Safer vape: of course!
2025 will be a momentous year for the French vape industry. The threats are numerous and more concrete than ever. To open the ball, the magazine 60 Millions de Consommateurs has just published a report on vaping with a very alarmist title: Vapotage - Gare aux métaux lourds (Vaping - Beware of heavy metals). This paper must question our relationship with the quality and improvement of our products.
Yet the analyses revealed in the dossier are not very worrying: in the end, no or very few heavy metals, never more than in cigarettes, and only under very specific and rare conditions (in the case of high potency or prolonged contact between eliquid and resistance, as in sealed cartridges, for example). The subject is "worrying, but not alarming", according to Claude Bamberger, President of AIDUCE, quoted in the article.
On the whole, 60 Millions de Consommateurs confirms, once again, that vape is infinitely less harmful and risky than smoking. While this dossier should do much to reassure, the sensationalist headline risks turning smokers away from vape and keeping them smoking.
In the general interest, vape must be as safe as possible, but it must also be perceived at its true value in terms of benefits/risks.
French vape professionals are totally committed to product quality and maximum consumer safety. Back in 2015, for example, they initiated the creation of standards with AFNOR. Completed in 2021, they now serve as quality and safety benchmarks for consumers and manufacturers, who can also get certified.
The INC, publisher of the magazine in question, was also involved in the AFNOR standards, providing an additional guarantee of probity. They are recognized and cited by institutions and learned societies, and are in addition to very strict and compulsory regulations for manufacturing, as well as other voluntary labels, such as Origine France Garantie.
In addition to the major issues of taxes and flavors, which will require strong mobilization this year, in 2025 FIVAPE will be committed to promoting and recognizing the ethics and professionalism of the tobacco industry-independent vape sector, which is today France's No. 1 player in smoking cessation.
Happy New Year 2025!
Jean MOIROUD
President of FIVAPE
