{"id":25250,"date":"2025-07-04T08:46:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-04T08:46:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/?p=25250"},"modified":"2025-07-04T08:46:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-04T08:46:19","slug":"vapes-risk-renormalising-smoking-claims-major-new-who-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/post\/vapes-risk-renormalising-smoking-claims-major-new-who-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Vapes risk \u201crenormalising\u201d smoking, claims major new WHO report"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"clear-before-content-2\" style=\"margin-top: 20px;margin-bottom: 20px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\" id=\"clear-3822440994\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.broughton-group.com\/nicotine?utm_campaign=43296353-Clearing%20the%20Air%20PPC%20Campaign%20-%202026&#038;utm_source=ppc&#038;utm_medium=Paid%20Ads\" aria-label=\"728 x 90 (2)\"><img src=\"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/728-x-90-2.png\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/728-x-90-2.png 728w, https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/728-x-90-2-300x37.png 300w, https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/728-x-90-2-370x46.png 370w, https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/728-x-90-2-600x74.png 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px\" width=\"728\" height=\"90\"  style=\"display: inline-block;\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>WHO says vapes risk \u201crenormalising smoking behaviour,\u201d particularly among youth<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The 2025 report warns newer nicotine products may reverse public health gains<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Vapes are described as \u201caddictive and harmful,\u201d and linked to increased cigarette uptake<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Harm reduction advocates accuse WHO and BMJ of uncritical, misleading framing<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that the use of vapes risks &#8220;renormalising smoking behaviour,&#8221; especially among young people, in a sweeping new report on global tobacco control.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Harm reduction experts have criticised the agency\u2019s framing, calling it misleading, unscientific and potentially counterproductive to public health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/40555425\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic<\/a>, 2025 states: \u201cThe use of ENDS risks renormalising smoking behaviour, especially among younger populations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It argues that the growing popularity of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), such as vapes, may undermine the successes of smoke-free environment policies that have helped reduce smoking rates in recent decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u2018No proven net benefit\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The report claims: \u201cE-cigarettes are often promoted as a less harmful alternative to conventional cigarettes; however, to date, the commercialisation of e-cigarettes has not been proven to have had a net benefit for public health.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The WHO says vapes, which heat a liquid to produce an inhalable aerosol, \u201care addictive and harmful\u201d and increase \u201cconventional cigarette uptake, particularly among non-smoking youth.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The report also expresses concern that vapes are marketed using tactics that target children and adolescents, including the use of flavours and social media campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>WHO urges countries to ban or regulate vapes<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The agency encourages countries to either ban the sale of vapes or regulate them heavily, including through flavour bans, health warnings, and age restrictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, harm reduction advocates have sharply criticised the WHO\u2019s position.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Clive Bates, former director of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and a long-time proponent of tobacco harm reduction, responded: \u201cAn alternative to cigarettes that displaces smoking risks, renormalising smoking? Hmmm\u2026 how does that work? Vapes have normalised quitting smoking by creating an alternative.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bates also criticised the British Medical Journal (BMJ)\u2019s coverage of the report. While the WHO\u2019s 315-page formal report focuses primarily on the implementation of tobacco health warnings, the BMJ\u2019s article only highlighted the agency\u2019s claims about vaping, including off-script remarks made at a recent conference in Dublin.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bates said: \u201cThough the main theme of the report is on the uptake of health warnings, the BMJ chose to emphasise comments on vaping.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe remarks reported by BMJ do not appear in the report or press release, but appear to have been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/global-development\/2025\/jun\/23\/smoking-vapes-tobacco-industry-world-health-organization-gains-dangers-global-health\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">ranted from the podium<\/a> by unaccountable WHO officials at the World Conference on Tobacco Control in Dublin.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He added: \u201cThe news reporter &#8211; or rather, stenographer &#8211; at BMJ applies zero critical appraisal to WHO\u2019s statements and seeks no alternative perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>ENDS could \u2018reverse\u2019 public health gains<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The WHO report calls on governments to protect public health by restricting access to ENDS, especially among young people, and warns that without action, \u201cnewer nicotine and tobacco products\u201d could reverse progress made over the past two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But critics argue that such a stance fails to adequately consider the role of safer nicotine alternatives in helping smokers quit, and may ultimately keep more people smoking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>WHO under fire from health advocates<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The report comes after the WHO\u2019s top boss <a href=\"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/post\/who-boss-slammed-for-tobacco-kills-claim-critics-say-hes-spreading-dangerous-misinformation\/\">came under fire<\/a> in May for declaring that \u201ctobacco kills no matter how it is packaged.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Health experts and harm reduction advocates said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus\u2019s comment ignored decades of research showing that not all tobacco and nicotine products carry the same risks.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The statement was made in a pre-recorded presentation to a webinar celebrating \u201cWorld No Tobacco Day\u201d.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In March, the WHO\u2019s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) &#8211; a landmark treaty intended to reduce the global toll of smoking &#8211; marked its 20th anniversary in February.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A leading <a href=\"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/post\/20-years-on-the-who-tobacco-treaty-is-failing-those-who-need-it-most-says-global-health-expert\/\">global health expert warned<\/a> that far from stamping out the scourge of smoking, the framework is \u201cfailing those who need it most,\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr Delon Human, an author, family physician and expert in tobacco harm reduction, said: \u201c..after two decades of costly FCTC influence and activities, the reality is grim: smoking still kills 8.5 million people annually, and more than 1.2 billion people continue to use tobacco.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhile some countries have made progress, many low and middle income regions have seen minimal improvement.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"clear-after-content\" style=\"margin-top: 20px;margin-bottom: 20px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\" id=\"clear-3142830957\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.broughton-group.com\/nicotine?utm_campaign=43296353-Clearing%20the%20Air%20PPC%20Campaign%20-%202026&#038;utm_source=ppc&#038;utm_medium=Paid%20Ads\" aria-label=\"728 x 90 (2)\"><img src=\"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/728-x-90-2.png\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/728-x-90-2.png 728w, https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/728-x-90-2-300x37.png 300w, https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/728-x-90-2-370x46.png 370w, https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/728-x-90-2-600x74.png 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px\" width=\"728\" height=\"90\"  style=\"display: inline-block;\" \/><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that the use of vapes risks &#8220;renormalising smoking behaviour,&#8221; especially among young people, in a sweeping new report on global tobacco control.&nbsp; Harm reduction experts have criticised the agency\u2019s framing, calling it misleading, unscientific and&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":990002,"featured_media":25251,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[257,259],"tags":[27,334,25,186],"slider":[],"class_list":["post-25250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-science","tag-article","tag-global","tag-news","tag-nicotine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/990002"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25250"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25258,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25250\/revisions\/25258"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25250"},{"taxonomy":"slider","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/slider?post=25250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}