The European Parliament voted against the European Commission's proposal to include vejpning in the general smoking ban. It reports Politico magazine
"This is a victory for consumers and bodes well for the upcoming negotiations on harm reduction in the EU," says Michael Landl, World Vapers Alliance.
Such as the Road Column have previously reported the European Commission would like to extend the current recommendation on smoking bans for indoor environments to outdoor areas, mainly outdoor cafés and bus stops. At the same time, it would like to include vejping and use of e-cigarettes under the same ban.
Different rules in different countries
Recommendations from the EU cannot force countries to do anything, but nevertheless countries are expected to introduce restrictions in the same spirit as the Commission expresses. In Sweden, for example, there is already an inclusive ban that equates vejpning with smoking. The ban also applies in public places - that is, even in vejp shops - which in practice makes it impossible to taste and test products in the shops. But this is far from being the case in all countries.
"Gravely unscientific"
The European Commission's proposal has sparked protests, not least from organisations that want to promote alternative nicotine products, known as tobacco harm reduction.
"Equating e-cigarette vapour with cigarette smoke is not only seriously unscientific, it also misleads smokers into thinking that the risks are the same. We know today that the vapour from an e-cigarette barely affects the environment while the smoke is directly harmful. But if this ban were to be enforced, smokers are likely to be very reluctant to switch to vejpning." says Michael Landl in a press release.
Parliament voted against
But the European Commission's proposal suffered a setback in the European Parliament. Parliament's opinion on the matter is symbolic, but no less important, according to Michael Landl. According to Politico, a majority voted against supporting the proposal. And one of the sticking points was the issue of including vejpning in the smoking ban.
According to Michael Landl and the World Vapers Alliance, this suggests that the harm reduction message is getting through. If not to the European Commission, then at least to MEPs.
"The vote shows that information and a message of consumer choice can actually outweigh the scaremongering and over-regulation that characterises the debate on e-cigarettes and other smokeless nicotine products today. Hopefully, the decision can favour a more sensible legislation where the right to choose can be reconciled with public health objectives in the EU" says Michael Landl.
New directive on nicotine pouches and flavours
The European Commission is currently working on a proposal for a revised Tobacco Products Directive (TPD). The latest version included a framework for regulating e-cigarettes in the EU and is the reason why nicotine liquid can contain a maximum of 20 mg of nicotine per millilitre, can only be sold in bottles of a maximum of 10 ml and that the tank size in closed systems, such as disposable models, cannot exceed 2 ml. The new directive is also likely to regulate nicotine pouches, a product that only regulated nationally today. There are also indications that the European Commission wants to regulate flavours in e-cigarettes and e-liquid.
