Nicotine-free "disposables" like e-cigarettes

The so-called tobacco law urgently needs to be amended. It is about restricting the use of electronic cigarettes by young people. These products are a clear threat to public health, especially for the younger generation and non-smokers, making it necessary to ban the sale of all types of electronic cigarettes and spare containers to people under 18, regardless of whether the product has or does not have nicotine in it.

The legal framework for the electronic cigarette market, as defined by the Tobacco Law, is a consequence of the implementation into the national legal order of Directive 2014/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 3, 2014 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States on the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco and related products and repealing Directive 2001/37/EC (Official Journal of the EU L 127 of 29.04.2014, p. 1, as amended).

The directive's provisions regulate the market for electronic cigarette liquids that have nicotine in their composition. The proposed regulations will bring so-called nicotine-free liquids under the aforementioned provisions as well. It should be noted that the risk posed by these products is not significantly less than nicotine-containing products. The popularity of nicotine-free products increases the risk of young people accessing tobacco products to the same extent that electronic cigarettes with nicotine do. With this in mind, it is reasonable to consider restricting the sale of nicotine-free liquids to people under 18, as well as banning their sale in vending machines or via the Internet.

The current legal framework for the electronic cigarette market, as defined by the Tobacco Law, is a consequence of the implementation into the national legal order of Directive 2014/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 3, 2014 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States on the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco and related products and repealing Directive 2001/37/EC (Official Journal of the EU L 127 of 29.04.2014, p. 1, as amended). The provisions of the directive regulate the market for electronic cigarette liquids having nicotine in their composition. The proposed regulations are intended to bring so-called nicotine-free liquids under the law and will result in:

1) banning their sale to people under the age of 18;

2) limiting the places where it will be possible to use them, analogous to electronic cigarettes with nicotine-containing liquid;

3) Banning vending machines and remote sales (including over the Internet);

4) banning advertising and promotion;

5) the need to report information on these products to the President of the Chemical Substances Bureau;

6) the need to adapt their composition to the requirements of the law (e.g., the prohibition of substances with CMR properties);

7) the need for proper labeling of their packaging.

Electronic cigarettes and spare containers, which are filled with nicotine-free liquid, currently do not meet the definitions of an electronic cigarette or spare container set forth in the Tobacco Act, so they are not subject to the Act's requirements for electronic cigarettes and spare containers at all. The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection and the Trade Inspection have the authority to verify these products for safety and eliminate them from the market.

Therefore, greater oversight of nicotine-free liquids should be introduced, including through the need to report information about these products to the President of the Bureau of Chemical Substances and the need to bring their composition into compliance with the requirements of the law (e.g., the prohibition of substances with CMR properties).

Source: RCL