European TPD battle – the tides are turning

Recently, there has been quite a few reassuring news from the European TPD front. Does that mean there may be a future for vaping in Europe? The Polish government considers changing the upcoming regulations regarding the use of e-cigarettes in public, specifically lifting the proposed ban on vaping in public space.

“A change that could be introduced is limiting the restriction regarding the ban on e-cigarette use in public space. The ban on the use of e-cigarette was the initiative of the ministry. Such regulations are not forced by the EU directive” says dr Łukasz Balwicki from the Medical University of Gdańsk.

The directive in Poland in its current form would level e-cigarette users with traditional cigarette smokers in regards to public space vaping / smoking, which may cause teenagers to move to traditional cigarette smoking instead.

We hope that by the time the TPD is introduced in Poland, the regulations will become more geared towards helping people rather than favoring traditional cigarettes over electronic inhalers.

Meantime in the United Kingdom, the House of Lords is strongly against the Directive. A motion has been presented that may stop the implementation of the TPD in the UK completely if it passes the vote!

Lord Canallan bases his motion on the fact that most of the TPD regulations are against the advice of the Royal College of Physicians to promote vaping as an effective way to quit smoking, whereas the restrictions enforced by the TPD may force people back into smoking.

In France, the French Federation of Cardiology publishes a factsheet with a clear message: “Vapor produced by e-cigarette is much less toxic than tobacco smoke“.

In France over 400 000 people aged 15-75 claim that e-cigarette has kept them away from tobacco use. Pr Daniel Thomas, FFC’s Honorary President said that if a person has quit smoking thanks to vaping, there is no reason to discourage him/her from vaping.

Looks like the politicians and the medical world are starting to notice that restricting vaping may not be such a great idea and some of the TPD regulations are unfit for purpose. Maybe they actually started listening to the people? We should make as much noise as possible, to show politicians that this is what we want- we want to have a choice, not to have a choice enforced on us by the regulations.