Rumours about flavour bans, unclear guidelines for new permits and misinformation from municipalities and authorities. This has led many people, including entrepreneurs, to believe that e-cigarettes have become illegal.
"Many customers have come to our store in Gothenburg and said that it's a shame that we will have to close down because of the new laws. That is certainly not the case," says Daniel Leis, who runs vapes.se.
"As of 1 August, e-cigarettes will be subject to a flavour ban"
Several municipalities sent this message to retailers in the spring. The aim was to inform them that the government proposed a ban on flavours and to warn sellers. The Parliament but voted against the proposal and flavours are very much still allowed. However, no updated information has been received from the municipalities.
"Unfortunately, some retailers, mainly kiosks and petrol stations, are uninformed about what has happened. They are therefore going around saying that from 1 August it will be illegal to sell flavoured e-cigs," said the Commissioner. Victor Bryn-Jensen, President of the Trade Organisation for Electronic Cigarettes, BELC.
Rules on nicotine pouches - but no ban on flavours
Although the flavour ban itself was voted down, large parts of the government's proposal, "Tougher rules for new nicotine products", through. As of 1 August for example 18-year limit for nicotine pouches and obligation to notify the municipality to sell them in shops. The new law is similar to the one already in place for e-cigarettes and e-liquid.
New authorisations fuel the rumour
A further factor fuelling misconceptions is that since 1 July, the Chemicals Inspectorate requires authorisation to sell nicotine-containing e-liquids, disposable e-cigarettes and closed pod systems. The authorisation applies to liquids with the so-called "skull and crossbones" label. These are products with a nicotine volume exceeding 18 mg/ml in nicotine strength - or 1.66% by weight.
"Hard to keep up"
Information on the licence came late in the spring and affects thousands of retailers across the country, particularly petrol stations, chain stores and small convenience stores. The short deadline has meant that neither companies, nor for that matter county councils, have had time to submit applications and have them scrutinised. As a result, several large retailers have temporarily stopped selling e-cigs while waiting for county councils to issue licences for individual shops.
"The new rules on authorisation from the chemical inspectorate came at the same time as the discussion on the flavour ban. For dedicated vejp shoppers, it was complicated, but doable, to deal with it. Unfortunately, many other retailers are not as well versed in all the twists and turns. This has led to the spread of rumours and the belief that it is now illegal to sell e-cigs. This is unfortunate", says Victor Bryn-Jensen.
The Chemicals Inspectorate skips controls
On Monday, the Swedish Chemicals Agency announced that it would be will not check authorisations in 2022. This is because the information about the new rules came too late in the introduction and this in turn has caused problems for both the companies and the county councils, which are responsible for issuing the authorisations.
