España: Que Lastima!
Despite growing evidence proving the relative safety of flavoured vapes and how successful they are at transitioning smokers away from tobacco, Spain is pushing forward to ban them
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by Dave Cross
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Despite growing evidence proving the relative safety of flavoured vapes and how successful they are at transitioning smokers away from tobacco, Spain is pushing forward to ban them. Against this, a recent study by The World Vapers' Alliance reveals that 92% of vapers use flavours to help them quit and remain tobacco-free.
The World Vapers' Alliance (WVA) has published the results of a survey conducted on its behalf by independent pollster Dynata. The organisation says that the survey confirms the importance of vaping as a harm-reduction tool and explains how banning flavours could compromise its effectiveness.
Key findings from the survey:
- 92.1% of Spanish vapers were smokers before switching to vaping.
- 87% of vapers believe flavours help them stay away from tobacco or reduce smoking.
- 92% of vapers use flavours other than tobacco.
Vaping as a Harm Reduction Tool
The survey sampled 585 Spanish vapers and found that:
- 50.4% started vaping to smoke less
- 23.9% began vaping to quit smoking entirely
- 39.8% cited using nicotine in a less harmful way as a motivation
Effectiveness of Ecig Flavours
- 67% of former smokers say flavours helped reduce cigarette use
- 14% state flavours were key to quitting smoking completely
Potential Consequences of Vape Flavour Ban
If flavours were banned:
- 3 out of 4 respondents say it would affect their ability to stay away from tobacco
- Half of them said they would either return to smoking or seek flavoured products on the black market or import them
Alberto Gómez Hernández is the policy manager of the World Vapers' Alliance. He is Spanish and currently based in Brussels. He holds a degree in Economics from the University Carlos III of Madrid and has worked for several non-profit organisations and think tanks in recent years. He is an experienced activist and passionate about tobacco harm reduction.
Alberto commented: “Evidence shows that vaping helps smokers reduce or quit smoking, something that other methods have not achieved with the same impact. Instead of restricting access, authorities should promote vaping as part of a public health strategy based on harm reduction.
“Flavours are a crucial tool for adult smokers looking to quit. Eliminating flavours would make it harder for thousands of Spanish vapers to stay away from cigarettes and for millions of smokers to quit in the future.”
Despite this evidence, the Ministry of Health intends to ban flavours in vape liquids. The WVA urges the government to adopt policies based on harm reduction and scientific evidence rather than restrictive measures that could compromise public health goals.
References:
- World Vapers’ Alliance: Encuesta A Vapeadores En España - https://worldvapersalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/WORLD-VAPERS-ALLIANCE-ENCUESTA-A-VAPEADORES-EN-ESPANA.pdf
- Dynata - https://www.dynata.com/
- World Vapers' Alliance - https://worldvapersalliance.com/en_gb/
Photo Credit:
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Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
