Overview of regulations on electronic cigarettes

A study by the French-speaking Society of Tobacco Studies takes stock of the differences in regulations surrounding electronic cigarettes around the world. It notes a very wide diversity of situations and a tendency for regulations to evolve in a stricter direction.

While the relevance of e-cigarettes in smoking cessation is still the subject of debate, other concerns also surround vaping products. The craze among adolescents and young people for disposable e-cigarettes ("puffs") raises fears that they will facilitate the onset of smoking. In adults as well as minors, continuous vaping could also reinforce nicotine addiction. These are all reasons that have led states to regulate the marketing and sometimes the use of e-cigarettes.

A study by the French-speaking Tobacco Society (SFT), carried out by Claire Nguyen, undertook to compare the different existing regulations governing the trade and use of electronic cigarettes.[1].

Relative consensus on sales to minors, advertising and nicotine titration

Some countries (India, Brazil, Thailand, Singapore, Lebanon, etc.) have completely banned e-cigarettes, a few others have only banned disposable e-cigarettes. A few rare countries, including Australia, only allow the sale of vaping products on medical prescription. Some countries have aligned the regulation of vaping products with that of tobacco products, but only a few countries have instituted a specific tax on vaping products. The banning of attractive flavours is currently very much a minority, but this measure is being considered by a growing number of countries.

Three themes are currently the subject of relative consensus at the international level:

- The ban on selling vaping products to minors. The age of majority, however, differs from one country to another, and varies between 16 and 21 years old.

- A majority of countries regulate labelling and advertising, and require the inclusion of health messages on the presence of nicotine and its addictive nature.

- Limiting the nicotine content of e-liquids to 20 mg/mL, without specifying whether it is free-base nicotine or nicotine salts.

Restrictions on the use of e-cigarettes, for example in enclosed or open public places, are also very diverse: many countries have no restrictions at all, while others restrict their use in enclosed spaces, workplaces, public gardens or around schools.

Measures often inspired by the fight against smoking

According to the author of the study, these new regulations are mostly still too recent to fully appreciate their effect. Some provisions that have proven effective with tobacco products, such as increasing taxes, restricting use and banning or limiting advertising, are already being applied in order to minimize the use of vaping products and prevent experimentation and initiation to these products. Other measures, such as banning the use of these products in public places or near children and regulating the composition of e-liquids, particularly with regard to flavors, should constitute the next consensus in this area.

While this study does a good job of capturing the diversity of e-cigarette regulations around the world, it does not always allow us to determine which country has adopted which type of measure. The rapid evolution of products and prevalence, linked to the rapid evolution of the regulation of these vaping products, does not make it easy to establish an inventory of this subject.

Keywords: electronic cigarettes, puffs, regulation

©Tobacco Free Generation

M.F.

[1] Lacamp I, Regulating vaping products, The Doctor's Daily, published on November 20, 2023, consulted on November 22, 2023.