The Independent European Vaping Alliance (IEVA), the organisation representing the independent European producers and distributors of vaping products, fully supports its Polish member ZPBV (the Association of Vaping Industry Employers) in their actions to support millions of Polish citizens interested in quitting tobacco smoking.
A high number of publicly-funded scientific studies leave no doubt that vaping is among the most effective methods to quit smoking, which remains one of the major public health challenges in Europe. In response to that challenge, the European Parliament recognised that “electronic cigarettes could allow some smokers to progressively quit smoking” in two separate reports – the report on strengthening Europe in the fight against cancer (2022) and on non-communicable diseases (2023). Tobacco smoking directly and indirectly takes the lives of about 8 million people worldwide every year, among which 70,000 Poles.
IEVA is deeply concerned by actions, including those by the Polish government and Parliament, aimed at restricting and potentially removing vaping products from the market. Such measures are unjustified, contradict established scientific findings, and would primarily benefit tobacco cigarette manufacturers. These policies would likely harm public health in affected countries, as banning regulated products intended for informed adults would only drive black market growth, reducing tax revenue for those countries, and drive vapers back to smoking.
We therefore fully support any action by our members to reverse this trend and ensure that adult smokers can access a harm reduction alternative to tobacco cigarettes. The actions taken by the Association of Vaping Industry Employers in Poland are part of a campaign conducted in many countries such as France, Germany, Romania and Italy.
It is also important to note that vaping products are predominantly provided by local small and medium-sized enterprises. Eliminating these products from the market would pave the way for multinational tobacco companies to take their place. This underscores the significance of the efforts by IEVA members, including ZPBV in Poland, to preserve access to alternatives that support smokers in breaking the habit.
IEVA remains available to provide more information on the harm reduction opportunity of vaping and on the efforts of the independent vaping industry to reduce tobacco smoking in Europe.
