As part of significant modifications to the nation's tobacco control legislation included in the "Comprehensive Tobacco Prevention Plan 2024-2027," which was unveiled last week, the Spanish government intends to outlaw flavored vaping goods. The proposal, which is expected to be enacted shortly, would also impose increased tariffs on tobacco products, simple packaging, and more limitations on public usage.
Spain is a significant member of the European Union. It is the fourth most populous EU nation, behind Germany, France, and Italy, with over 47 million citizens. Its economy is also the fourth biggest in the bloc. The European Union's flavored vape policy, which will be included in the revised Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) that is anticipated to be implemented in the next year, might be negatively impacted by Spain's adoption of flavor limitations.
The Deadline for Consultation is April 23.
A 15-day consultation period has been extended by the Ministry of Health to get public feedback on several aspects of the proposal, including the taste prohibition. I could only access the health ministry's website from my location in the United States by using a VPN. On that website, I discovered the press release announcing the consultation, which included both Spanish and English versions of the majority of the information found in the published consultation document (which I couldn't find a link to). Send comments to [email protected] via email.
The deadline for comments on the consultation is April 23. It is imperative that proponents of harm reduction and vaping in Spain disseminate information promptly. The health ministry's attempt to discourage participation is evident in the short reply time frame it offers.
The document is ambiguous in and of itself. The proposed revision to the tobacco royal decree includes the following as its stated goals, along with the intention to "introduce a number of measures":
- Prohibition of additives and flavoring components in tobacco and associated products which distort the goals of the health regulation or that may be more appealing to consumers.
- Improvements in the proper labeling of arising tobacco and tobacco-related products.
- Improvements in the labeling and wrapping of tobacco products via the introduction of plain packaging.
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Spain Require Flavored Vapes
According to the most current updated Global State of Harm Reduction study by Knowledge-Action-Change, there are over 500,000 vapers in Spain. That represents a very small proportion of the adult population—just 1.3%, or around 25% of France's vaping rate. Nonetheless, about 11 million adults, or nearly 28% of the adult population, smoke in Spain, making it a country with a rather high smoking rate. Every year, smoking-related diseases claim the lives of around 57,000 individuals in Spain.
Flavored vaping goods are necessary in Spain because they help smokers transition more successfully than plain tobacco products. The majority of adult vapers who are smoke-free choose tastes that aren't tobacco-based.
Eight European nations—Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Ukraine—have enacted legislation outlawing vape flavors. All of those people—aside from Ukraine—are members of the EU. No nation in Europe has enacted a complete ban on vaping.
