Emmanuel Thomas, DPA, Sunday, May 7, 2023
BERLIN – The German government’s commissioner for addiction and drugs has come out against the marketing of flavoured e-cigarettes, saying the sector is targeting young people, in remarks to dpa on Sunday.
“The aggressive advertising of e-cigarettes with toffee, cherry or menthol flavours encourages young people to smoke,” Burkhard Blienert said. “In addition, they are being lured with cheap disposable vapes.”
Blienert expressed criticism of the continuing presence of advertising for tobacco and e-cigarettes in Germany.
“Everywhere, whether in large cities or small towns, lots of shops advertise a wide range of colourful vapes, as though they were selling wine gums on every corner,” he said.
Internet traders were offering discounts to first-time buyers and for the purchase of large quantities, and this needed to change, Blienert said.
The upper house of the German parliament is considering a motion to press for a Europe-wide ban on disposable e-cigarettes – or vapes – which should in fact be disposed of as electric waste.
Speaking to Germany’s RND news agency, Blienert said the tobacco industry was currently spending €250 million ($280 million) on advertising and sponsorship. “The aim has to be to reduce this to zero as far as possible,” he said.
In Germany, vapes may only be sold to adults, although they are becoming increasingly popular with young people. Warnings have been issued that the liquids vaporized in them contain harmful substances and are addictive on account of their nicotine content.
