Do shops selling e-cigarettes comply with the law? During the winter, the Swedish Consumer Agency has examined Swedish vejpshoppar and their online marketing.
"Unfortunately, we see many violations," says Linda Halvarsson, a lawyer at the Swedish Consumer Agency.
Since 2018, it is prohibited to advertise products regulated under the law on tobacco and similar products. And according to this, in principle all marketing prohibitedThis applies to advertisements in newspapers and social media as well as banners on your own website. The ban applies to everything from nicotine, mods and tanks, but in some cases also products that are not directly regulated - such as nicotine-free shortfills. According to the Swedish Consumer Agency, advertisements and banners for nicotine-free e-juices are therefore often problematic.
"For example, it is permitted to have an ad, or so-called banner, that points to a shortfill without nicotine. But if you can click on the same page to buy a nicotine shot, it falls under the legislation. So it's not ok" says Linda Halvarsson, lawyer at the Swedish Consumer Agency.
Reviewed 24 websites
This is a very common practice, she says. That's why, when the agency examined 24 shops, it was the banners for nicotine-free juices, shortfills, that attracted the most attention.
"Because there are so few products that can be marketed, companies are always on the edge. This is understandable. But we want to draw their attention to the fact that we do look at each practice individually. And if it turns out that a clickable banner can be linked to the purchase of a regulated product, then it is not allowed marketing" says Linda Halvarsson.
Tasteful descriptions wrong
Just last year, the company was convicted EcoSwe to a fine for breaking several laws in its marketing. The ruling was appealed, but in addition to banners and texts designed to entice brand purchases, the company was accused of excessive value-laden descriptions of the products. Product descriptions are also something that the Consumer Agency has looked into in its review.
"Unfortunately, we find many colorful and emotional descriptions. Descriptions of taste should be restrained and factual and should not contain value words. This also applies to technical devices. It's ok to explain how it works, but you have to distinguish between that and 'opinions' about the device" says Linda Halvarsson
Easy to add nicotine
The Swedish Consumer Agency assesses on a case-by-case basis whether a descriptive flavor description of a nicotine-free e-juice is permitted or not.
"If the idea is that it is to be filled with a nicotine shot then it falls under the regulations. We often see that a page at first glance is about an unregulated e-juice, but that by scrolling in a menu it can be ordered with nicotine. That's not ok." says Linda Halvarsson.
An art of doing the right thing
The difficult-to-navigate regulatory framework and the lack of legal practice have turned product descriptions into a kind of abstract art. According to Christian Brandt, who runs the company Light Your Fire. The family business sells e-cigarettes and e-juice in some physical stores, but also online.
"The question is how to describe, for example, a mod or tank without "liking" it? It becomes very technical and boring. How is an 80-year-old lady a hundred miles away supposed to "understand" how a device works and "feels" if we can't tell her in our own words from our perspective?" says Christian Brandt to Vejpkollen.
"Dare to speak out"
Christian Brandt has become used to having discussions with the Consumer Agency. And he believes that vejpshoppers should not be afraid to do so.
"We have had disputes about some texts on the website where we provide information about what vejpning is, how it affects health and how the technology itself works. The Swedish Consumer Agency saw this as advertising and demanded that we remove it from the site. We said no on the grounds that it was necessary information for those who buy our products. And then we ended up keeping it." says Christian Brandt.
Allowed to inform and form opinions - sometimes
According to Lena Halvarsson, it is allowed to have texts that inform about how the technology works on the website. It is also ok to form opinions. But each text and image is judged on its own merits.
"It's all about the purpose and function of the text. We look at each case and make an assessment. Is the text linked to a product? Can the text lead to a purchase? And so on. It is important for companies to clearly distinguish between information texts and marketing texts"
Don't want to frame companies
She says, however, that the Consumer Agency is not out to report companies in the first place. The purpose of the review is to give everyone a chance to understand and comply with the law.
"We think dialogue is important. We want to give companies a small window of opportunity to change obvious mistakes and avoid them in the future. In the first place, we want them to change themselves without us having to make a legal issue of it" says Linda Halvarsson.
Not audited social media - yet
The Swedish Consumer Agency's review has so far focused on companies' own websites. The agency has not yet looked at companies' presence on social media, such as Facebook, Tik Tok, Snapchat and Instagram.
"But we want to take a holistic approach and are constantly monitoring the world around us. It is not impossible that we will be looking at social media quite soon too" says Linda Halvarsson.
The Swedish Consumer Agency expects to follow up the review shortly in the spring.
