Shops selling cigarettes and e-cigarettes must also sell nicotine medicines. This was recently decided by the New Jersey State Assembly. According to the media channel Vaping360, vejpshoppers risk being fined if they do not have nicotine gum or nicotine patches on the shelves.
For over a year, non-tobacco flavored e-cigarettes have been banned in the state of New Jersey. The ban has led to many shops closing down or changing their focus. For the few remaining vejpshops, new rules will soon apply. The state recently decided that all shops selling either cigarettes or e-cigarettes must also provide nicotine replacement therapy.
Risk of fines
The decision means that all vejpshops in the state will also have to display information about different nicotine medicines, as well as refer customers to a local stop smoking service. Stores that only sell cigars are exempt, reports Vaping360.
As part of this requirement, the authorities also oblige shops to keep a stock of products such as nicotine gum or similar. If the stock is sold out, owners must replenish it within 14 days or risk a fine of the equivalent of SEK 2 500.
E-cigarettes more effective
According to several randomized studies e-cigarettes twice as effective in smoking cessation compared to traditional nicotine medicines. Even outside clinical settings, statistical studies show that smokers who use e-cigarettes daily, quit smoking at a much higher rate than those who do not use e-cigarettes. In the UK, the the proportion of smokers using nicotine replacement therapy to quit smoking has halved since e-cigarettes became popular.
"There are no studies showing that nicotine replacement therapy is effective for quitting vejpa. However, there is ample anecdotal evidence that a large proportion of customers in vejp shops have already tried nicotine replacement therapy to quit smoking, without success. This was before they discovered vejpning" writes Jim MacDonald in Vaping360.
Competing products
Nicotine medicines are considered by many vejp retailers to be a competing product on the market. They may be sold over the counter but are exempt from advertising bans and are classified as medicines. One Swedish retailer selling nicotine medicines is Cigge.se. However, sales are poor and are likely to cease, according to Victor Bryn-Jensen, HR Manager at Cigge.
"We still have it to a certain extent. They don't sell much. The Medical Products Agency is not fun to deal with. They want reports on exact sales every month, even if we haven't sold a single pack. It's quite time-consuming and not worth the trouble," he says.
"Sounds absurd"
Viktor Bryn-Jensen, who also chairs the Electronic Cigarette Industry Association, finds the reasoning of the New Jersey politicians strange.
"Nicotine medicines are one of the options for smokers who want to quit, of course. Just like e-cigarettes or snus. We thought it was a good product to offer customers. But forcing the shops? That's like forcing a vejpshop to sell cigarettes, just because they sell e-cigarettes. It sounds absurd." he tells Vejpkollen.
