The federal government's drug commissioner, Hendrik Streeck, advocates for banning sweet flavors in e-cigarettes to protect young people. He criticizes the marketing as an addiction strategy and welcomes planned bans on 13 ingredients. Addiction researcher Heino Stöver, however, considers the measures unjustified.
Hendrik Streeck, a CDU politician and the federal government's drug commissioner, has spoken out in favor of banning sweet flavorings in e-cigarettes. In a statement for the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND), he said: «If nicotine products are marketed with sweet flavors and colorful designs like candies, that's not freedom, but an addiction strategy». Streeck emphasized that e-cigarettes should no longer be marketed with names, designs, and flavor profiles reminiscent of sweets or snacks. This downplays addictive products and contradicts health and youth protection.
Streeck welcomes the planned ban on 13 aroma and cooling agents, including menthol, which is to be implemented via ordinance. The Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture announced this in mid-January. Menthol has been banned in conventional cigarettes EU-wide since 2020.
Frankfurt-based addiction researcher Heino Stöver opposes the measures. «The data basis of the expert opinion is very thin and does not justify the planned comprehensive bans», he told RND. Stöver argues that e-cigarettes can serve as an intermediate step for long-term smokers to quit combustion cigarettes. «E-cigarettes are also unhealthy. But they contain up to 95 percent fewer harmful substances than conventional cigarettes», he explained. People do not die from nicotine, but from tar and other combustion residues.
The tobacco industry is furious about the ban on 13 ingredients from menthol to sweeteners in liquids and calls it a total ban, while Streeck describes it as overdue for child protection.
