Dutch to ban flavoured e-cigarette sales from 2021

[BigCloud]

AMSTERDAM: The Netherlands plans to ban flavoured electronic cigarettes from next year to make vaping less attractive to young people, the government said on Tuesday (Jun 23).

Flavours currently available range from mojito and strawberry ice cream to mango and chocolate, health authorities said.


With its sweet tastes and perceived lower health risks, vaping has rapidly become popular among young non-smokers, who are often seen to use them as a stepping stone to regular tobacco products.

"It is unacceptable that 20,000 people die every year in our country from the effects of smoking and that every day around 75 kids start smoking", deputy health minister Paul Blokhuis said.

"The smoke-free generation we see coming also needs to be free of electronic cigarettes."

The government will refine the tobacco law to include the ban on flavoured e-cigarettes, which is likely to take effect in the first half of next year, the government said.


Tobacco-flavoured vaping products will remain available, mainly to help regular smokers kick their habit, it said.

E-cigarettes, which electrically vaporise a nicotine-infused solution, are defended by proponents as a healthier alternative to regular cigarettes. But studies have shown the devices were more damaging to health than expected.

In 2015, the Dutch Institute for Public Health showed smoke from e-cigarettes contained all kinds of chemical substances which could cause cancer. Late last year, US researchers said the use of them increased the risk of developing chronic lung conditions such as asthma or emphysema.

A Dutch government report in 2017 said that over a quarter of people aged 12-16 said they had tried vaping at least once.

Electronic cigarettes and water pipes have been banned in the Netherlands for anyone under the age of 18 since 2016.

 

[Mawsley]

They've been attacking vaping there for a while https://www.planetofthevapes.co.uk/search/node/netherlands

 

[WaitFor1t88]

What a weird place to ban flavoured eliquid, tbf there are plenty of things to take your mind off that over there, let's try getting super stoned and see where the night takes us

You can tell they've picked and chose what scientific evidence they've used

 

[Karage]

AMSTERDAM:"The smoke-free generation we see coming also needs to be free of electronic cigarettes."
.

Oh okay, where exactly is that being seen?

If you want a smoke-free generation, stop the sale of cigarettes and vaping products, plain and simple. There's no way around that.

Instead we get flavour bans and plain packaging, that's "slowing it down" at best and even that could be argued. So how exactly does anything other than a complete ban of EVERYTHING show a smoke-free generation on the horizon?

 

[ForestMagpie]

What about being free of smoking weed?

 

[Richard Winter]

At least all the countries that are banning it, or banning the e juice flavours have their youth population at the forefront. What would each of said counties do if no youths took up smoking anymore, where would they get all their revenue from then.
We know only too well that smoking is highly addictive, vaping isn't that addictive. Nicotine on it's own is NOT the addictive single chemical, it's the other shite in the fags that fuel it,
So if there is no up and coming smoking addicts that the respective governments can look forward to a life long revenue income, how will they survive.
Do they honestly think we are that stupid to believe all this crap they put out saying they have our health issues at heart.
If little Johnny is going to be a naughty boy then why force him to smoke and kill himself rather than he puffing on a vape with a nice flavoured juice.

 

[Karage]

Do they honestly think we are that stupid to believe all this crap they put out saying they have our health issues at heart.

This.

I would be so much more accepting if they just said "Yeah well it's because money", at least I could laugh ironically at how absurd it is.

I can't do that when I'm being lied to openly though, it just makes me angry at the patheticism of individuals not having enough spine to be transparent about their ill intent.

 

[Richard Winter]

In my honest opinion, any country that bans vaping or bans flavoured e liquids really is corrupt. There is no reasonable evidence to justify this, not when they are still allowing the sale of cigarettes.
Dont use youths as an excuse but seems to me they dont have much scientific evidence on health issues so what else can they dream up.

 

[LordOdin]

Governments are running out of things to ban so they pick vaping because it's an easy target, they are not making revenue from it so ban it and make up an excuse as to why they are banning it. Or could it be a case of them following other countries that have banned or in the process of banning it.

 

[Badboybez]

For myself, the problem with some of what has been said in this thread so far seems to be lumping all governments together over their policies towards vaping. But in reality they have different reasons for bringing in certain legislation in different forms in their countries.

Take the USA, yes they have a large tobacco industry, and it is a country where politics is a big money "industry". So it is inevitable that they federal government will be lobbied strongly to stamp out vaping / make it unattractive. Also on a state level a lot of the states vie to be the "cleanest" state, so for example in California both smokers, and vapers are made to feel like social outcasts. Also they do have evidence that a lot of "high school" students take up vaping, whilst never having been a smoker.
Don't forget they have had many cases of vaping causing lung problems, mainly due to idiots thinking it was fine to put THC in them so they could get out of their minds whilst out in public.

The Dutch government, whilst being one of the most liberal minded in Europe over cigarettes, Cannabis, and the sex industry, probably has concerns about youngsters that have not smoked, or used drugs may have the inclination to start vaping "candy" flavoured juice. Note that they are not banning all flavours, leaving vapers with only natural liquid, but are allowing Tobacco flavours which still fit in with the flavour profile of their "tolerated" products.

Turkey has taken a somewhat innovative approach so far. President Erdogan hates both smokers (despite having a large tobacco industry) and vapers alike, to the point where he said to one member of his cabinet that if he lit a cigarette in his presence he would be sacked. So far to piss the smokers off he has made it illegal to smoke in bars, restuarants, public buildings, etc. For vapers he has not banned it, but made it very difficult to get their supplies. It was explained to me once by one of my drivers whilst working there. Now I can't remember which way it worked but it was you could buy the kit in Turkey, but you could not buy juice, might have been the other way round though.

The UK on the other hand has one off the easiest going policies in the whole world as far as vapers go, I doubt if we would have ended up with the hated TPD rules if we had not been in the EU, as they were brought into the EU laws, legally our government had to impose them whether they wished to, or not.
Sometimes I have watched the Parliamentary channel on TV when there were debates over aspects of vaping legislation, and it was surprising how many MP's vape themselves.
Smoking has been actively discouraged over many years here, due to lobbying from various health organisations, and duty revenues are falling due to people either stopping smoking, or cutting down, although the duty rate is put up now, and again. Our government has no reason to cut down on vaping "as it takes away cigarette duty" don't forget every item we buy for vaping, tanks, mods, juice (flavoured or unflavoured) (20mg or 0mg) and even batteries produce 20% revenue in the form of VAT, not only that, but anything we import from China etc, is subject to possible duty charges.

You have to look at the wider picture / circumstances in each individual country before saying that governments are biased, or corrupt over vaping regulations.