Ban flavoured vapes, WHO says, urging tobacco-style controls

FILE PHOTO: People walk past a Vape Shop in central London, Britain April 11, 2023. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday urged governments to treat e-cigarettes similarly to tobacco and ban all flavours, threatening cigarette companies' bets on smoking alternatives.

Some researchers, campaigners and governments see e-cigarettes, or vapes, as a key tool in reducing the death and disease caused by smoking. But the U.N. agency said "urgent measures" were needed to control them.