The public health institute RIVM wants the Dutch government to mandate a neutral design for vapes and e-cigarettes, on top of the existing ban on flavored liquids. This follows the Ph.D. research of RIVM researcher Ina Hellmich, which showed that both sweet flavors and colors make vapes more appealing, also to non-smokers.

Hellmich concluded her Ph.D. at Wageningen University & Research today with this research. She found that the color of the vape made its flavors seem more appealing. “Even if precisely the same flavoured tobacco was used in e-cigarettes, test candidates, for example, described a red e-cigarette as tasting sweeter than the same e-cigarette in white or brown,” the RIVM said.

The research also showed that sweet vape flavors were experienced as just as appealing as sweet food flavors, even for non-smokers. Both smokers and non-smokers found sweet e-cigarettes to be “highly appealing,” while neither group was attracted to savoury flavors.

The Netherlands banned flavored vapes in 2024, and previous research showed that this ban is effective. 40 percent of e-cigarette users have vaped less due to the ban, and 22 percent stopped vaping altogether. Subsequent studies showed that many vapers continue to smoke sweet flavors, mostly purchased abroad.

Hellmich and the RIVM recommend also introducing a standardised, neutral appearance for vapes to make them even less attractive. “Measures of this kind should preferably be introduced Europe-wide, to prevent people purchasing these products abroad,” the RIVM said.