It's pure health food" said no one in the gun shop.
Let's be honest here for a moment and ruminate on something we all "know", but don't emphasize. I'm actually 99.9% sure everyone reading this will agree with me, but a vape is not health food, no miracle cure that will cure arthritis, gallstones and kidney hernias. It is an alternative to
smoking. No more, no less. Or.... well, you know what I mean.
It is an extremely healthy alternative if you compare it to the plain old cigarette. But if you compare it to a leaf of lettuce, the premise is a bit different. You need to compare it to the product it's supposed to replace, and by golly, it's horribly healthy.
Conservatism and ignorance
So why has the e-cigarette been labeled the devil himself by several organizations and political groups? I think it's a combination of conservatism, ignorance and poor control.
Conservatism because this is something relatively 'new' compared to the conventional cigarette, and you simply don't know how to respond to this novelty, especially if you have no experience with it.
IgnoranceThis is because people simply do not know what the product actually is, what its purpose is, and do not understand what it contains. This is also where conservatism comes in, as people simply do not want to take in information about the latter.
Poor control. Hello... State? Are you there? It's time to rub the sleep out of your eyes
and actually see what is happening, with alert and awake eyes, instead of blindly going along with
fists towards things that do good.
What do I mean now?
How Pelle, 13, gets a disposable vejp
Yes, and this is a bit of a thorn in my side. It's not the ordinary shops that are to blame for little Pelle, 13, standing and taking deep puffs on a disposable vape. Pelle has definitely not been inside the store and bought it. He has either done what kids have done since the 18-year limit on nicotine products was introduced: talked to Ronny, who is going into the vejp store anyway because he has scraped together some money for an e-juice, and told Ronny that "you get 50 bucks if you buy me a disposable, here's the money!"
Or, Pelle has either contacted, or been contacted by, someone who imports e-cigs and sells them to anyone. I mean, it's supposed to be inclusive in today's society, right? Well... maybe not everywhere as it's not suitable for everyone.
400 vapes for personal use?
So, Uncle/Aunt Staten, how about actually checking out how things are when people import a couple hundred disposables? Is it a private person who should have 400 disposables in the drawer? I find that a bit hard to believe. For personal use? OK, it could happen, but it could also happen that you get killed by a snail. The chances are small, but they are never zero. Now, if it is a company that brings it in, maybe someone should check if they are authorized to sell such products?
Tax and customs where needed
If it's a private person, slap on a hefty duty if there are over X number (say 30?) in the package. Not much is done right in the great country of the West, but "possession with intent to sell" is a pretty good argument in this case. 30 disposables should be about a reasonable monthly consumption, so what one can assume is a "normal" use for a private person. But not more.
Stop it at the border
Now we have some restrictions here in Sweden on how a disposable product should be packaged, how big, etc., and I do not think that restrictions like these can affect private imports. However, it does affect companies. A company that stays within the limits of the law would not bring in a 5000 puff disposable at all and definitely not 400 copies or more. Customs and police must learn to recognize what is legal to sell and what is not. And make sure to stop it at the border.
Simple, right? Get to work, and stop bothering those of us who work on harm reduction for real.
Well thought out and well written.
It is clear that the TPD does not meet the requirements it was intended to meet. It is also likely that no thought was given to recycling.
It is quite clear that with current rules on imports, the black market will take over. Vapor shops that already have (and are consistent in complying with the 18-year limit,) will never experience problems with the TPD.
It is we as vejper who experience the problems. The fact that our uncle the state is losing millions in customs and taxes, as well as contributing to an increasing number of young people buying disposable vaporizers from schoolmates, is something they should take seriously.