Rebecca Taylor reports...
In negotiations with representatives of EU governments, MEPs agreed on a compromise that the maximum nicotine content of e-cigs available for general sale should be 20mg/ml, a major increase on the 4mg/ml originally proposed by the Commission and above the average routinely used. The nicotine level agreed is regarded as closely comparable to that derived from smoking conventional cigarettes.
It was agreed that the flavourings that can be used in e-cigs will be specified by national governments rather than specified by EU legislation. Refillable units, which are widely used at present, will continue to be available. They will however be subject to a safeguard clause meaning that Member States can introduce stringent national measures including a prohibition against concerned products – if justified by evidence of a serious risk to public health. If refillable e-cigarettes have been prohibited in at least three Member States, the Commission would be able to extend the ban to all Member States through a delegated act but that could be blocked by a majority in the European Parliament. The Commission was also asked to report on health and safety risks of refillables within two years’ time.
The threat to refillables is serious. Refillables are, to be frank, the e-cigarettes that work. They are the ones that long-term ex-smokers tend to use. They are more environmentally sound as they are not disposable and they tend to be produced by the small, independent traders. It is ludicrous that we could be in a position in which 25 member states want to keep them while three want to ban them and the minority is able to impose its will on the majority.
It's not over yet, however. Next up is the plenary...
