Hysteria in the Netherlands
Reporting from The Hague, the World Vapers' Alliance has called out the Dutch officials’ misguided statement comparing vaping to crack and heroin use
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by Dave Cross
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Reporting from The Hague, the World Vapers' Alliance has called out the Dutch officials’ misguided statement comparing vaping to crack and heroin use. The advocacy body says that comments will put the lives of smoker and ex-smokers at risk by scaring people away from a product accepted to be far safer than tobacco.
State Secretary Vincent Karremans said he wants to prevent people from starting to vape and encourage people to stop in a presentation to the Dutch House of Representatives. As part of the announcement, he said nicotine is the most addictive drug after heroin and crack.
Karremans said: “Because nicotine is the most addictive drug after heroin and crack, vapes are highly addictive. Nicotine damages the developing brain and can lead to a persistent addiction at a young age. That in itself is very serious, but it also makes you more susceptible to other addictions. That is why I am doing what I can to tackle this problem.”
The World Vapers' Alliance strongly condemned the statement, saying it was “not only inaccurate but also harmful to public health efforts. Karremans' claim that ‘nicotine is the most addictive drug in existence after heroin and crack’ is a blatant misrepresentation of scientific evidence and contributes to the growing pandemic of misinformation surrounding vaping in the Netherlands.”
Michael Landl, Director of the World Vapers' Alliance, stated: “The Dutch government's fear-mongering tactics are not only wrong but dangerous. By spreading such misinformation, they are actively undermining efforts to combat smoking in the Netherlands. The scientific evidence is clear: vaping is significantly less harmful than smoking and has helped millions quit cigarettes.”
On Karremans declaring that “nicotine harms the developing brain” and “makes you more susceptible to other addictions”, the World Vapers' Alliance say such statements fly in the face of evidence provided by respected organisations such as Action on Smoking and Health (ASH).
ASH addressed vaping myths last year, stating that young people who vape are much less likely to be nicotine-dependent than smokers.
It also noted that population-level data does not support the gateway hypothesis.
Furthermore, ASH stated that no data is available on the direct effects of nicotine exposure in human adolescents, undermining definitive claims about its impact on developing brains.
The World Vapers’ Alliance says that while Sweden and New Zealand are on the verge of becoming smoke-free “thanks to their progressive approaches to vaping and nicotine pouches”, the Netherlands continues to lag behind with a smoking rate of almost 20%.
Landl continued: “It's deeply concerning to see the Dutch government ignore the success stories of countries like Sweden and New Zealand. Instead of embracing proven harm reduction strategies, they choose to peddle myths that will only serve to keep people smoking.”
The World Vapers’ Alliance has called on the Dutch government to retract its misleading statements and revise its approach based on factual, scientific evidence.
“Failing to do so will only perpetuate the smoking epidemic and deny smokers access to potentially life-saving alternatives,” it concluded.
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Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
