E-liquid flavour ban in the Netherlands: fewer notified e-cigarettes, more with a tobacco flavour.

BACKGROUND: Since 1 January 2024, the Netherlands has banned all e-liquid flavours other than tobacco in order to discourage e-cigarette use among young people. This ban is based on a restrictive list of 16 permitted flavour-determining ingredients that only enable the production of a tobacco flavour. To evaluate the impact of the flavour ban on the Dutch e-cigarette flavour landscape, we determined how the number of newly notified e-cigarette products and their composition have changed since the ban came into effect. METHODS: We analysed product data for e-cigarette products notified to the Dutch part of the European Common Entry Gate system's tobacco and e-cigarette product database from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2025. Based on their ingredients, products were assigned to four groups, namely those containing (1) any non-allowed flavourings; (2) any ingredients with insufficient flavour information; (3) allowed flavourings only and (4) no flavourings. RESULTS: In 2025, there was a 61% decrease in the total number of newly notified e-cigarette products compared with 2020. Furthermore, there was a 38% increase in the percentage of products containing only allowed flavourings and a 56% decrease in those containing non-allowed flavourings. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the overall goals of the flavour ban, namely to discourage the attractiveness and use of e-cigarettes while keeping them available for people who smoke tobacco as an alternative. Additional studies on attractiveness, consumer behaviour and sales will be needed to fully evaluate the effect of the flavour ban.