Dutch court upholds e-cigarette flavour ban

Dutch court backs ban on sweet-flavoured e-cigarettes. Photo: JUSTIN SULLIVAN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/Getty Images via AFP
Source: AFP

A Dutch court on Wednesday upheld a government ban on sweet flavours for e-cigarettes, arguing they encouraged young people to smoke.

The District Court in The Hague threw out an appeal by British American Tobacco (BAT), which argued that a ban on flavours in e-cigarettes went against the principle of the free movement of goods.

"The flavour ban is not unlawful," the court's verdict read.

"The harmfulness of the e-cigarette and the attractive effect of the sweet flavours on young people have been sufficiently established," it added.

BAT had argued the flavour ban was a de-facto ban on e-cigarettes overall, which could even be counter-productive for authorities' efforts to stamp out smoking.

The firm had argued that fewer smokers of regular cigarettes would be tempted to switch to e-cigarettes in an attempt to quit if the flavour ban was upheld.

But the court also stubbed out this argument.

"The fact that e-cigarettes with tobacco flavour are permitted is also a factor. Other manufacturers have succeeded in developing such e-cigarettes," the court ruled.

"Smokers who try to quit by switching to an e-cigarette can therefore continue to do so under the flavour ban."

Source: AFP