The federal government’s drug policy spokesperson, Hendrik Streeck (CDU), welcomed Agriculture Minister Alois Rainer’s (CSU) plan to ban menthol and other additives in e‑cigarettes and called for even stricter measures.
“ This is an important and overdue step for public health protection, especially for children and adolescents ” Streeck told “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland”. “When nicotine products are marketed with sweet flavours and colourful designs reminiscent of candy, it is not freedom but an addiction‑inducing strategy”. He added that, in the long run, “we should remove all characteristic flavours from nicotine products, as the Netherlands or Denmark are already doing”. Streeck urged that e‑cigarettes must no longer be promoted with names, designs, or flavour worlds that echo sweets or snacks, arguing that such products are inherently addictogenic and incompatible with necessary health and youth protection.
Streeck also pressed for tighter enforcement of the advertising ban and for stronger controls on illegal import and distribution-both in retail shops and online. “If banned products are being sold to young people, the commercial inspection authorities must act decisively” he warned. “Rules only work if they are fully implemented” he stressed, insisting that there can be no grey areas when it comes to protecting children and teenagers.
On the opposite side, renowned addiction researcher Heino Stöver of the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences believes the approach is flawed. “For long‑time smokers who have repeatedly failed to quit, the e‑cigarette can serve as a provisional step to finally break free from combustible cigarettes” he argues. “E‑cigarettes are also unhealthy, but they contain up to 95 percent fewer harmful substances than conventional cigarettes”. Stöver criticized that no risk assessment comparing the ban on additives in electronic cigarettes to the dangers posed by continued use of conventional cigarettes has been carried out. He too demanded greater protection for children and teens, calling for a ban on disposable vapes and strict enforcement of the advertising ban. “Influencers or rappers should no longer be able to target young audiences on social media without consequence-action is finally required here”.
