Netherlands Vape Flavor Ban Slashes Consumption by 40%, Pressuring Spain

The Dutch National Institute for Public Health (RIVM) has confirmed that eliminating vape flavors drastically reduces youth and adult consumption. This development comes as the Spanish anti-smoking organization Nofumadores.org leverages the Dutch success to pressure Spain’s Ministry of Finance into unlocking a stalled decree aimed at banning flavored and disposable e-cigarettes.

According to the RIVM report analyzing the impact of the Netherlands’ January 2025 flavor ban, the restrictive measures yielded immediate public health benefits:

• Overall Consumption: Total vape usage plummeted by up to 40%.
• Quitting Rates: One in five users abandoned the product entirely.
• Daily Usage: The prevalence of daily vaping dropped significantly from 29% to 18%.

Armed with this data, Nofumadores.org is denouncing the normalization of flavored disposable vapes among pre-teens in Spain, where the devices are readily available in supermarkets and candy stores. Raquel Fernández Megina, president of the organization, emphasized that the Dutch evidence is undeniable: removing flavors designed to attract minors leads to an immediate and relevant drop in consumption.

The organization’s primary goal is to unblock Royal Decree 579/2017. This legislation, which would ban both vape flavors and disposable devices as a public health measure, has been paralyzed in the Spanish Ministry of Finance since late 2025 without any public explanation from the government.

Advocates argue that Spain is legislating “in tow” of its European neighbors. For comparison, Belgium became the first EU member state to ban the sale of disposable vapes on January 1, 2025. Furthermore, the Belgian government has already approved a total flavor ban scheduled for September 2028, which will restrict the market to only neutral or tobacco flavors.

Beyond nicotine addiction, health experts warn that vaping aerosols contain potentially carcinogenic substances and are linked to respiratory diseases like COPD, chronic bronchitis, and asthma. These risks are particularly concerning for adolescents in critical developmental stages.

To prevent cross-border trade loopholes—an issue already noted by both the Netherlands and Belgium—Nofumadores.org is urging the European Commission to implement harmonized, EU-wide regulations. Fernández Megina warned that the vaping industry is mirroring historical tobacco strategies to capture minors, necessitating urgent and coordinated European action before a new generation of nicotine addicts is consolidated.