Clearing the Air
@clearingtheair.bsky.social
Clearing the air provides multi-language news and analysis on tobacco and nicotine policy, with a European focus.
Exclusive pouch users had significantly lower levels of lead and two tobacco alkaloids than smokers in a US study. The findings add to the evidence on what smokers could gain from replacing cigarettes completely: clearingtheair.eu/en/post/nico...
Nicotine pouch users’ exposure to major toxicants closer to non-smokers’ levels, review finds
A review of Velo nicotine pouches finds lower exposure to major toxicants than smoking, while long-term health evidence remains limited.
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The EU’s nicotine law proposal may be delayed. Meanwhile, Health Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi continues to claim novel products pose the same risks as traditional ones. @Clive_Bates has a blunt assessment of the commissioner’s position. clearingtheair.eu/en/post/tpd-...
Commission declines to confirm December timetable for EU nicotine rules
Questions remain over the timing of proposed changes to the EU Tobacco Products Directive, while the Health Commissioner repeats contested risk claims.
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A European Parliament event will discuss nicotine. At least five harm-reduction writers say their registrations were cancelled because the event was “full”. @zaruk says registration stayed open afterwards. Who decided they couldn’t attend? clearingtheair.eu/en/post/is-t...
Open letter questions access to European Parliament event
An open letter alleges that tobacco-harm-reduction advocates had registrations cancelled for a European Parliament event and calls for answers on attendance criteria.
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A French senator tried to ban starter packs combining a vape device, tank and nicotine liquid. The amendment has been ruled procedurally inadmissible. Senators did not vote on whether the ban was a good idea. clearingtheair.eu/en/post/fren...
French Senate blocks nicotine vape starter-pack ban on procedure
The proposed ban on packs combining a vape device, tank or cartridge and nicotine liquid was stopped by an admissibility ruling.
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Sweden fought for nicotine pouches. Italy defended heated tobacco. Vapers had no government fighting their corner. The compromise on the table includes a €3.60 minimum tax per 10ml bottle, even for nicotine-free liquid. The EU deal remains unagreed. clearingtheair.eu/en/post/eu-c...
EU nicotine tax talks fail: what actually happened?
An analysis of the failed EU Council negotiations on nicotine taxes, including the proposed treatment of cigarettes, vapes, nicotine pouches and heated tobacco.
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Quebec banned most vape flavours in 2023. In a 2026 survey, 77% of recent vapers still mainly used fruit, mint or sweet flavours. Even the ban’s supporters are sounding the alarm. clearingtheair.eu/en/post/thre...
77% of Quebec vapers still use banned flavours three years after ban
New Quebec survey data show fruit, mint and sweet flavours remain widely used despite restrictions, as federal flavour rules remain unfinished.
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A consumer vape can be advertised in the UK as an alternative to tobacco. But a claim that it helps people quit requires medicinal authorisation. Young participants in a Sheffield study want vaping’s role as a quitting aid made clearer. clearingtheair.eu/en/post/posi...
UK young people call for clearer quit-smoking role for vapes
A small Sheffield study found participants supported healthcare-linked access to vapes for adults trying to quit smoking, while calling for tougher youth protections.
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Belgium banned nicotine pouch sales in 2023. Predictably, they haven’t disappeared. Deputy Prime Minister David Clarinval is now pushing for legal sales and excise duties, as an investigation finds pouches are still available through shops, websites and dealers. clearingtheair.eu/en/post/belg...
Belgium deputy PM calls for legal nicotine pouch sales
David Clarinval’s proposal would allow regulated sales of nicotine pouches in Belgium, where sales have been banned since 2023.
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A UK trial found 11.3% of smokers offered a vape quit for six months, versus 6.4% sent NHS emails. With a vape *and* telephone support, 21.1% quit. The results have a clear message for stop-smoking services. clearingtheair.eu/en/post/vape...
UK trial finds vape starter kits raised six-month quit rates
Verified six-month quitting was 11.3% with vapes alone versus 6.4% with NHS emails; vapes plus telephone support reached 21.1%.
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EXCLUSIVE: Spain is set to block the EU’s Tobacco Tax Directive unless the proposed minimum tax on rolling tobacco is reduced. Madrid’s demand could derail months of negotiations. Here’s what it wants: clearingtheair.eu/en/post/excl...
Spain set to block EU tobacco tax directive over rolling tobacco
Spain’s reported demand for a lower fine-cut tobacco rate could derail an EU tax agreement that requires unanimous Member State support.
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Germany effectively bans nicotine pouch sales. Yet TobaccoIntelligence estimates its market is worth $195 million. Its BAT-commissioned report asks what happens when demand survives but legal sales do not. clearingtheair.eu/en/post/nico...
Report finds multimillion-dollar nicotine pouch markets despite bans
TobaccoIntelligence estimates sizeable pouch markets in Germany and France despite restrictions, alongside high foreign web traffic and an estimated Hungarian tax shortfall.
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Heart harm claims from a study of just 17 vapers are facing pushback from four experts. Their objections go beyond sample size. Here’s what the research can actually tell us: clearingtheair.eu/en/post/hear...
Heart harm claims from study of just 17 vapers challenged by experts
Experts question claims about vaping and heart harm after a small study of 17 vapers, citing its size, design and limits on what the findings can show.
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Why does gutka feature so little in a tobacco-control debate that spends so much time targeting vapes and nicotine pouches? In his guest post, @zaruk challenges the movement’s priorities — and asks who is being left behind. clearingtheair.eu/en/post/gutk...
Gutka and Tobacco Control: An Argument Over Public Health Priorities
The author argues that the treatment of gutka exposes a contradiction in global tobacco-control priorities.
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France may be keen on regulating harm reduction out of existence, but it has rejected a lifetime tobacco sales ban for anyone born from 2009. MPs voted it down by 67 to 38, despite earlier committee backing. clearingtheair.eu/en/post/fran...
France rejects lifetime tobacco ban and targets health misinformation
French MPs rejected a lifetime tobacco sales ban for a new generation as the health ministry launched an initiative against medical misinformation.
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Ireland’s flavour restrictions have cleared the Seanad. Menthol couldn’t even be saved. Drogheda retailer Eoin O’Boyle warns that customers who quit smoking with flavoured vapes could go back to cigarettes. No start date has been fixed. clearingtheair.eu/en/post/irel...
Ireland’s vape flavour restrictions clear final Seanad stage
Ireland’s Seanad has advanced restrictions on vape flavour names. Retailers warn of pressure on ex-smokers and independent shops, while e-liquid duty will rise 40%.
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Around 40% of smokers in England recognised vaping was less harmful than smoking in 2014. By 2025, it was around 10%. A shocking failure of public health. clearingtheair.eu/en/post/smok...
Smokers still getting the wrong message on vaping risks, English data shows
New English survey data highlights a persistent gap between smokers’ understanding of vaping risks and the evidence on harm and quitting.
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Germany launched its 2027 vape-tax law two months early, then apparently forgot to include any e-liquid duty rate for the rest of 2026. The Finance Ministry calls it a technical error and insists the old tax still applies. You really could not make it up. clearingtheair.eu/en/post/germ...
German tax error triggers dispute over vape-liquid duty
Germany’s finance ministry says old e-liquid duty rates still apply after a drafting error brought new tobacco-tax rules into force early. Industry representatives disagree.
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Canadian campaigners want a lifetime sales ban on vapes, not simply an age limit. That could leave adults who start smoking despite the ban without legal access to the alternative Health Canada says is less harmful when smokers switch completely. clearingtheair.eu/en/post/cana...
Canadian campaigners want lifetime sales ban on vapes for next generation
Canadian health campaigners are pushing for a lifetime ban on tobacco and vape sales to the next generation, extending restrictions to products that can help smokers quit.
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“Giving smokers a safer way to stop is a choice worth protecting.” Labour MPs have urged ministers to target illegal sellers without shutting off vaping as a route away from cigarettes, as an advertising ban is planned for June 2027. clearingtheair.eu/en/post/don-...
Labour MPs urge ministers to protect vaping access for smokers
MPs urged tougher enforcement against illegal sellers while protecting adult access to vapes, as ministers set out a 1 June 2027 target for an advertising ban.
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France left vaping out of its 2027 budget. Weeks later, MPs are trying to put a €1.50 excise charge on every 10ml bottle back in, whether it contains nicotine or not. The vape-tax fight is back. clearingtheair.eu/en/post/fren...
French MPs revive vape tax proposal as nicotine rules face votes
A proposed €0.15-per-ml e-liquid duty, vape licensing, regulated pouch sales and a generational tobacco-sales ban all face further votes in France.
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The FDA’s tobacco advisory committee has appointed Kim “Skip” Murray ( @imaracingmom ) as its voting representative of the general public. clearingtheair.eu/en/post/cons...
Consumer advocate Skip Murray appointed to advise the FDA
Kim “Skip” Murray has been appointed as TPSAC’s general-public representative, a voting role advising the FDA on tobacco-product regulation.
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Almost one in four young Swiss smokers disappeared from the monthly-smoking figures in two years. Combustible use fell sharply while vaping did not rise. clearingtheair.eu/en/post/smok...
Swiss youth smoking falls almost a quarter in two years
Swiss survey data show monthly smoking among 15 to 24-year-olds fell from 17.7% to 13.5%, while monthly vaping remained broadly stable.
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82,087 responses omitted. A questionnaire that wouldn’t let people distinguish cigarettes from safer nicotine products. The Commission’s summary tells a story about public opinion. We look at how that story was constructed. clearingtheair.eu/en/post/a-st...
A story of two consultations: picking apart the Commission’s summary report
Peter Beckett examines what the European Commission’s summary of its nicotine consultations leaves out — and why the design of the questions matters.
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One of the lung cell lines in the vaping study was already cancerous. The experiment did not measure cancer rates in people. Here’s why those details matter for the headlines. clearingtheair.eu/en/post/vapi...
Vaping cancer claims challenged by limits of laboratory study
A laboratory study found cancer-like changes in lung cells exposed to vaping extract, but its findings do not establish that vaping causes cancer in people.
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Nicotine pouch use rose from 1% to 14% in a survey of New Zealand adults who smoke. Retail sales remain restricted. Yet 68% of current users said they bought pouches from domestic shops. The market moved faster than the rules. clearingtheair.eu/en/post/new-...
New Zealand smokers turn to nicotine pouches despite sales ban
Surveyed pouch use rose from 1% to 14% in a year as New Zealand considers allowing over-the-counter sales.
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Ireland’s smoking rate has been stuck at 17%. Its Budget 2027 response includes a 40% increase in vape duty. From January, a 10ml refill bottle will carry €7 in excise alone, before VAT. clearingtheair.eu/en/post/irel...
Ireland to increase vape tax by 40% from January
Ireland’s e-liquid duty will rise from €0.50 to €0.70 per millilitre on 1 January 2027, including for nicotine-free refills.
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Anti-nicotine groups demand to know who funds harm reduction. Fair enough. But who funds them? Our investigation traces public funding disclosures to pharma firms selling blockbuster COPD and lung-cancer treatments. The questions should run both ways. clearingtheair.eu/en/post/inve...
Who’s behind the anti-nicotine propaganda?
An investigation into pharmaceutical funding of organisations campaigning for tighter restrictions on safer nicotine products.
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The UK smoking rate has more than halved since 2011. It is now 9.8%. But 4.9 million adults still smoke. As nicotine pouches become age-restricted this month, the challenge is protecting young people while keeping quitting options practical for adults. clearingtheair.eu/en/post/uk-s...
UK smoking falls below one in 10 ahead of nicotine pouch age restrictions
ONS estimates put UK adult smoking at 9.8% in 2025. New under-18 restrictions on nicotine pouches and covered vaping products take effect on 29 October.
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France has left vaping out of its initial 2027 budget: no e-liquid tax and no new restrictions. But MPs can still introduce them by amendment. For people using vaping to move away from cigarettes, the relief may be short-lived. clearingtheair.eu/en/post/fren...
French 2027 Budget Draft Omits Proposed Vape Tax
France’s initial budget documents contain no vaping tax or related measure, though amendments could still revive proposals during parliamentary debate.
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Eight EU health ministers want nicotine pouch bans, flavour restrictions and a market freeze. The other 19 haven’t signed their letter. David @zaruk on the isolated bloc trying to turn its hardline demands into EU policy. clearingtheair.eu/en/post/a-eu...
A European House Divided
David Zaruk argues that EU proposals to restrict nicotine products could deepen political divisions and undermine trust in the Tobacco Products Directive revision.
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