EU greenlights ‘reckless’ vape ban in defiance of WHO mandate to reduce tobacco harm

International health experts have condemned the European Commission’s approval of a “reckless” Bulgarian ban on disposable e-cigarettes, warning that the move will drive smokers back to deadly combustible tobacco and undermine global public health commitments.

The legislation, which outlaws the marketing, sale and distribution of disposable vapes, has been approved despite growing evidence that safer nicotine alternatives play a critical role in helping smokers to quit.

Dr Delon Human, leader of Smoke Free Sweden, said the decision was “deeply irresponsible and dangerously out of step with both science and international health policy”.

“Disposable vapes are often the most accessible and affordable entry point for smokers, particularly those on lower incomes, who are trying to move away from cigarettes,” said Dr Human. “Removing these products from the market does not eliminate nicotine use, it simply pushes people back to smoking deadly cigarettes or into unregulated markets. That is a direct threat to public health.”

Smoke Free Sweden warned that the ban contradicts the principles of the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which explicitly recognises harm reduction as a key pillar of tobacco control.

“The WHO’s own treaty calls on governments to reduce harm,” Dr Human said. “Policies that treat all nicotine products the same – regardless of their vastly different risk profiles – defy that mandate and cost lives.”

He added that Sweden’s success in reducing smoking rates to among the lowest in Europe has been driven by the widespread availability of safer alternatives.

“Europe should be learning from Sweden’s success story,” said Dr Human. “Instead, Brussels is endorsing a ban that will entrench cigarette use among the most vulnerable, thereby widening health inequalities and reversing progress on smoking-related disease.”

Smoke Free Sweden called on EU policymakers to urgently reconsider their approach and adopt risk-proportionate regulation that supports smokers in switching to less harmful alternatives.

“Every policy decision in tobacco control should be judged by a simple test: does it reduce smoking?” said Dr Human. “This one clearly does the opposite.”