes should be
taxed at 75%. While cigarettes became less affordable in 46 countries, they
became more affordable in 42 others, including 23 low or middle-income
countries.
In 133 countries, vapes and similar devices are now regulated in some way – up
from only eight in 2007. However, 62 countries apply no regulations at all. The
extent of regulation varies, with almost 90% of wealthier countries either
regulating or banning sales, compared with 66% of middle-income and only 27% of
poor countries.
In the UK, disposable vapes were banned this month in a bid to prevent young
people using them and on environmental grounds.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director general, said: “Twenty years since
the adoption of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, we have many
successes to celebrate, but the tobacco industry continues to evolve and so
must we.”
The report highlights nicotine pouches and heated tobacco products, as well as
vapes, as examples of new products. Dr Rüdiger Krech, the WHO’s director of
health promotion, said they were “aggressively marketed in ways that undermine
hard-won public health gains”.
He said national regulators could not be expected to deal with an onslaught of
“thousands” of new products, which represented an attempt by tobacco companies
to focus attention away from their “major business” of traditional tobacco.
He added, however, that it was “hugely important to regulate these new
products, because they are attracting children and young people to actually use
nicotine, and that’s with the addiction that it brings”, which he said would
lead to tobacco use. Data is not available for all countries, but surveys
suggest about 6% of children aged 13 to 15 use e-cigarettes."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
