Legal and illegal vaping products belong to two completely different markets, the Belgian vaping federation VapeBel emphasised on Thursday in response to a report by the Flemish programme “Pano” aired on Wednesday.
Illegal products are often sold without any age restrictions or controls, while legal vapes adhere to strict regulations and are intended for adult smokers aiming to quit cigarettes, VapeBel highlighted. "Despite this, these two markets are often wrongly conflated in public discourse."
The federation acknowledges that youth vaping and the illegal trade exposed by the programme are significant challenges for the sector. However, it urges authorities to make a clear distinction between legal and illegal vapes.
"As a sector, we believe these challenges can be addressed through constructive dialogue with relevant authorities," stated Felix Rijkers, president of VapeBel. "We specifically advocate for collaboration with delivery services and payment providers to combat online sales, stronger age verification, and the introduction of a licensing system for nicotine-containing products."
VapeBel contends that introducing new regulations is unnecessary without strict enforcement of existing rules and a prior assessment of their impact.
Following the airing of the Pano programme on Wednesday, ten health organisations called on policymakers to implement further measures to limit youth access to e-cigarettes.
