German E-cigarette Industry Association refutes WHO: Cartoon images will not be used to promote e-cigarettes

German E-cigarette Industry Association refutes WHO: Cartoon images will not be used to promote e-cigarettes

The e-cigarette industry responded to the WHO's accusation, emphasizing that it is only for adults, calling for stronger enforcement of advertising bans, and criticizing government regulation for leading to black market transactions. The WHO has called for strict restrictions on tobacco and e-cigarette consumption, including bans on flavors, advertising and higher taxes.

According to Aerzteblatt's report on May 24, the German Electronic Cigarette Industry Association (VdeH) recently responded to the World Health Organization's (WHO) accusations and firmly denied trying to use temptation to make children addicted. The association emphasized that they had promised in 2019 not to use cartoon images or other models that are interesting to children and teenagers for advertising.

The WHO recently criticized the e-cigarette industry in a report, accusing them of marketing e-cigarettes with rich colors and popular cartoon characters, even treating them as toys. The report states that among the 16,000 flavors, there are some that children clearly like, such as bubble gum, candy or vanilla ice cream. However, the German E-cigarette Industry Association countered that their target users are adults who want to reduce or completely quit tobacco consumption, and some adults also like flavors like bubble gum.

The German E-cigarette Industry Association admitted that some Internet celebrities are still promoting e-cigarettes despite Germany's advertising ban. The association strongly condemns such advertising practices and has taken legal action against repeated violations of relevant regulations. "We demand that authorities and platform operators enforce advertising bans more strictly."

The association also criticized the government's regulatory approach. They believe this has led to large-scale black market trading. They estimate that half of all e-cigarettes are sold outside the professional market, which often means they contain substandard products.

According to the WHO, "approximately 37 million adolescents aged 13 to 15 years worldwide have begun using tobacco." This includes cigarettes, chewing gum and snus. Additionally, millions of teenagers are using e-cigarettes. E-cigarettes do not contain tobacco but contain nicotine. The WHO said that because e-cigarettes tend to be expensive, many people turn to tobacco products when money is tight.

Given Kapoyo, an activist who organizes youth in Zambia, said, "The e-cigarette industry wants to get kids addicted as young as possible so they can consume it for a longer period of time."

The head of the WHO department responsible for this part said that WHO considers the situation in the European region, which includes more than 50 countries as far away as Turkmenistan and Israel, to be particularly worrying. Even with sales restrictions, teenagers can still order these products online, which authorities currently have no control over.

WHO urges countries to tighten restrictions on the consumption of tobacco and other nicotine-containing products. This includes banning all flavors of e-cigarettes, banning advertising, raising taxes and enforcing a 100% smoking ban indoors.