The Spanish government is asking for the public’s views on its proposed flavoured vapes ban.
The ban is part of the new ‘Anti-Tobacco Plan,’ which aims to limit products that cause a risk to young people’s health and are a ‘gateway’ to smoking.
The royal decree, which opened to public consultation on Thursday, proposes a ban on all flavoured vapes except tobacco. It also aims to regulate the labelling of vapes that do not contain nicotine.
These vapes would be required to carry a label listing all ingredients, and health warnings indicating that their consumption is harmful to health. Their packaging would need to include a leaflet with information on contraindications (situations where the product should not be used) and possible negative side effects.
Under the new plan, cigarettes and other tobacco products will also be subject to tighter rules, including higher taxes and mandatory plain packaging.
The legislation contains measures to expand the number of places where smoking is banned and put vapers on the same footing as conventional smokers.
There is also a recommendation that smoking should not be allowed in vehicles carrying children or pregnant women.
How to take part
If you would like to take part in the public consultation, send your views - which could include how flavoured vapes have helped you to quit smoking - to informacion_publica@sanidad.gob.es. The subject of your email must be “DG/87/24 CONTRIBUTIONS” followed by your name or your organisation. The deadline for submissions is December 13, 2024.
Concern of black market boom
There is concern among anti-smoking campaigners and vape advocates that the latest rules will lead to a surge in unregulated black market products, and potentially higher smoking rates.
Last month, illegal vapes worth €1.55 million on the black market were seized by police in Seville - one of the largest seizures of illegal vapes ever seen in Spain.
In Spain, more than a half a million people vape, according to Knowledge-Action-Change’s recent Global State of Harm Reduction report. This equates to around 1.3 percent of the adult population, which is only about a quarter of France’s vaping rate.
Spain’s high smoking rate
However, Spain’s smoking rate is fairly high, at almost 28 percent of the adult population - more than 11 million people. More than 57,000 people in Spain die from smoking-related disease annually.
Meanwhile, countries such as Sweden and New Zealand, which encourage the use of vapes as an alternative to cigarettes have seen smoking rates plummet, along with tobacco-related health issues.
Earlier this month, Sweden became the first country in the world to be officially declared ‘smoke free’ (where the smoking rate is less than five per cent).
Vaping advocates argue that the proposed new rules in Spain - particularly the ban on flavours - will cost lives as smokers will find it harder to quit the more dangerous habit.
Recent research shows that flavoured vaping products are far more effective as a switching tool for smokers than those that are traditional tobacco flavoured. Most adult vapers who have stopped smoking successfully say they prefer non-tobacco flavours.
