World Vape Day Recognizes the Impact of Tobacco Harm Reduction

May 30 is World Vape Day, an annual global campaign created by consumers of tobacco harm reduction products. This day unites millions of adults who have quit smoking using novel alternatives to combustible cigarettes. More importantly, World Vape Day directly counters the World Health Organization’s (WHO) World No Tobacco Day on May 31, challenging the taxpayer-funded organization’s prohibitionist stance towards products that are not only less harmful than traditional cigarettes but also effective in helping adults quit. Even though the WHO has turned World No Tobacco Day into an assault against tobacco harm reduction, the truth is that World Vape Day and World No Tobacco Day should be the same day. Widespread acceptance of vapes and other tobacco harm reduction products could mean a real World No Tobacco Day.

Modern tobacco harm reduction products, including e-cigarettes, heated tobacco, and oral tobacco products, first gained market strength in the mid-to-late 2000s when the modern e-cigarette was introduced to the U.S. and UK markets. Contrary to the rhetoric pushed by the WHO, e-cigarettes were not introduced by tobacco companies. In fact, the first e-cigarette was created by Hon Lik, a private consumer adult who was then addicted to combustible cigarettes, who found traditional nicotine replacement therapies did not work for him, and went on to develop the modern electronic nicotine delivery device – or the modern e-cigarette.  

The first e-cigarette came to the U.S. in 2007. It wasn’t until 2011 that larger tobacco manufacturers realized the potential of the product and purchased already-existing e-cigarette brands. In 2022, the top 10 tobacco companies controlled only 24.9 percent of the global e-cigarette market. Not only did they not create e-cigarettes, but they also don’t even have a majority stake.

The WHO creates an enemy in tobacco. According to WHO’s own tobacco treaty, tobacco companies cannot be involved with any strategies to reduce the burden of smoking. This is a shame. While large tobacco companies have struggled to gain a majority stake in the vapor product category, they have made significant strides in other tobacco harm reduction products—namely heated tobacco and oral nicotine alternatives.

Heated tobacco was first introduced to the market in the 1980s but had limited impact on converting adults who smoked. In the mid-to-late 2000s, companies began reexamining these products and introducing modern heated tobacco products. One specific brand was launched globally 10 years ago and has already led to significant decreases in smoking rates in other countries. For example, in Japan, even the American Cancer Society has remarked that the introduction of this particular brand “likely reduced cigarette sales in Japan.” According to the company’s most recent filing, in the first quarter of 2024, heated tobacco product sales outpaced combustible cigarette sales.

In 2022, while the U.S. was awaiting heated tobacco products to enter the market, more than 20 million adults aged 18 years or older were currently using e-cigarettes, and their use correlates with declines in cigarette use and sales. In fact, the use of e-cigarettes in the states in 2023 led to a 10 percent decrease in cigarette sales for one company.

The WHO ignores these facts and the adults who rely on alternatives to cigarettes to both quit smoking and remain smoke-free. While the WHO and governmental agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Food and Drug Administration, continue to push nicotine replacement therapies (which have a relatively low success rate), both consumers and tobacco companies have responded to market forces by creating effective, safer alternatives to combustible cigarettes. Ironically, the WHO doesn’t argue for limiting access to combustible cigarettes for those same adults. In recent years, the WHO and its associated public health trade associations have pushed for generational bans on cigarettes for youth—yet, due to an evolving marketplace, youth are the least likely to use combustible cigarettes.

The stubborn stance of the WHO and similar organizations against tobacco harm reduction products is not only misguided but also detrimental to public health. By ignoring the substantial evidence supporting the effectiveness and relative safety of e-cigarettes and other alternatives, these organizations are failing millions of adults seeking to quit smoking. On World Vape Day, it’s crucial to recognize and support the potential of these products to save lives and reduce the burden of smoking globally.