Believe it or not, banning flavored e-cigarettes is a terrible idea
flavor restrictions are likely to have a net negative effect on public health by increasing the riskiest of behaviors: smoking. Unfortunately, some of our most prominent advocacy groups see reduced-risk products like e-cigarettes as the antithesis of public health—and flavors as the root cause. The evidence, however, suggests that certain flavored products, including most e-cigarettes, are not a gateway to combustible cigarette use, but rather a remarkably successful means of helping smokers break their habit. Flavors are an integral part of e-cigarettes’ appeal and cited as a major reason that former smokers are able to stay off of combustibles.
Reported patterns of vaping to support long-term abstinence from smoking: a cross-sectional survey of a convenience sample of vapers
Knowledge of how people have successfully maintained tobacco-smoking abstinence using vaping could help other tobacco smokers wishing to quit tobacco smoking through vaping.
The Impact of New Jersey’s 2020 E-cigarette Flavor Ban on E-cigarette, Cigarette, and Cigar Sales in New Jersey
Flavored e-cigarette sales were declining prior to the ban but the pace of the decline accelerated following federal and state restrictions on flavored e-cigarette sales, then slowed by the second half of 2020, with a brief period of increased cigarette and cigar sales immediately following the ban. Research on long-term policy effects is needed.
E-cigarette addiction and harm perception: Does initiation flavor choice matter?
Traditionally flavored e-cigarette initiation produces similar risk for addiction and harm perceptions as non-traditionally flavored initiation. These findings suggest that banning non-traditional flavors alone may be ineffective in curbing e-cigarette addiction and harm perception.
The actual and anticipated effects of restrictions on flavoured electronic nicotine delivery systems: a scoping review
Our findings highlight the need for additional research on the impacts of ENDS restrictions. Research should further evaluate the impact of restrictions on youth and adult use of nicotine and tobacco products in addition to the effects of restrictions in countries beyond the US to enable a robust consideration of the harm-benefit trade-off of restrictions. Studies of hypothetical restrictions suggest decreased ENDS use, increased cigarette use, and increased use of illicit markets. New evaluations of flavour restrictions can fill existing gaps in the literature identified here by considering the balance of effects on youth and adult initiation and cessation of ENDS and combustible cigarettes and by evaluating restrictions in countries beyond the US. As more research is conducted, these effects and additional information on internet sales, do-it-yourself modifications, and illegal marketplaces will provide essential information for a robust consideration of the benefits and harms to public health of flavoured ENDS restrictions.
Patterns of flavored e-cigarette use among adult vapers in the USA: an online cross-sectional survey of 69,233 participants
Non-tobacco flavors were popular among the US adult vapers who participated in the study, and were popular choices at the time of quitting smoking for those who formerly smoked. Tobacco flavor use prevalence was low and was further reduced over time. Regulators should consider the flavor choice of adult consumers, especially those who quit smoking, when preparing legislation on flavored e-cigarettes.
Why banning vape flavours hurts smoking cessation efforts
Understanding the critical role of flavours in vaping as a harm reduction tool and why Brussels should reconsider its proposed ban Flavours are the nudge we need to keep encouraging vaping as an effective alternative to mankind’s deadliest consumption epidemic, smoking. Politicians must preserve the place of vaping flavours in the market. If they want to introduce new regulation, they should target specific products which do harm, not introduce a blanket ban on flavours.
The E-Cigarette Flavor Debate — Promoting Adolescent and Adult Welfare
Although restricting access to nontobacco flavors of e-cigarettes may reduce vaping among adolescents and mitigate associated risks, it could also impede smoking cessation among adults, thereby increasing smoking-attributable mortality. But policy solutions could exist.
The impact of a comprehensive tobacco product flavor ban in San Francisco among young adults
These findings suggest that comprehensive local flavor bans, by themselves, cannot sharply reduce the availability or use of flavored tobacco products among residents. Nevertheless, local bans can still significantly reduce overall e-cigarette use and cigar smoking but may increase cigarette smoking.
Responses to potential nicotine vaping product flavor restrictions among regular vapers using non-tobacco flavors: Findings from the 2020 ITC Smoking and Vaping Survey in Canada, England and the United States
At this time, it is not clear what net population-level consequences would occur if non-tobacco flavored NVPs were prohibited. While a majority of vapers in this study opposed this policy, and many vapers would not be willing to switch to available flavors, there was considerable variability in predicted behavioral responses.
