Norwegian government parties wants to allow e-cigarettes with nicotine

TV2 went to a tobacco shop in Oslo selling e-juice...
without nicotine of course, says the girl working there.

Today TV2, a large Norwegian TV channel, reports that governing parties Høyre and FRP wants to repeal the existing "e-cigarette ban" here in Norway. Currently e-cigarettes are subject to kind of a semi-ban. It is not legal to sell e-cigarettes or e-liquid containing nicotine, but as long as they don't contain nicotine e-cigarettes are legal to sell, but subject to an advertising ban and an age limit (18 years). It's great to see that politicians are welcoming vaping, but it's a bit early to bring out the champagne just yet.

There is currently not much information available on the suggestion, but FRP writes on their web-page that it will be regulated by the current smoking laws, and that they're very happy with that:

"It makes control operations easier. Moreover, not everyone will notice whether you smoke a cigarette or vape on an e-cigarette. So it makes sense that e-cigarettes are regulated by the Tobacco Act", says Morten Wold, Member of Parliament from FRP.

This probably means no vaping inside and so on, but also means it can be sold anywhere tobacco is sold. A very important issue is what will happen to our current import rules. If the opportunity to import e-juice for private use by ordering online is removed (we're not allowed to order tobacco or alcohol this way), we're suddenly much more limited in our choices and I fear prices will be a lot higher than today. I've found no information on any limit on nicotine strength yet either, but it would surprise me if they don't look at the TPD for this. So even if the ban on nicotine e-juice is lifted we still have a long way to go, and some battles to fight.

"We have repeatedly proposed to repeal the ban on the sale of e-cigarettes because these are far less harmful than regular cigarettes. E-cigarettes may represent a harm reducing alternative for smokers. Therefore it has been important for FRP to facilitate access to these products", says Wold

As you can see, they are all for harm reduction and seem to understand that this is they way to fight tobacco, and therefore wants to facilitate access to e-cigarettes. However, regulating this under the Tobacco Act is not exactly how I would have started out to facilitate access. Also, facilitating access is great, but you also need to think about facilitating usage, making e-cigarettes a more attractive alternative for smokers. If these politicians really understand the concepts of harm reduction, it is obvious that some education is needed to make sure they regulate this the right way.

A request for comments to the suggestion will be sent out today. Høyre and FRP needs support from some of the other government parties for the suggestion to become reality, so we're not sure this will become reality yet. We'll just have to wait and see how this turns out. There is still a lot of questions as well, and not much information on how regulation will be done, but I do believe vapers in Norway will have to continue fighting for reasonable regulations. I'm kind of optimistic, but I do feel it's quite weird to see a representative from FRP making so much sense, almost hard to believe ... that's enough about my political views for now:) I'll try my best to keep you guys updated on this.

UPDATE: This turned out to be the government preparing to implement TPD and kill vaping as we know it.

Wales wants to ban e-cigarette use in public places, because the Health Minister is worried

Yesterday the Welch government announced plans to ban the use of electronic cigarettes in enclosed public places. This was reported by BBC News yesterday (http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-26837682) and commented by several bloggers, the excellent Ashtray Blog being one of them (http://goo.gl/6ys08n). They also published a great summary of vapers comments on this today (http://goo.gl/k0r6Yr). And their reason for this plan? To avoid normalization of smoking and protect public health.

Reading Health Minister Mark Drakeford's comments on this makes me wonder if they have done any research or reading on the matter: "I have concerns about the impact of e-cigarettes on the enforcement of Wales' smoking ban. That's why we are proposing restricting their use in enclosed public places. I am also concerned that their use in enclosed public places could normalise smoking behaviour. E-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is highly addictive, and I want to minimise the risk of a new generation becoming addicted to this drug." In other words, the gateway argument and the re-normalization argument, presented without any scientific evidence at all. Not very surprising as the all the "evidence" supporting these arguments have been proved worthless countless times lately, so he wisely refrains from backing up his arguments in any way. What I read from all this, is that they plan to ban e-cigarettes, a technology with the potential to save the lives of millions of smokers, because the Health Minister is worried.

On the positive side, The Daily Mail had a very good article on the subject today: Craziness of the e-cigarette health police: 'Nanny state' Welsh Assembly considers ban in public spaces. I recommend reading it, as it kind of picks apart the arguments presented as reasons for the proposed ban. I particularily like this statement: "Women, it has to be said, look dead sexy puffing on their e-cigs, with their smoky Bette Davis eyes." Might not be the strongest pro-e-cig argument, but amusing at least.

Now, this ban obviously is a step in the wrong direction for Wales, but, it is still not approved, and the Welsh have an opportunity to speak their mind on the matter as there will be public consultation on the ban: http://goo.gl/BI5JE. Thanks to James from the Ashtray Blog for this link. Hopefully a lot of vapers will turn up and bring the Welsh government to reason.