New EU Legislation Puts Electronic Cigarette Back in the Firing Line

You would think that with all the different efforts going on globally (especially here in the European Union) to educate people on the dangers of smoking and encourage them to give up this deadly habit that the government would be more friendly towards electronic cigarettes and stop smoking aids – but you would be dead wrong.

According to a number of recent studies (as well as a number of events that have been playing out in the news recently), the European Union seems dead set on destroying the electronic cigarette industry just as quickly as humanly possible.
Doing much of this under the “umbrella of regulation”, the cold hard facts of the matter are still being kept from us behind locked doors – but more and more sordid details are being leaked on a regular basis.

Why have electronic cigarettes landing squarely in the sights of the European Union?

This really is the million-dollar question, and a problem that has been plaguing lawmakers, pundits, and bloggers – not to mention smokers – all over the European Union for some time now.
Electronic cigarettes first exploded onto the market about 10 years ago, but then they witnessed a bit of a lull as far as popularity is concerned. However, nothing could be further from the truth today. Electronic cigarettes are absolutely and overwhelmingly popular right now, quickly becoming the “go to” solution as far as stop smoking aids are concerned.

Basically a two-part system (consisting of the electronic cigarette itself and the nicotine liquid that becomes a vapor), electronic cigarettes have been put squarely in the news recently because of the attacks from the EU commission. While not going directly after electronic cigarettes themselves, they are looking to place some pretty serious restrictions on the different solutions currently available. Not only do they intend to ban all refill nicotine liquids, ban all refillable e-cigarette “atomizers” and banned any and all flavor cartridges – while at the same time restricting nicotine levels and nicotine content dramatically – but they also hope to “cut the legs out from underneath” many of the manufacturers responsible for these products.

Though it’s too early to say exactly why the EU is so serious about eliminating this problem altogether, it probably boils down to the same thing that it always does – money and the threat this technology poses to the traditional tobacco industry.

What can people do about it?

There are a number of different options available to you right now to help make sure that electronic cigarettes as they are today are available to the general public, and especially those that hope to stop smoking with their assistance.

The first is to vote with your wallet. If you continue to invest in this technology on a regular basis, you’ll be able to support the companies that are working diligently to stop the government from shutting down this industry just as his getting off the ground.

Secondly, you’ll be able to contact your local representatives directly as well – telling them where you stand on the electronic cigarette issue. So long as they know that your vote is going to hinge on this specific issue (especially if you’re able to influence other people as well), you might not have to worry about the threat to electronic cigarettes being a problem all that much longer.

This is still a developing new story, as well as a developing industry, so it will be more than interesting to see how things shake out in the future. Definitely pay attention to the e-cigarette world as it stands right now, and make sure that you keep up-to-date with all of the developments as they occur.

in blog, News