Government investigators propose to ban all flavours in e-cigarettes and e-liquid from May 2022. The exception is tobacco flavours, but the ban applies to both nicotine and non-nicotine liquids. The reactions of concerned e-cigarette users caused social media to boil.
"Please don't ruin our and others' chance for better health"
How the nurse writes Karolin Mikkkola, 30 who quit smoking with the help of e-cigarettes four years ago. She reacted immediately when she read about the government's report proposing a ban on all flavored e-liquids, with the exception of tobacco flavors. In a letter to the Minister of Social Affairs, she tells her story.
"I started smoking tobacco when I was 13 years old. The first time I managed to quit smoking was when I was 23 years old and expecting my first child. After that, I fell back and then made the same journey twice more. When I was 27 years old, I was introduced to e-cigarettes. Thanks to an absolutely amazing pear-flavored juice, I decided to give it a go. I could never have done it with a juice that tastes like tobacco, because it tastes terrible." writes Karolin Mikkola to the Minister for Social Affairs Lena Hallengren.
The taste of strawberries was decisive
Karolin Mikkola says that the flavors in e-liquid has been crucial, not only for her but also for her family.
"My mother is 51 years old. Last year, I bought an e-cigarette for her and her partner, with different flavors. They both quit regular cigarettes after abusing tobacco since their teens. Today, their favorites are strawberry with milkshake and cake, and a soda that tastes like sweet rhubarb, fresh strawberries and freshly picked cloudberries. We are adults who love these sweet flavors. We couldn't get away from tobacco without them." writes Karolin Mikkola.
CAN: Few non-smokers use e-cigs
According to the government's investigation, companies primarily use flavorings to attract non-smoking users to start using e-cigarettes. As Vejpkollen previously told us this is a view that is widely shared across the different parties in Parliament. It is also a view shared by the social partners.
"Different flavors lure young people into nicotine addiction", wrote Minister of Social Affairs Lena Hallengren in the DN debate last week.
According to Central information for alcohol and drugs, CAN, which regularly measures the use of e-cigarettes in Sweden, between 30 and 40 percent of students in grades 9 to 2 in upper secondary school have tried e-cigarettes. However, when it comes to regular use, the picture is different.
"The majority of those who have used e-cigarettes have only tried it once, while one (1) percent in both grades do so daily or almost daily. As in the adult population, students who smoked were more likely to have tried e-cigarettes than students who did not smoke." According to CAN.
Investigator: flavors are not harmful
The dangers of e-cigarettes are not well understood, say government investigators Ingeborg Simonsson. Nicotine, which is the main common denominator between e-cigarettes and analog cigarettes, does not cause cancer, she says. The flavorings in question are not considered risky either, according to Ingeborg Simonsson.
"At present, there is no data showing that specific flavorings used in the EU pose risks to e-cigarette users with repeated exposure. The concentrations of harmful substances coming from the flavorings are so low that they do not substantially increase the existing risks of respiratory tract damage" writes Ingeborg Simonsson.
At the same time, heating may produce other substances in the vapor that are still harmful to the body. Here too, the investigation is based on small studies.
"But there is strong evidence that the cardiovascular system can be damaged" writes Ingeborg Simonsson
Authority: only five percent of the risk
Similar investigations in United Kingdom and United States have come to different conclusions regarding e-cigarettes and their effects on the body. The UK Department of Health in several reports found that potential cardiovascular damage is significantly lower for e-cigarette users than for smokers. According to the UK Department of Health, the risks associated with e-cigarettes are likely to be less than 5% of those associated with smoking tobacco. But according to the Swedish government report e-cigarettes should not be compared to analog cigarettes in terms of potential harm.
"This is a product that is so different from smoking tobacco. It makes no sense to try to quantify the risks of e-cigarettes in relation to the use of smoking tobacco. Moreover, comparisons with smoking tobacco risk making e-cigarettes appear less dangerous than they really are." writes Ingeborg Simonsson.
In the UK, the Department of Health recommends since several years e-cigarettes as a harm reduction alternative to cigarettes. The Public Health Agency of Sweden, however, does not.
Thousands affected by a taste ban
Therese Ström, e-cigarette user and commentator, says the report misses the mark. And that the government's ban on flavorings will have devastating consequences.
"Thousands of us in Sweden have saved our lives with these products. Unfortunately, many will probably go back to the extremely deadly smoking tobacco if this goes ahead. The flavors that the government is proposing are way off the mark. And a black market, with uncontrolled and potentially dangerous products will be a fact. It is extremely sad" says Therese Ström to Vejpkollen
"Risk of going back to cigarettes"
Karolin Mikkola also fears the worst, both for herself and her family.
"Don't think any of us would switch to tobacco flavor. The reason we left cigarettes is because it tastes so much better to vejpa. If there's only tobacco flavor, there's a good chance we'll go back to cigarettes," she tells Vejpkollen.
Moderate exposure of products
The committee's proposals also include restrictions on signage in physical stores. The committee wants to see rules for "moderate exposure" of e-juice and e-cigarettes, a proposal that the lobby organization and think tank Tobaksfakta declared earlier this spring.
The government will now send the committee's proposals for consultation and then submit a bill to the Riksdag. If the proposal is approved, the new law will apply from May 2022.
Vejpkollen has reached out to investigator Ingeborg Simonsson for comment.
Why this constant moralizing about "addiction"? If people use nicotine in forms that do not cause serious illness and premature death and enjoy it, it is as unproblematic as drinking coffee. Some people don't even use nicotine on a daily basis, but only occasionally, partying. Even for them, switching to a vejp would be a health gain. The podcast "Health for the Unhealthy" with psychiatrist David Eberhard has repeatedly addressed the topics of tobacco harm reduction, snus and e-cigs. It is clear that there is a political divide in the view of how much the state should decide what we can do with our own bodies. The Social Democrats have a very paternalistic view of people. The fact that they constantly talk about "protecting children" I see mostly as a pretext, they see the entire adult population as underage children when it comes to being able to handle things that may involve certain risks, nicotine products, food that may be unhealthy and alcohol. We are not expected to make such decisions ourselves. If you could buy a bottle of wine in a normal private shop, well then it is claimed that we would not be able to handle it without becoming alcoholics.
Sweden's government is so double moral Ecigg has damaged the tobacco industry greatly, do you really think about people's health ban alcohol, close the systembolaget, close snus and regular cigarette companies, no you do not because you get a lot of money from these, unfortunately we live in a dictatorial world and Sweden is one of them.
Hi I have smoked for 40 years and am glad I made the step from regular cigarettes to vape, but request vape without flavor additives. I think that both flavored and unflavored should be sold. The reason for this is that I want as little as possible to expose my body to sweeteners that are very harmful to the body, even though they are in very small amounts. The body is exposed to very serious poisoning that eventually leads to diseases and ill health. If you can further opt out of a harmful substance in addition to tobacco and at the same time keep the nicotine and smoke that I am looking for. Still not entirely good, but better than the other option. Deanna
Hi Deanna! Sorry for the late reply here. It has always been possible to buy e-liquid without any additives. E-juice is basically glycerine (VG) and propylene glycol (PG), with or without nicotine, usually added separately. Most well-stocked vejp shops sell this, either in a mixture ready to vejpa (important to choose the right ratio of glycerine to pg 50/50 for small systems, 70/30 for larger ones). If, on the other hand, you only use disposable models, it is more difficult to find a variant without any flavoring at all - it simply doesn't sell and few companies could afford to spend the money to produce such a variant. If you're currently using disposables, the easiest option is to switch to a simpler pod system - where you refill the e-liquid yourself. It is not more difficult than that. Can add that it is also possible to reduce the nicotine content of e-liquid to the level you want, in the same way - simply mix as you want 😉
Stefan, editor and since many years vejpare who does most things himself