Following the publication of a National Plan to Combat Tobacco - PNLT - which does not take sufficient account of new harm reduction practices, the associations AIDUCE, SOVAPE, LA VAPE DU CŒUR and FIVAPE are leaving the petition open Merci la vape to soon reach the symbolic target of 100,000 supporters.
This mobilization is unprecedented in the history of smoking. As our survey of 40,000 people shows, restrictions on flavors or proposed taxes would lead to major health risks by driving many vapers either back to cigarettes, or to parallel sources with no further regulation or control.
In addition to the anxiety-inducing and repellent effects already caused by advertising bans, restrictive measures, denigration and misinformation, the NTP's intention to require a "plain package" for vaping products amounts to disguising them as tobacco products, which we feel is counterproductive.
The associations AIDUCE, SOVAPE, LA VAPE DU CŒUR and FIVAPE are once again calling on the public authorities to reopen a collective, honest, sincere and constructive effort to truly assess and take into account all the benefits/risks of new harm reduction practices for a more effective fight against smoking. With more than 10 years of hindsight, scientific knowledge, experience and practice, vaping is a recognized opportunity to help people stop smoking, and has accompanied a massive decline in smoking in France between 2013 and 2019. Despite its cessation since 2020 in the general population, this decline is still going strong, and is even increasing among the youngest age groups, minors and 18-24 year-olds.
Smoking is implicated in 20% of all cancers, and kills 75,000 people prematurely every year. Let's not abandon the 3 million vapoteurs by hindering their practice, nor the 15 million smokers who could take up vape in an attempt to quit smoking.
The associations AIDUCE, SOVAPE, LA VAPE DU COEUR and FIVAPE, each in their own field, fight against smoking. They advocate harm reduction, a humane approach that is highly appreciated by users. They have no links whatsoever with the tobacco industry, and claim as much in their articles of association and in their actions.