Covid-19: Reminder of sanitary rules to be respected
Today, the French Government decided to allow the reopening of shops specializing in the sale of vaping products, despite the confinement measures imposed because of Covid-19. This is a decision that the Fivape has taken in good conscience, given the need for any help in the fight against tobacco. Sanitary measures are already being recommended to all members, via a particularly rigorous protocol.
The decision published by decree this morning is recognition of the public health mission carried out by French professionals in the vape sector, and in particular by the almost 900 structures belonging to Fivape, the Fédération Interprofessionnelle de la Vape. Specialized manufacturers and retailers, independent of the tobacco industry, have enabled 700,000 French people to escape the harmful effects of cigarettes for good, and 3 million to move away from them by adopting vape as part of their smoking cessation strategy. They account for almost 90% of the industry's activity in France, providing hope of escaping the tragic consequences of smoking, evidenced by the deaths of 73,000 French men and women every year.
Continuing to serve vapoteurs and future ex-smokers means doing our part in the fight against Covid-19. Indeed, while the danger of tobacco is no longer in doubt, it seems that, in the face of the current pandemic, tobacco is an aggravating factor: recent studies have revealed that smoking increases the chances of developing a severe form of the coronavirus by 50% (1).
In this context, it is unthinkable to ban access to vaping products by specialists in the sector, at the risk of insidiously encouraging vapoteurs to return to cigarettes in the midst of a difficult and courageous process of quitting smoking.
For several years now, many representatives of the medical profession, across all disciplines, have been arguing that vaping is an excellent tool in the fight against smoking. Today, the French government has officially joined them, and we can only be delighted.
We called on our members to take responsibility. Whether retailers or manufacturers, we are first and foremost professionals specializing in risk reduction. The current context calls on us more than ever to demonstrate this, by adopting extremely rigorous practices and protocols, to be strictly adhered to: they commit the seriousness of the sector and constitute the only barrier to effectively protecting consumers and employees.
This is why a series of recommendations and protocols to be implemented throughout the chain has already been sent to our members.
Jean Moiroud (and the Fivape Board of Directors)