"There are more smokers than nonsmokers," he said, referring to male smoking rates.
"After the war," he said, "Germany had three times more smokers than before it".
And with every hike in cigarette taxes, more smokers are looking for ways to stop.
Smoking prohibitions prompt more smokers to quit, so industry watchdogs are leery of a campaign that flaunts circumventing bans.
"The more like the real thing" it is perceived to be, he added, "the more smokers get into the category".
Dr. Ties Boerma, director of health statistics for the agency, said he had seen more obese people and more smokers in capitals around the developing world.
Critically, there was net support for the packaging from smokers after introduction, whilst before introduction more smokers were opposed to it than in favour.
And a representative of bodega owners warned that many stores could be driven out of business and that more smokers would buy black market cigarettes.
E-cigarettes are not cheap and making quality assured products available on prescription will encourage more smokers to get help from the NHS and so save lives.
But tobacco retailers and store owners argued that it would hurt business and cost jobs, while driving more smokers to the black market.
For instance, research shows that more smokers in California are trying to cut back on how many days they smoke each week.
