Washington (AFP)

There was a consensus Wednesday in Washington at a conference of the global tobacco and nicotine industry: times are tough.

In the last three weeks, India and the US state of Massachusetts have decided to ban the sale of electronic cigarettes, while two other states (New York and Michigan) have banned flavored e-cigarettes ... including Donald Trump announced for October the ban throughout the United States (tobacco tastes will remain on sale, subject to authorization).

Even if Europe escapes for the moment the turn of screws, the product which was to represent the future is attacked on several continents. For the nearly 400 participants of the World Forum on Tobacco and Nicotine, it is urgent to stop what they consider to be an irrational precipitation of the public authorities.

"This is a pivotal moment for the industry," said Howard Willard, CEO of the giant tobacco company Altria, the largest shareholder in the US leader in vape, Juul. "The vapotage is at a point of inflection".

In the morning, in the face of turbulence, Juul's boss was replaced.

The industry is facing two problems. On the one hand, the growing popularity of vaping among young people. On the other hand this summer broke out an epidemic of acute lung diseases and in some cases fatal, apparently related to cannabis refills bought on the black market, without knowing the toxic ingredient.

The industry agrees to ban consumption under 21, and blames the authorities for not raiding the shops selling minors.

- "It's crazy" -

But banning e-cigarettes altogether is absurd, the interveners said, in the name of the principle of harm reduction, with cigarettes being worse than other nicotine products.

On stands, tobacco companies showcase these less harmful alternatives. In addition to tablets and nicotine bags, they rely on devices that heat the tobacco, instead of burning it.

Philip Morris International is betting on its IQOS: a kind of short cigarette is inserted into an elongated appliance, which heats the tobacco and gives off an aerosol that is presented as less toxic.

In one session, Konstantinos Farsalinos, a Greek cardiologist, attacked India, where a million smokers die each year. "They banned the least harmful nicotine products on the market!" he strangled himself. "Public health neglect," said a teacher at the University of Ottawa.

In Japan, e-liquids with nicotine are not allowed, but cigarettes, though. "It's crazy," said Konstantinos Farsalinos.

The North Carolina senator, Richard Burr, denounced a "frenzy" and compared the ban wave to a "witch hunt", accusing states like Massachusetts of having acted while having "zero done".

Those responsible for this frenzy would initially be the media, which would mix summer lung disease with the problem of young people, without taking into account that vaping would be the best hope for adults who would like to quit smoking.

"We can not let assumptions of misinformation guide politics and become accepted truths," said Altria's CEO.

In another panel, speakers strongly criticized the World Health Organization (WHO), which reiterated this summer its hostility to e-cigarettes.

Among the regulatory superpowers, "WHO is by far the worst and the most dangerous," said Clive Bates, a consultant. The international organization has "a general inclination for extreme positions".

But to get out of this crisis, industrialists concede that they must regain credibility.

The question of communication arises: Juul, who has targeted young people on Instagram until 2018, has announced the cessation of any advertising activity, but not everyone is on this line.

Some people want to talk to smokers and think it's possible to erect a wall between the ages of over and under 21, even on the internet.

"Next-generation products can be promoted responsibly to adult consumers," said Ricardo Oberlander, CEO of Reynolds American, British American Tobacco Group.

© 2019 AFP