Experts took the opportunity to once again warn people of the harmful effects of tobacco and related products and outlined the legislation under preparation. Stopping smoking has many health benefits at any age, and there are several options on how to go about this.

The Towards a Tobacco-Free Slovenia 2022–2030 tobacco use reduction strategy, which was approved by the Slovenian Government, includes a long-term vision of a tobacco-free Slovenia by 2040. This means that the number of the people aged 15 years and over who use tobacco, related products and other nicotine products not registered as nicotine replacement therapy should not exceed 5%. The first step towards achieving this ambitious goal is to implement all the measures of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and its guidelines, followed by various innovative measures. The latter also includes the so-called Tobacco-Free Generation.

The proposed amendments to the Restriction of the Use of Tobacco and Related Products Act introduce stricter legislation aimed at reducing the use of tobacco-related products. While the percentage of users of smoking tobacco products is decreasing, the percentage of users of related products, i.e. electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products, is increasing among both adolescents and adults, but more markedly among younger people. Electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products, nicotine sachets and smokeless tobacco products are also used at higher rates by adolescents and young adults than by adults in older age groups. These products expose users to harmful substances and make them addicted, and the use of these products among adolescents and young adults is particularly risky.

"We have drafted an amendment to the Restriction of the Use of Tobacco and Related Products Act to transpose the Commission's Delegated Directive into Slovenian law. It imposes a ban on Member States from using specific flavourings (fruit, spices, herbs, alcohol, sweets, menthol, vanilla, etc.) and flavouring substances in heated tobacco products. In addition to banning flavourings in heated tobacco products, the Act also restricts attractive flavourings (e.g. fruity or sweet) in electronic cigarettes, with the aim of making these products less attractive to children and adolescents, among whom their use is rising sharply and is much higher than among adults. Their attractive flavourings make e-cigarettes more pleasant to use, and are misperceived as less harmful than conventional cigarettes, or even harmless. "We want to protect the health of children and adolescents and all other users who are inhaling harmful substances in e-cigarette aerosol," said Vesna Marinko, Head of the Health Promotion and Addiction Prevention Division at the Ministry of Health.

A ban on flavourings in electronic cigarettes has already been introduced in Austria, Lithuania, Finland, Estonia, Denmark, Hungary and the Netherlands, while in Norway the sale of electronic cigarettes is banned altogether.