I seem to use the phrase anti-vaping a lot and now according to the results from the ETHRA EU Nicotine Users Survey you can add the European Union to the growing list of the dangerously ignorant.

In fact it’s not just vaping and e-cigarettes the EU is anti over either, with SNUS and nicotine pouches on its hit list, ETHRA says the results of the survey shows the EU is anti harm reduction putting the lives of millions at risk.

Among other worrying findings, the survey found that should the EU ban flavoured e-liquids or bring in a total vape ban – 28% of vapers would return to smoking whilst 71% would consider buying vape juice and kits from the black market…and we know how that could end.

37,000 people took part in the survey and the results are clear – 27,000 smokers say they were able to stub out lit tobacco for good thanks to vaping and SNUS.

ETHRA says the numbers don’t lie adding:

…83.5% of vapers, and 73.7% of snus users had successfully stopped smoking.

That’s an incredible set of figures, yet still the EU is seriously considering if not a total vape ban, penalizing vapers and those looking to quit by over taxing e-cigarettes and SNUS.

ETHRA says:

The results of our survey show that if the European Union were to impose overall population restrictions similar to those experienced in repressive countries in terms of taxation and/or flavour bans, it is likely that a very large proportion of consumers would seek alternative sources to the legal market.

As I said, ban vaping and the black market beckons…

ETHRA Nicotine Users Survey – Too Many Barriers

European smokers say the lack of availability and clear information on vaping and SNUS is another barrier to successful quit attempts.

31% of smokers say if the EU wide ban on SNUS was lifted, they would consider using it.

As it stands now Sweden is the only EU country where SNUS is legal and it has an almost smokefree populace.

It’s the high price of vape gear and e-liquids that’s also stopping smokers making the switch – hence the call to stop the overly high taxation.

ETHRA says:

…smoking remains the predominant way of consuming nicotine in Europe.

More than 67% of the current smokers who responded to our survey want to quit, but, as our report shows, they face barriers in their desire to be smoke-free.

The lack of availability of low-risk nicotine products presents a major obstacle to consumers wishing to quit smoking.

The EU ban on the sale of snus (except for in Sweden), illustrates this barrier, with 31% of current smokers indicating that they would be interested in trying snus if its sale was legalised in the EU.

A quarter (24.3%) of those who smoke but who want to quit cited the high price of safer alternatives as a barrier to quitting smoking.

This number rises to 44.7% in countries with a high tax on vaping products (Estonia, Finland and Portugal).

It’s really quite simple, lower the tax on vape products and more smokers will quit…it’s not rocket science is it?

And if the EU is as concerned about deaths and illnesses from smoking, as it says it is – it would do just that…

Answers in the comments as to why this concept is too difficult from them to grasp…

Remove 10ml Bottles and Raise the Nicotine Levels

Another key finding from the ETHRA Nicotine Users Survey is the need to raise the current TPD nicotine limit of 20mg.

On the back of that, vapers say they’d use less e-liquid, smokers say they’d be more likely to quit and it would help dual users quit lit tobacco faster.

And of course, scrapping the ridiculous 10ml bottle rule would save on all that plastic waste most of us are sick of.

ETHRA says:

24.1% of vapers declared that they would consume less e-liquid if the EU increased the nicotine concentration limit.

59.6% declare that it would not change anything for them.

Among dual users (people who vape and smoke), 30.3% think they could quit smoking completely if the nicotine limit was raised in the EU – A recent study, published in the Lancet, supports this idea.

One thing that’s always niggled me about shortfills is IF the EU had been keen to reduce the amount of ‘dangerous‘ [lol] nicotine sloshing about, it shot itself in the foot as there’s more of it about than ever!

Anyway…not sure the e-liquid manufacturers would be happy seeing less sales if vapers were to pull back on the volumes they were buying.

I’m actually quite easy on the 20mg ceiling – hey come for me lol.

The truth is the ETHRA Nicotine Users Survey suggests the same with MORE vapers using LOWER nicotine levels.

ETHRA says:

More consumption of e-liquid automatically increases the share of the residual low-risks related to vaping for consumers.

The 10 ml volume limit in the TPD has no health justification. Furthermore, small bottles are more easily handled and increase the risk of accidental ingestion by small children.

We strongly recommend abolishing the volume limit on nicotine e-liquids to allow a return to lower e-liquid consumption.

As for shortfills, there has been a rumbling for quite some time in some quarters that they should be banned – ETHRA itself shows that vapers can save up to 50% cost by buying 50ml shortfills and adding a nic shot.

However, the results of this survey seems to suggest scrapping the 10ml bottle rule would mean less vapers buying those zero nic shortfills…good news for the e-liquid manufacturers…

Final Thoughts

It’s definitely trying times for vaping in the EU and even here in the UK.

As the EU considers the latest revision of the Tobacco Excise Directive [TED] – in other words raising the tax on vaping, the answers given in this survey should give them food for thought.

However, despite pronouncing itself as ‘listening to the people‘ time and time again they’ve proven they really don’t and ETHRA makes that very clear:

For several years, consumers of safer nicotine products have patiently and civically participated in public consultations from European bodies.

Their views have unfortunately been treated mainly with condescension.

The large participation in the ETHRA survey appears to be an urgent demand from the concerned public to be listened to by the European authorities.

With the EU sucking up to the anti-vaping World Health Organization it’s the voice of health professionals, vapers and harm reduction advocacy groups that must be heard.

If not, the faceless un-elected mandarins are on course to play a hand in the deaths of millions if not billions of smokers.

As to if the EU will listen, I doubt it…but that shouldn’t stop us all from pushing the harm reduction message far and wide.

Read more: THE EU NICOTINE USERS SURVEY 2020 The EU residents report

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