Few people can be unaware of the importance of 29th March this year. This is the date the UK is set to leave the European Union, timed at 11pm that night. While uncertainty over this event still reigns (the Government is about to vote on the Brexit deal even as we write this), the Government has confirmed it intends to review regulations surrounding electronic cigarettes once we have left the EU.
As many will know, the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) was extended to include electronic cigarettes and refills from May 2016. The following year, further limitations were brought into play. Many believe the rules are ineffective and could damage the vaping industry. Vaping has been proven to be far safer than smoking yet is often included under the same banner. Limitations on vaping products, as brought in under the new TPD rules, have led to a stark drop in the number of smokers using vaping tools to help them quit.
One of the main reasons why smokers are now less likely to switch to vaping is that e-liquids with nicotine in them cannot now be marketed at above 20mg/ml. This means those who want to quit will need to drop their intake of nicotine markedly right from the start – therefore making it harder to succeed at quitting.
While there is no clear sign on how the Government would proceed or make changes as yet (we assume they have greater worries on their minds), it is a welcome confirmation that the cumbersome and unnecessary TPD rules will be looked at.
Do you think the Tobacco Products Directive is harming the vaping industry? Have you found it harder to quit owing to the reduction in nicotine levels in e-liquids? Let us know what you think in the comments.
