Vaping advocates, along with the World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA), have taken to the streets of The Hague in a peaceful – and COVID-safe – campaign against a new ‘flawed’ flavour ban proposal.
The group illuminated buildings of the Dutch political capital with a light show, displaying messages of protest against lawmakers for considering the policy.
The slogan ‘Save Flavours, Save Lives’ was at the core of the movement, with critics of the ban highlighting that it could drive almost 260,000 vapers back to combustible cigarettes.
The installation coincided with a public consultation around the ban, which has already seen more than 800 submissions and an opposition rate of 98 percent – the highest number of negative responses ever recorded on a Dutch public health inquiry.
Michael Landl, Director of the World Vapers’ Alliance, said:
“The passion expressed by the Dutch vaping community through the consultation process has been incredible.
“The vast majority of submissions explicitly state that vaping helped them quit smoking or that taking away flavours would drive them to cigarettes.
“The government must listen to these stories and drop this ridiculous legislation.”
Michael Landl, WVA
The joint effort between local consumers, advocates and the WVA has spurred Dutch policymakers to extend the consultation, which now ends on February 2 due to ‘popular demand’.
However, Landl stresses that despite the successes of the campaign, the fight is far from over.
“The proposed ban on all vape flavours, other than tobacco, is of great concern to the World Vapers’ Alliance.
“The Netherlands has always been regarded as a liberal economy that has approached novel products with a healthy pragmatism. Therefore, such a blanket ban makes little sense within the greater framework of Dutch policy.
“We hope that the number of submissions to this consultation and the power of their collective testimony will force a reconsideration amongst supporters of this ban.”
