PDNW Warns EU: Vape and Nicotine Prohibition Will Hand Market to Criminals

PDNW Warns EU: Vape and Nicotine Prohibition Will Hand Market to Criminals

15 June 2026. Brussels.  

Prohibition Does Not Work (PDNW), an international networks of think tanks dedicated to evidence based nicotine policy, today submitted comments to the European Commission’s review of the Tobacco Products Directive and Tobacco Advertising Directive, warning that bans on flavours, nicotine pouches, disposable vapes, or other smoke-free alternatives would repeat the failures of prohibition seen around the world.

“Prohibition has failed everywhere it has been tried,” said Tim Andrews, spokesperson for Prohibition Does Not Work. “It does not eliminate demand. It does not protect young people. It does not create safer products. It simply hands the market to criminals, informal sellers and online dealers who operate outside every rule the Commission says it wants to enforce, while directly leading to more people smoking combustible cigarettes and dying as a result.”

The submission points to real-world failures detailed in earlier PDNW reports on the Netherlands, Australia, Brazil, Mexico and Germany. These jurisdictions show the same pattern: prohibition does not end consumption, but it does increase illicit supply, undermine age verification, damage legitimate businesses, reduce tax revenue, expose consumers to unregulated products, and prevent people from quitting smoking.

“Bans give governments the illusion of action while stripping them of control,” Andrews said. “A licensed retailer can be inspected, fined, suspended or shut down. A criminal seller on Telegram or TikTok cannot. If the EU weakens the legal market, it will make enforcement harder, not easier.”

PDNW’s submission was reinforced by a separate contribution from Michael Ellis, former Assistant Director of INTERPOL’s Organised Crime Unit and former Head of INTERPOL’s Illicit Trade directorate, who also serves as PDNW’s Principal Global Advisor on Illicit Trade.

“In my opinion the push for total prohibition of vapes, flavoured vapes or nicotine pouches will lead to the exact market opportunities that organised crime gangs can easily exploit,” said Ellis. “By meeting a massive consumer demand that already exists, users will be driven away from buying genuine taxable vapes, to buy from unregulated outlets, providing opportunities for illicit funds to be diverted into other criminality.”

Ellis warned that illicit suppliers are bypassing safety standards, exposing consumers to unknown chemicals, and placing further pressure on already stretched enforcement agencies. “What is needed is greater control and regulation of vapes and nicotine pouches and not a blanket ban that will encourage the growth and demand for illicit trade,” Ellis said.

PDNW urged the Commission to adopt a risk-based framework focused on age verification, retailer licensing, product standards, online enforcement, supply-chain accountability and penalties for illegal sales.

“If the problem is youth access, enforce age restrictions,” Andrews said. “If the problem is unsafe products, enforce product standards. If the problem is illegal imports, target illegal imports. But do not pretend that banning lawful products will make the market safer. It will do the opposite.”

“Every serious objective the Commission has, protecting young people, improving product safety, reducing smoking, preserving the internal market and weakening illicit trade, is undermined by prohibition,” Andrews concluded. “The EU should regulate the market it can see, not create a larger market it cannot.”

The submission can be downloaded here.