From January 1, stores and webshops in the Netherlands will no longer be allowed to sell flavored vapes. The only question is whether the ban can be enforced and whether young people will really stop using these electronic cigarettes. Robin Meeuwis from NLDamp in Breda has now opened a new store in Meer, Belgium, just across the border. Because the southern neighbors do not yet have a ban on flavors for vapes.
Doctors and experts think that more is needed to keep young people away from vaping than the ban that comes into effect on January 1. “The flavor ban will certainly increase the threshold for starting this,” says Danielle Cohen, lung pathologist at the Leiden University Medical Center. NOS. “It was one of the properties of those vapes that made it very attractive. But the addictive substance in the vapes has not yet been removed.”
According to Cohen, it is not yet clear whether the ban can be enforced. “It is already difficult to enforce the minimum sales age of eighteen, so we are quite concerned about that.” From January 1, e-cigarettes may only taste like tobacco. ‘Vapers’ are now quickly hoarding their favorite flavour.
Cross the border
The result: increasingly emptier shelves. Robin Meeuwis has almost every vape flavor imaginable in his store in Belgium. “We expect people to drive across the border, especially in the border region, to buy flavors for their vaper. Flavors are not banned in Belgium.” However, the policy there regarding advertising and presentation will become stricter.
Meeuwis finds it strange that the flavors are banned in the Netherlands. “That’s what happens with schoolyard dealers. You lose grip and control. You have to wait for problems to arise. You will soon no longer know which ingredients are used,” he says. “As a result, young people in the US are already ending up in hospital.”
Since July 1, 2023, it has been prohibited to sell vapes online in the Netherlands, but Meeuwis does this anyway. “Foreign providers also do that and they are not tackled. I think you should tackle them first.”
Brain development
Vaping is a method of smoking that involves inhaling heated oil. According to the RIVM, such an e-cigarette releases fewer harmful substances than a regular cigarette, but it is still very unhealthy. “That oil contains a very high dose of nicotine, but it also contains all kinds of harmful substances.”
According to Cohen, vaping can have a short-term effect on the brain development of young people. They are then less able to concentrate, suffer more from stress, insomnia, anxiety, panic disorders and sometimes even depression. Doctors also fear the long-term consequences. “We fear that this will also cause cancer, cardiovascular disease and lung disease.”
Difficult to maintain
Flavored vapes can still be purchased in different ways, a young person told NOS. “Via Snapchat or websites. Then you will receive a package or it will simply be delivered.” This boy expects people to order and buy from abroad.
Cohen believes that the government should protect young people. “It must just be very difficult, if not impossible, to get it.” According to Cohen, information is also important. That is why she wants to visit school classes together with doctors to talk to young people about the dangers of vaping. “We won’t be able to keep doing that forever in addition to our work. So an immediate appeal: make haste to ban vaping.”
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