Posted by Ask EP &sdot March 11, 2014 &sdot 27 Comments Filed Under advertising, cigarettes, Citizens’ enquiries, e cigarettes, EP answers, Online publications, tobacco 3 other language versions available in pdf

E Zigaretten Was will das Europ ische Parlament?
Qu a fait le PE concernant les cigarettes lectroniques?
Wat heeft het EP gedaan op het gebied van elektronische sigaretten?

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Parliament’s vote on the directive on tobacco and related products spurred consumers of electronic cigarettes to write to the European Parliament. Many citizens voiced their concern about the scientific evidence on which the rules applied to e cigarettes were based. Some ex smokers indicated as a possible consequence of these stronger regulations that e cigarettes consumers would start using tobacco again.

The European Parliament has not taken this decision lightly. A lot of thought has gone into the proposed rules concerning e cigarettes. Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have listened both to consumers and to experts in the field. On 25 February 2013 the EP Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) held a public hearing on Tobacco Products and a public workshop on electronic cigarettes on 7 May 2013. Meeting documents and proceedings of both hearing and workshop are freely available on the EP website.

Gianluca Rasile / Fotolia

On 8 October 2013, the EP adopted its original position on the European Commission’s proposal for a new directive concerning the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco and related products. According to the EP resolution, e cigarettes should have been regulated, but not been subject to the same rules as medicinal products unless they would have been presented as having curative or preventive properties. Those for which no such claims were made should have contained no more than 30mg/ml of nicotine and should have carried health warnings. Manufacturers and importers would also have had to supply the competent authorities with a list of all the ingredients that they contain. Finally, e cigarettes would have been subject to the same advertising restrictions as tobacco products.

The negotiations with the Council of the EU were successfully concluded on 18 December 2013. Many of the EP’s original proposals concerning electronic cigarettes are still part of the compromise agreed with the Council. Changes include the lowering of the maximum nicotine concentration to 20 mg/ml and fixing the maximum size of single use cartridges at 2 ml. The final text of the agreement is available on the EP website.

The compromise reached between Parliament and Council was adopted in plenary on 26 February 2014 with 514 in favour, 86 against and 58 abstentions.

The agreement is aimed at helping smokers to quit while preventing any incentive for young people to start smoking.

Any questions on this issue or another EP related concern? Please use our web form. You write, we answer.

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Like this Like Loading… Related About Ask EP The Citizens’ Enquiries Unit provides information on the activities, powers and organisation of the European Parliament. You ask, we answer. View all posts by Ask EP European gastronomic heritage cultural and educational aspects The tsunami in Japan, three years after Discussion 27 thoughts on “New rules on electronic cigarettes”

  1. great points altogether, you just won a emblem new reader.
    What may you suggest in regards to your post that you simply made some days in the past?
    Any sure?

    Posted by personal trimmers for women December 24, 2014, 03 48 Reply to this comment

  2. Terrific post however I was wondering if you could
    write a litte more on this subject? I’d be very thankful
    if you could elaborate a little bit more. Thanks!

    Posted by NetBet bonus May 2, 2014, 09 02 Reply to this comment

    • Thanks a lot for your comment, NetBet bonus! We might publish an update if there are new EP decisions on this issue. If you have a specific question you can write us directly via our webform

      Posted by Ask EP May 2, 2014, 09 42 Reply to this comment

  3. These new laws will do nothing but hurt the industry and push many people back to tobacco cigarettes and hinder others from even trying electronic cigarettes. It’s sad.

    Posted by Chad March 29, 2014, 06 39 Reply to this comment

  4. Reblogged this on Electronic Cigarettes.

    Posted by davisgarcia March 13, 2014, 07 08 Reply to this comment

  5. In order to minimize waste produced and favor ecological approaches

    The various parts that constitute an ecig device and wear and tear at varying speeds should be independently replaceable. The three main parts are the battery, the liquid container and the heating element.

    Sellers should provide a reasonable supply of these spare parts and ensure they can be easily replaced rather than forcing the purchase of an entirely new set each time a single one of these elements wears down.

    Similarly, manufacturers of disposable electronic cigarettes must set up a program to collect and recycle the full body disposable ecigs.

    Posted by Thomas Baudel March 12, 2014, 19 50 Reply to this comment

    • Just a precision last sentence, I mean manufacturers must set up a program to collect and recycle the single use components or devices.

      Additionally, the return rate of this program should be monitored by the manufacturers and regulation authorities to ensure at least 80% of the single use components are effectively recycled, with associated penalties in case of failure.

      Posted by Thomas Baudel March 13, 2014, 09 57 Reply to this comment

  6. “Some ex smokers indicated as a possible consequence of these stronger regulations that e cigarettes consumers would start using tobacco again.”

    As you are aware of this possible danger,can SANCO be sued by any ecig user who reverts to tobacco when the TPD is implemented?

    Posted by Dodderer March 12, 2014, 18 29 Reply to this comment

  7. Bonjour, Avec votre directive il apparait que demain je ne pourrai plus trouver facilement le mat riel et les liquides qui m’ont fait abandonner le tabac sans aucuns efforts depuis 8 mois. Je n’aurais plus comme solution que de retourner la cigarette ou aux substitus nicotiniques qui pour moi n’ont jamais t fficaces moyens termes &#8230 donc je suis condamn retouner sur le tabac avec aussi moyen terme une mort pr coce ou dans le meilleur des cas une sant fortement alt r e.
    Je ne vous remercie pas

    Posted by cassiede March 12, 2014, 18 17 Reply to this comment

  8. Rather than making up new rules, at least for devices, the existing basis for cookware should simply be applied to ecigs hardware, because they are no more than that

    Regulation should be inspired from the regulation of electric boilers, coffee makers and the like they should be fairly robust, and resist a minimal amount of mishandling they should made of materials that don’t emit significant levels of metals or toxins (ban alloys that degrade under heat and plastics too close to the near the heated core). Under accidental misuse, they should not create fire or various other hazards. Also, replacement components should be fairly well normalized, so that I can have guarantees that my battery will work with my atomizer when I replace either one.

    T
    his is about all we need at the device level, because it is nothing more than a kind of cookware .

    For e liquids,, I am not competent in this area, but what I can say is that if there is no nicotine at least, it should be the same kind of regulation that exists for food , not the regulation of tobacco products.

    Posted by Thomas Baudel March 12, 2014, 17 45 Reply to this comment

  9. Thanks for your comments and questions! Please use our web form for your questions and you will receive an answer in due time

    Posted by Ask EP March 12, 2014, 17 35 Reply to this comment

  10. Reblogged this on Vapers Against The Ban.

    Posted by Vaping Bans March 12, 2014, 17 25 Reply to this comment

  11. How many actual users of electronic cigarettes were permitted to attend the “workshop” on May 7th’13?
    Why is the nicotine content limited to a lower strength than nicotine patches and who thought 10mil bottles would be anything other than a health and environmental disaster?
    Disastrous, derisory protectionist legislation.

    Posted by Margaret Hermon March 12, 2014, 17 09 Reply to this comment

    • Thanks for your questions, Margaret Hermon ! Please consult the links we provided in our answer. If you still have questions, please use our web form and you will receive an answer in due time

      Posted by Ask EP March 13, 2014, 09 32 Reply to this comment

  12. Pourquoi avez vous c d aux lobbies du tabac et des laboratoires pharmaceutiques plut t qu’ couter les scientifiques #.UyCDi9huVQJ ?

    Posted by gdb March 12, 2014, 17 04 Reply to this comment

    • Thanks for your question, GDB! Please check the links we provided in our answer. If you still have questions, please use our French web form and you will receive an answer in French in due time

      Posted by Ask EP March 13, 2014, 09 30 Reply to this comment

  13. Thanks for your comments and questions! Please use our web form for your questions and you will receive an answer in due time

    Posted by Ask EP March 12, 2014, 16 56 Reply to this comment

  14. Pourquoi avoir mis des restrictions bien plus importantes sur les composants de la cigarette lectronique alors que le tabac reste libre d’acc s, par exemple, avec les tudes prouvant l’inocuit des composants (ecig) alors que le tabac n’a pas prouver son inocuit ?

    Quel est l’avenir des ar mes dans les eliquides en sachant que c’est une composante essentielle dans la r ussite du passage du tabac la cigarette lectronique ?

    Pourquoi avoir limit les flacons de e liquides 10 ml sachant que les tudes r centes prouvent que le risque li la nicotine a t sur valu depuis des ann es ?

    Pourquoi favoriser les cigarettes lectroniques scell es (comme celles vendues par les fabricants de tabac) et non les autres g n rations qui sont bien plus efficaces pour se lib rer du tabagisme ?

    pourquoi ne pas avoir tenu compte de l’appel des associations francophones sur les restrictions qui ont t vot es et qui risquent de tuer le march et au final, faire retourner au tabac tous les vapoteurs ?

    Pourquoi le vote s’est il d roul dans un tel chaos qu’il tait impossible de savoir ce qui tait vot , l’article 18 devenant l’article 20 au dernier moment ? m me les d put s qui suivent ce dossier de pr s depuis le d but n’y ont pas compris grand chose !

    Ne trouvez vous pas qu’il y a comme un norme paradoxe proposer chaque tat de mettre la cigarette lectronique soit en produit du tabac, soit en m dicament ? Pourriez vous expliquer la logique de cette d cision totalement aberrante ?

    Je vais m’arr ter l pour l’instant, en attendant avec impatience vos r ponses.
    cordialement

    Posted by Avalonne Vero March 12, 2014, 16 45 Reply to this comment

    • Thanks for these questions, Avalonne Vero! Please use our French web form and you will receive an answer in French in due time

      Posted by Ask EP March 13, 2014, 09 26 Reply to this comment

  15. Est ce une volont d lib r e de l’UE d’avoir interdit les ecigs de 3 me g n ration, les seules qui sont efficaces pour de gros fumeurs, avoir fortement restreint les 2 me g n ration, pour ne privil gier que les ecigs de 1 re g n ration qui sont fabriqu es par Big T (et qui sont comp tement inefficaces pour arr ter le tabac)?

    Posted by Brigitte March 12, 2014, 16 20 Reply to this comment

    • Thanks for your question, Brigitte! Please use our French web form and you will receive an answer in French in due time

      Posted by Ask EP March 13, 2014, 09 25 Reply to this comment

  16. Can you confirm that the 2ml restriction only applies to single use cartridges, and not to refillable atomisers? The actual wording of the directive is worryingly vague on this subject.

    Posted by Fergus Mason ( FergusMason1) March 12, 2014, 15 31 Reply to this comment

    • Thanks for your questions, FergusMason1 ! Please use our web form and you will receive an answer in due time

      Posted by AskEP March 13, 2014, 09 21 Reply to this comment

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Bbc news – meps tighten anti-tobacco laws aimed at young smokers

Cigarettes online Blog Archive Bull smoke electronic cigarettes

Packs of 10 cigarettes, considered popular among younger smokers, will also be banned.

Fourteen EU states already have 20 as the minimum, four stipulate a minimum of 19, and in the UK and Italy the minimum is 10.

Smaller than normal packs of roll your own tobacco will still be allowed under the new rules.

It was the European Parliament’s first reading of a draft tobacco directive which could become law in 2014. It would then take two more years to become law in each of the 28 EU member states.

There has been intense lobbying of MEPs by the tobacco industry and health campaigners.

The Commission says almost 700,000 Europeans die from smoking related illnesses each year equal to the population of Frankfurt or Palermo. The costs for healthcare in the EU are estimated to be at least 25.3bn euros ( 20.6bn $33.4bn) annually.

Mixed reactions

Conservative and Liberal MEPs welcomed the amendments made to the original proposal from Labour’s Linda McAvan.

Speaking to the BBC, Ms McAvan said she was disappointed that slim cigarettes were not banned.

But cigarette packaging made to look like lipstick or perfume containers attractive to girls will disappear, she noted.

There will now be further negotiations with the Council the grouping of relevant EU ministers. MEPs may manage to avoid a second vote and fast track the legislation so that it is adopted before the May 2014 European elections.

The proposals also include a ban on words like “light”, “mild” and “low tar”, deemed to be misleading, and a ban on oral tobacco called snus although Sweden would retain its exemption.

EU Health Commissioner Tonio Borg called the vote “positive”. “I am confident that the revised Directive on Tobacco Products can still be adopted within the mandate of the current Parliament,” he said.

But Carl Schlyter MEP, health spokesman for the Greens, called it “a shameful day for the European Parliament, as a centre right majority, led by the EPP group, has done the bidding of the tobacco industry and voted for weaker rules”.