Heavy! The European Parliament recognizes e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation tool, which can help smokers to gradually quit smoking

On Wednesday, the European Parliament approved a report on cancer prevention and treatment by a vote of 652 to 15, acknowledging the potential contribution of vaping products, heat-not-burn products and new tobacco products to smoking cessation.

The report pointed out that e-cigarettes can allow some smokers to gradually quit smoking.

The European Parliament is one of the three major institutions of the European Union (the European Council, the European Commission, and the European Parliament). .

The special feature of the European Parliament is that since 1979, its members have been directly elected by the people of EU member states, and it is the only directly elected parliamentary body in the EU.

The EU now has 27 member states, including Germany, France, Italy and Portugal, among others. The report's reach would theoretically cover some 740 million people across Europe.

Judging from the report, in addition to measures to reduce the incidence of cancer, the committee's report also pays special attention to the serious health effects of smoking.

The report also highlights the need for further research on e-cigarettes, looking at e-cigarettes in relative terms, because smoking causes death, while e-cigarettes do not, arguing that e-cigarettes can allow some smokers to gradually quit smoking.

The final text of the report also mentions further assessment of flavours that are "particularly attractive to minors and non-smokers" and their possible ban in the context of the European Directive on Review of Tobacco Products.

The greatest significance of this report is to recognize the smoking cessation function of e-cigarettes, and at the same time remind young people not to become e-cigarette users, and to ban flavored products.

This is crucial. Numerous studies have shown that vaping is much less potentially harmful than smoking.

According to Public Health England (PHE), e-cigarettes are 95% less harmful than tobacco and have a 99.6% lower risk of cancer.

The Independent European Vaping Association (IEVA) found the report significant, arguing that "the European Parliament has become the first elected parliamentary body in the world to support tobacco harm reduction."

IEVA chairman Dustin Dahlmann said in a statement:

It was a landmark statement from the European Parliament that should go a long way to convince smokers of the health benefits of switching to e-cigarettes. We now encourage other EU institutions - especially the European Commission - to embrace this and ensure that policy follows the science, not the other way around.

At the same time, IEVA said that avoiding e-cigarette flavor bans is crucial, as flavor diversity is one of the main reasons why adult smokers switch to e-cigarettes and e-cigarette users don’t return to smoking.

"Studies on the impact of flavor bans have shown that many e-cigarette users are returning to cigarettes as a result of the ban, and we must prevent this," Dalman said. "We agree that steps must be taken to reduce inappropriate marketing, while recognizing that flavors are critical in helping smokers quit." effect.