Candy, fruit and other sweet flavors for electronic cigarettes may still be sold for longer. Manufacturers will have until 1 January 2024 to replace all their offerings with tobacco flavours, State Secretary Maarten van Ooijen (CU) said in a letter to the House of Representatives.
The cabinet has wanted to get rid of e-cigarettes with exotic flavors for some time, only vapes tobacco flavored products may soon be sold. Initially, producers had until October 1, 2023 to comply with this taste ban, but after new advice from the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Van Ooijen decides to give the manufacturers an extra three months. The ban will therefore take effect on 1 January 2024.
The existing stock of e-cigarettes flavors may still be sold until then, after which the NVWA will enforce. The reason for the postponement is a new RIVM report that shows that manufacturers of electronic cigarettes have to adjust much more than originally thought. In an explanation, Van Ooijen reports that he would prefer to be rid of candy and cake flavors ‘tomorrow’ because they are clearly intended to get young people to e-smoke’.
“But the new analysis by the RIVM shows that the flavor ban may have a greater impact on producers than we previously thought,” says Van Ooijen. “That is why, from the principles of good governance, I am forced to give manufacturers an extra three months to make the switch. Obviously I do this with little enthusiasm. Fortunately, our final goal is quickly approaching. In six months, all sweet, attractive flavors will be definitively banned.”
In previous research, RIVM already concluded that e-cigarettes become less attractive if they are only available with tobacco flavour. Although there are also health risks associated with a ban: vapes with exotic flavors are often an alternative for classic smokers if they want to stop using regular cigarettes. The question is what that group will do if there are no sugary e-cigarettes more to get.
Comment can be found at the bottom of this article. Only comments with a full name are placed. We do that because we want a debate with people who stand for what they say, and therefore put their name to it. If you still need to enter your name, you can do so by clicking ‘Login’ at the top right of our site.
Watch all our videos about politics here:
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and don’t miss a thing of the stars.
#Delay #ban #vapes #vanilla #apple #pie #flavor #sold #months