Varhely: “Electronic cigarettes and tobacco pouches promote cancer, WHO says so”

Brussels – The European Commission will decide on new tobacco products on the basis of scientific evidence, and at the moment, the World Health Organisation (WHO) is leading the EU executive to believe it should not adopt permissive lines on e-cigarettes or tobacco pouches. “The WHO has observed that nicotine-containing products, in particular e-cigarettes and nicotine sachets, generate substances known to cause cancer and expose users to carcinogens,” says Health Commissioner, Oliver Varhély, responding to a parliamentary question on the subject. “For this reason, these products are associated with an increased risk of cancer.” 

The ongoing assessment of tobacco products directive and tobacco advertising directive “follows a structured and evidence-based approach,” Varhely adds. The Commission’s work “involves the consideration of a wide range of scientific, market and regulatory developments, including the emergence of new tobacco and nicotine products.”