Tag: Independent European Vape Alliance

Spain Urged to Keep Vape Flavors Legal

Photo: nyker
The Independent European Vape Alliance (IEVA) has asked Spain to refrain from banning flavored vapes.
According to the group, the proposed measure presents several risks.
“The effective ban of e-liquids in the Spanish market will lead to a boom in black market activities with dangerous, non–compliant products,” the IEVA wrote in a statement.
In addition, the group warned, it will cause a rise in smoking rates and put at risk more than 3,000 jobs in the Spanish vaping industry, leading to a reduction in government revenues by reducing tax collection.
The IEVA shared its concerns in a contribution to the public consultation that is currently underway.
May 11, 2024
IEVA Urges Lithuania to Reconsider Vape Flavor Ban

Photo: rh2010
The Independent European Vape Alliance (IEVA) has called on Lithuania to reconsider a proposed ban on key e-liquid ingredients, including sweeteners.
The country’s Draft Law No XIVP-2791(2) amending Article 9(2) of Law No I-1143 on the control of tobacco, tobacco products and related products proposes a “ban on placing on the market e-cigarettes and e-cigarette fillers with liquid adapted for filling electronic cigarettes if this liquid contains sugar and/or sweeteners.”
In comments submitted under the EU Technical Regulations Information System, IEVA warns that the measure will encourage the illicit trade, boost smoking rates, jeopardize employment and lower government revenues due to reduced vape tax collections.
According to the alliance, the draft law shows a lack of understanding of the technical and chemical characteristics of e-cigarettes, as well as a disregard for the negative consequences for Lithuania’s public health and for the country’s vaping small and medium-sized enterprises.
“Banning sugar and sweetener chemicals, which are necessary for the manufacturing of e-liquids, will lead to a quasi-ban of e-cigarettes,” the IEVA wrote in a statement. “It will lead to a boom in black market sales of dangerous products and to a surge of tobacco smoking by depriving smokers of a less harmful alternative. Finally, this measure, not justified by any scientific evidence, is bound to be ineffective in addressing its purported goal of limiting young people’s access to vaping.”
The group encourages the Lithuanian government to adopt measures adapted to the pursued aim and based on thorough scientific evidence.
October 27, 2023
New Global Vape Alliance to Boost Unity in Industry
Photo IEVA
A new Global Vape Alliance has been announced at the InterTabac Trade Fair in Dortmund, Germany, alongside a declaration to foster collaboration, promote responsible practices and champion the cause of harm reduction in the vaping industry.
The Global Vape Alliance brings together major international vaping bodies including the Electronic Cigarette Industry Committee of the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce (ECCC), the U.S. Vapor Technology Association (VTA), the U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) and the Independent European Vape Alliance (IEVA).
The declaration aims to underscore the power of unity within the vaping industry. By coming together under its umbrella, industry leaders will commit to effecting responsible and positive change on a global scale, thereby signifying a new era in the industry’s dedication to public health, environmental sustainability and the well-being of smokers seeking alternatives to traditional tobacco products.
Key highlights of the Global Vape Alliance declaration include:
Regulatory Compliance: The alliance will facilitate the sharing of best practices to ensure member companies adhere to existing laws, regulations and industry standards, with a strong focus on responsible marketing and protecting youth.
Industry Promotion: The alliance aims to elevate the vaping industry’s professionalism, importance and sustainability by fostering communication among industry stakeholders and encouraging technological innovation.
Public Health: Emphasizing harm reduction, the alliance will actively promote the adoption of vaping products among conventional smokers to reduce harm, while openly providing information about their impact on physical health.
Environment Protection: In pursuit of a greener future, the alliance will advocate for eco-friendly strategies, promote recycling, low-carbon design and urge compliance with environmental laws.
Our goal is clear—to make a significant impact on public health, support those looking to quit smoking and contribute to a sustainable, environmentally friendly future.
Dustin Dahlmann, president, IEVA
The Global Vape Alliance firmly believes that unity and cooperation within the vaping industry can lead to a world without smoking.
“Our goal is clear—to make a significant impact on public health, support those looking to quit smoking and contribute to a sustainable, environmentally friendly future. With this declaration, we are combining the international forces of the industry to achieve important goals for the benefit of consumers,” said Dustin Dahlmann, president of the IEVA.
“The signing of the declaration, as I believe, will guide the global vaping industry to the future of healthy development and prosperity. In this regard, ECCC will continue to deepen the cooperation with other partners,” said ECCC Secretary-General Will Ao.
“The vaping sector is entering a critical chapter in its history with increased scrutiny from policy makers, regulators, public health officials, academics and campaigners,” said John Dunne, director general of the UKVIA. “It has to stand up and be counted, show strong leadership and the greatest levels of responsibility. The launch of the Global Vape Alliance and the declaration sets out to show the world that we are committed to best standards, practices and above all making smoking history.”
“Despite the enormous body of science that has declared vaping nicotine dramatically safer than smoking, the vapor industry’s detractors around the globe push a dramatically misinformed narrative,” said Tony Abboud, executive director of the VTA. “Declaring a shared commitment to furthering sound science, truthful information, and a commitment to meaningful regulations, industry leaders around the world can better serve companies and, more importantly, millions of consumers using vaping products to reduce and/or quit smoking cigarettes.”
For more information about the Global Vape Alliance declaration, please visit the Global Vaping Alliance website.
September 14, 2023
IEVA Joins InterTobac With VIP Lounge for Members

The Independent European Vape Alliance has partnered with InterTabac and InterSupply to exhibit and support the event’s seminar program.
According to a press release, the IEVA will have its own space for the first time at InterTabac and InterSupply at the end of September.
This will comprise a dedicated exhibition area and an exclusive lounge for IEVA members only, and the association will also contribute to “maintaining the high quality of the supporting program” with a high-caliber discussion panel.
Sabine Loos, managing director of Westfalenhallen Unternehmensgruppe which owns and operates the Messe Dortmund venue where InterTobac and Intersupply are held, said the organization is delighted to welcome the IEVA as a new partner.
“The collaboration underlines the importance of our events and the international reputation they enjoy. I’m convinced the IEVA’s proposition will be a valuable enrichment, especially for representatives of the vaping industry that is performing well despite a difficult overall environment,” said Loos.
Dustin Dahlmann, IEVA chairman, said his group is looking forward to the opportunity to present the messages of the responsible vaping industry to a wide international audience.
“The IEVA is committed to a nuanced public perception and regulation of e-cigarettes as a harm-reducing alternative to smoking, and InterTabac and InterSupply provide the right forum for publicizing this further – in 2023 and at future editions of the twin shows,” he said.
June 28, 2023
Chinese, European Vape Groups Sign Marketing Code
Photo: IEVA
The E-Cigarette Professional Committee of the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce (ECCC) has signed the Independent European Vape Alliance’s (IEVA) recently updated Code for Responsible Marketing.
The Code for Responsible Marketing contains 14 mandatory principles, focusing on the idea that “e-cigarette marketing should not make vaping seem appealing to minors.”
“As confident as we are that e-cigarettes have significant harm reduction potential, we also recognize that they must be marketed responsibly,” said Dustin Dahlmann, president of IEVA, in a statement.
“The signatories therefore only address adult smokers and e-cigarette users with their advertising and marketing to inform them about the products. Youth protection is imperative for us. We are very glad that we agreed on this with our dear colleagues from China.”
October 17, 2022
European Vape Alliance Opposes Dutch Flavor Ban

Photo: Wirestock
The Independent European Vape Alliance (IEVA) has expressed concerns about the Draft Amendment of the Tobacco and Smoking Products Order for regulation of e-cigarette flavors presented by the Dutch Ministry of Public Health, Welfare and Sports.
According to the statement submitted by the Dutch authorities, the draft amendment intends to ban flavors other than tobacco in e-liquids in order to “reduce the temptation for young people and former smokers to purchase e-cigarettes.” The measure, authorities note, is “justified by the need to protect public health.”
The proposal also suggest that the Netherlands will be more likely to achieve its objective of a smoke-free generation by 2040 if e-cigarettes are rendered less attractive.
According to the IEVA, the proposed flavor ban is neither proportional nor necessary, as it is too strong a measure for the objective it seeks to achieve and fails the EU requirement that member states choose the means that least restricts the free movement of goods.
The IEVA insists that the ban will boost black market activity and jeopardize tens of thousands of jobs, while leading to a reduction in government revenues by reducing tax collection.
October 4, 2022
EU Parliament Endorses Vapor as Cessation Tool

Credit: Savvapanf Photo
The EU Parliament has adopted, by a margin of 652 votes to 15, a report on Cancer prevention and Treatment that recognizes the potential contribution of vapor products to smoking cessation. The report notes that “electronic cigarettes could allow some smokers to progressively quit smoking.”
In adopting the report, the EU Parliament has become the world’s first elected chamber to endorse tobacco harm reduction, according to the Independent European Vape Association (IEVA).
“This is a landmark declaration by the European Parliament, which should go a long way to reassuring smokers of the health benefits that a switch to vaping can bring,” said IEVA President Dustin Dahlmann in a statement. “We now encourage the other EU institutions—and in particular, the European Commission—to take this on board and ensure that policy follows science, not the other way around.”
In addition to measures to reduce cancer incidence, the committee’s report places a special focus on the serious health effects of smoking.
The report also stresses the need for further research on vaping to be viewed in relative terms, given that tobacco smoking kills and vaping does not.
The final text of the report also includes a mention of further assessment of flavors “particularly attractive to minors and non-smokers” and a possible ban on them in the context of the review of the Tobacco Products Directive.
The IEVA says its crucial to avoid a flavor ban because the variety of flavors is one of the top reasons for adult smokers to switch to e-cigarettes and for vapers not to return to smoking.
“Research into the impact of flavor bans shows that many vapers return to smoking as a result [of a ban],” said Dahlmann. “This must be prevented. We agree that steps must be taken to curtail inappropriate marketing, while recognizing the crucial role flavors play in helping smokers quit.”

February 18, 2022
More Calls for Tobacco Harm Reduction Ahead of COP9

Photo: andriano_cz
Activists continue to urge participants in the ninth Conference of the Parties (COP9) to the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control to seriously consider tobacco harm reduction in their deliberations.
COP9 will take place Nov. 8-13 online. During the convention, delegates will debate measures to reduce smoking-related death and disease. To the frustration of many tobacco harm reduction proponents, the WHO has been suspicious of vaping and other reduced-risk products, viewing them as an industry tool to keep consumers hooked on nicotine.
“Tobacco harm reduction is a chance for smokers to switch from an extremely harmful to a significantly less harmful alternative,” the Independent European Vape Alliance (IEVA) wrote in a statement ahead of the gathering.

We would like the WHO, together with other representatives from politics and science, to develop a targeted strategy for reducing the damage caused by smoking.
Dustin Dahlmann, president, IEVA
“Unfortunately, the WHO has lost sight of this in recent years. But it is not too late to repent. It must focus on the future of millions of smokers worldwide—a future that is much brighter should they switch to vaping—rather than its own counterproductive ‘quit-or-die’ dogma.”
“As a European association that is independent of the tobacco industry, we would like the WHO, together with other representatives from politics and science, to develop a targeted strategy for reducing the damage caused by smoking. Of course we as an industry are ready for this critical dialogue,” said Dustin Dahlmann, president of IEVA.
“The World Health Organization’s failure to declare a global emergency in 2020 [in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic] will be repeated in 2021 when the WHO will likely abandon international tobacco harm reduction efforts and condemn millions of smokers to an early death,” said Nancy Loucas, a leading consumer advocate based in New Zealand.

The WHO got it totally wrong on Covid-19, and it’s no surprise they’ve also got it very wrong with safer nicotine products such as vaping.
Nancy Loucas, consumer advocate
“The WHO got it totally wrong on Covid-19, and it’s no surprise they’ve also got it very wrong with safer nicotine products such as vaping,” she added. “As an ex-smoker, vaping has improved my health and arguably saved my life, yet the WHO and its sponsor American Michael Bloomberg have pressured countries like mine to ban it.”
On Oct. 18, 100 international health experts sent a public letter urging the COP9 parties to take a more positive stance on tobacco harm reduction. That same month, the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction (GSTHR) released a report urging the WHO to update its policies, which the GSTHR described as “frozen in time” as they dated from before the arrival on the market of many less-harmful nicotine delivery devices.
A group of tobacco harm reduction experts will hold a round-the-clock broadcasting event Nov. 8-12, to challenge and scrutinize COP9, which will take placed behind closed doors.
November 5, 2021
EU Taxation Consultation Split Over Vapor Issues

Image: mazhor
Participants in the public consultation organized by the European Commission on the review of the Tobacco Taxation Directive are split on many questions relating to e-cigarettes and e-liquids, according to the Independent European Vape Alliance (IEVA).
Following the publication of the raw data by the European Commission, the IEVA conducted a preliminary analysis of the first results.
According to the group, the participation rate to this public consultation was higher than usual. The survey gathered 7,262 answers, 89.2 percent originating from EU citizens, 6 percent from companies and business organization and 1.1 percent from business associations.
Most active respondents were based in France (26.9 percent), Greece (23.2 percent), Germany (7.9 percent), Poland (6.5 percent), Italy (5.8 percent), Romania (5 percent) and Spain (4.3 percent).
Regarding specific questions on e-cigarettes and e-liquids, the results provide some light trends but the answers remain overall even split:
Harmonization of tax rules for e-liquids containing nicotine:
45.6 percent against, 44.8 percent in favor, almost 10 percent undecided
Harmonization of tax rules for e-liquids that do not contain nicotine:
50.8 percent against, 40 percent in favor, almost 10 percent undecided
Establishment of a minimum tax on e-cigarettes:
46.7 percent answered “none,” 41.6 percent answered “€0.10/ml,” 5.6 percent answered “€0.30/ml,” 6.1 percent said either “don’t know” or provided no answer.
According to the IEVA, The main question to be answered now is how the Commission will interpret the 10 percent indecisive parties for the first and the second question, as those 10 percent could tilt the balance in a way or another.
Following the closure of the public consultation, the European Commission may now complete drafting of the proposal to revise the tobacco taxation directive. The IEVA expects the document to be presented in the fourth quarter of 2021 or the first quarter of 2022.
October 6, 2021
Vape Alliance: EU Scientific Committee Ignores Science
Photo: pavel_shishkin
The European Commission has missed an opportunity to bolster its Beating Cancer Plan and recognize the importance of vaping in reducing smoking-related diseases among Europeans, according to the Independent European Vape Alliance (IEVA).
A recent report from the Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER) fails to compare the risks of electronic cigarette use with the risks of smoking, the IEVA noted in statement. “Such an omission renders the report of little use to policy makers,” it wrote. “An assessment of the impact e-cigarettes have had on European public health must be informed by this evidence.”
Independent and publicly funded scientific research has shown that e-cigarette use is far less harmful than smoking, according to the IEVA.
“The SCHEER committee has failed to present scientific data on vaping in a comprehensive and balanced manner,” said Dustin Dahlmann, President of IEVA. “The result is a report that is little more than a series of baseless predetermined assertions. Another opportunity to educate smokers willing to switch to less harmful alternatives has been wasted, and this alone has serious public health implications. We urge decision makers in Brussels to integrate harm reduction in their overall strategy.”

Another opportunity to educate smokers willing to switch to less harmful alternatives has been wasted.
Dustin Dahlmann, President, IEVA
An earlier draft of this report was put to public consultation in September 2020 and was widely criticized. Yet the final report reiterates the core findings of the initial draft.
A comprehensive critique of this draft was published in the peer-reviewed Harm Reduction Journal. The authors assert that “the Opinion’s conclusions are not adequately backed up by scientific evidence and did not discuss the potential health benefits of using alternative combustion-free nicotine-containing products as substitute for tobacco cigarettes”.
The Harm Reduction Journal report recommends seven crucial areas that the Committee should have considered to address this significant deficit, but SCHEER has decided not to do so. These were:
the potential health benefits of ENDS substitution for cigarette smoking
alternative hypotheses and contradictory studies on the gateway effect
its assessment of cardiovascular risk,
the measurements of frequency of use
non-nicotine use
the role of flavors
a fulsome discussion of cessation
Earlier this week, the World Vaper Alliance expressed similar concerns about the SHEER report.
May 3, 2021