From 1 January 2023 onwards, e-cigarettes with flavours like strawberry ice cream, mango, hazelnut paste or mojito have officially been banned. The ban is intended to make e-cigarettes less attractive to young people. Manufacturers of e-cigarettes will be allowed to sell their existing stock until 1 January 2024. After that, flavours will be permanently banned, except the tobacco flavour. Sellers move with their trade just across the border, where they can continue to meet demand undisturbed. Martin Buijsen, Professor of Health Law at Erasmus School of Law, argues to EenVandaag that the legal options are as good as exhausted for the Netherlands. “Eventually, it will have to be lifted to a European level.”
Across the border
Buijsen thinks it is morally wrong for outlets to set up just across the border to escape Dutch legislation but also argues that the Netherlands can do little about it. "The point is that the legislature can do no more than it can do, and that is to ban the production, sale and import of vapes in the Netherlands. So, if a Dutch seller wants to offer his goods from Belgium, there is little the legislator can do against it." Moreover, Buijsen explains that it is legally impossible to attach legal consequences to urging Dutch consumers to stock the goods just across the border. "If the rules are different in Belgium or Germany, you can still order online in those countries."
According to Buijsen, surrounding countries have to be on par with Dutch policy for it to have an effect here. "Producing on Dutch soil is prohibited, and having points of sale on Dutch soil is prohibited, but what the Netherlands cannot do is stop sales from abroad. The point is that public health and healthcare are not really topics for the European Union to tackle. The European Union only takes that on when member states view a health problem more or less the same way. That is not the case for now."
Controversy
Buijsen explains why countries view vapes differently. "You can look at vapes in two ways. Vapes are less unhealthy than smoking tobacco, so for tobacco smokers it is a less unhealthy alternative, while in itself, it is just unhealthy. It's just how you look at it." In the Netherlands, the thought is that vaping makes tobacco more accessible, so more young people will start smoking. "That is what is said in the Netherlands. In itself, there are harmful substances in vapes. What it does not contain is tar and the unhealthy material that comes from tobacco. Hence, it is thought to be a less unhealthy alternative to smoking tobacco for smokers."
It is only a matter of time before other countries follow the Netherlands' policy. Buijsen expects the Dutch government to spread its view further and that consensus on the issue will grow. "I also believe that people are working from the Netherlands to convince policymakers in other countries that the Dutch position is right.”
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Read another contribution by Martin Buijsen about vapes published on De Morgen.