OpinionWay survey on vaping in France: warning about the destructive consequences of equating it with tobacco

While Article 23 of the draft finance bill reignites the debate on whether vaping should be treated in the same way as smoking, FIVAPE has today published the results of an OpinionWay survey conducted in November 2025 among current and former vapers.

The lessons are clear: any measure that weakens access to vaping would set back the fight against smoking, with a massive risk of people returning to cigarettes.

The policy on vaping in France is becoming a health governance crisis.

Vaping, a major lever for quitting tobacco

In the meantime, these initial results confirm an undeniable trend that has been evident for more than 10 years: more and more French people are choosing to vape rather than smoke.

Results that confirm the place of vaping in the fight against the scourge of tobacco

The results confirm the central role of vaping in the historic decline in smoking in France:

• 52% of daily vapers no longer smoke, representing nearly 2 million people;
• 36% of former vape users have quit smoking, representing more than 1 million people;
• In total, at least 3 million French people have already quit smoking thanks to vaping, either now or in the past.
• 25% of daily vapers use nicotine replacement therapies sold in pharmacies (NRTs) in addition to vaping. Vaping cessation strategies are developed in collaboration with healthcare professionals.

These figures are consistent with what we already know: France still has nearly 14 million smokers, including 10 million daily smokers, and tobacco remains the leading cause of preventable death.

Equating vaping with smoking: a documented health risk

The OpinionWay study accurately measures vapers' reactions to the restrictions being considered in the public debate, including the measures associated with Article 23:

• Taxation of e-liquids: up to 19% of vapers say they could return to smoking cigarettes, a figure that rises to 23% among users who combine vaping with nicotine replacement therapies.
• Ban on online sales: only 49% of online buyers would switch to a specialist store; among the most vulnerable users, 25% of dual users with substitutes are considering taking up smoking again.
• Closure of vape shops: 23% of vapers say they would return to smoking cigarettes, including 28% of dual users with TNS and 31% of young adults aged 18 to 34. 28% of exclusive vapers would turn to illegal markets.

If Article 23 were to pass in its current form, it would also pave the way for restrictions on flavors by decree, thereby bypassing democratic institutions. Twenty-five percent of vapers say they would then return to smoking cigarettes, and up to 31% among 18–34-year-olds.

These results point to a clear conclusion: government measures to restrict vaping primarily affect those most exposed to smoking and undermine the most effective tool for helping people quit smoking.

An independent industry, the cornerstone of responsible vaping

The survey also highlights the central role of the independent sector:

• 78% of vapers purchase their products from independent specialty retailers: physical and online specialty stores.
• 84% use rechargeable devices promoted by the independent sector, which are more effective against tobacco, more economical, and less polluting than the sealed systems offered by the tobacco industry.
• 86% of vapers use flavors other than tobacco, with flavor diversity being a key and recognized factor in the success of smoking cessation through vaping.

Any massive restrictions would automatically benefit illegal markets and tobacco industry products, to the detriment of a structured, standardized French ecosystem that creates non-relocatable jobs and is focused on risk reduction.

A call for evidence-based regulation

For FIVAPE, these results call for responsibility. The health, social, and economic stakes are such that it is no longer acceptable to legislate on the basis of perceptions, confusion, or moral panic.

Equating vaping with tobacco is like confusing a tool for quitting smoking with the product that causes 75,000 deaths per year. The data shows that we cannot weaken vaping without strengthening cigarettes.

FIVAPE calls on public authorities to remove vaping products from Article 23 of the 2026 Finance Bill and to begin substantive work on proportionate regulation based on real data and aligned with public health objectives, so that vaping can continue to play its role in the fight against smoking.

FIVAPE points out that it was not consulted by the public authorities prior to this bill, despite its high level of representativeness and the concrete proposals it has been making for several years on the regulation of vaping in France.