Germany's Drug Enforcement Commissioner Wants to Make E-Cigarettes Neutral

In response to the growing market for e-cigarettes among young people, Germany's federal drug commissioner is proposing to make vaping products less attractive.

While the prevalence of e-cigarette use remains modest in Germany among those aged over 25 (1.6 %), it has reached 2.5 % among 14-17 year-olds and 4 % among 18-24 year-olds.[1]This increase, which has been noticeable since 2020, has sounded like a warning to Burkhard Blienert, the federal government's delegate for the fight against drugs, who wants to stem this phenomenon.

Making the colors, style and shape of e-cigarettes less attractive

Burkhard Blienert had already pleaded at the beginning of the year for a total ban advertising for alcohol and all tobacco and nicotine products, as well as for a restriction of advertising for gambling and games of chance.

He now proposes to make e-cigarettes less attractive, both in terms of colours and graphics as well as the shape of these products.[2]. An approach consistent with its request to ban advertising, since the parameters targeted themselves constitute advertising vectors for vaping products.

A desired alignment with the neutral packaging of cigarettes

The bright colours and vibrant graphics used, particularly in the disposable e-cigarette segment, appear to be aimed more at younger consumers than at adult smokers looking to quit. Burkhard Blienert acknowledges that vaping products may be useful to some smokers looking to quit, but he is concerned about the appeal of these products to younger people and therefore calls for better regulation of these products. He also believes that e-cigarettes should not be presented as low-risk products, as this argument could encourage young people to become users.

The idea of making vaping product packaging neutral had already been recently put forward by Dutch parliamentarians, based on the model of standardised neutral packets applicable to cigarettes in several European countries (United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Hungary). The novelty of the German proposal is to include the shape of electronic cigarettes as such. Some models have in fact been declined in the form of objects of the daily life, which helps make them playful, familiar and more easily camouflaged.

Keywords: Germany, Burkhard Blienert, electronic cigarettes, plain packaging.

MF

[1] Deutsche Befragung zum Rauchverhalten Studie (DEBRA), December 2022.

[2] Westendarp L, Color and design of e-cigarettes should be regulated, says Germany's drugs czar, Politico, published March 24, 2023, accessed March 30, 2023.