Dept of Health consultation on vaping

Pines

Okay, it's not only about vaping, but there's a consultation running until 18 November on the Tobacco Products Directive. If you don't know already, this Directive will be coming into law (unless a challenge from Wicked Vapes in the UK succeeds) and will heavily regulate and limit the choice of products available.

Individual countries have some degree of discretion in how they will apply the law, but tbh it's around the edges. Still, if you care you should make your views known while you can, so that our access to products in other EU countries is not restricted and the manufacturers here are hit with as little red tape as possible.

It's in the form of a survey. The background, and an outline of the questions in the survey are here in a PDF, and they're worth a read in advance as the survey has to be done in one go.

The survey itself is accessible here.

8mm

Thanks - not much use for us though as a lot of it relates to actual tobacco products.

A lot to wade through and unfortunately what this tells me is that the EU TPD directive will be enforced in full. I fully expect a vaping vendor genocide in the later half of next year

Here are the questions (culled from the pdf):

Q) Should manufacturers and importers of e-cigarettes be charged proportionate fees for receiving, storing, handling, analysing and publishing the information on ingredients for e-cigarettes and refill containers?

Q) Which general warning as set out above should be used on unit packets and outside packaging of e-cigarettes and refill containers?

Q) Should cross-border distance sales of e-cigarettes and refill containers
be prohibited?

Q) If cross-border distance sales of e-cigarettes and refill containers are not prohibited thereby requiring the introduction of a registration system, should retailers be required to nominate a person to be responsible for verifying that products comply with Irish legislation?

tommy2bad

I was going to post about this with a request that it be stickied, its something that affects every ecig user and as such should be worth the effort of a thorough response.
But TBH, its hardly worth it. As public consultations go, its the most pathetic effort if seen, its insulting to be presented with this and told be told its a consultation. All it is is the minimum to satisfy the requirement for consultation. I know the TPD ties their hands but this doc contains no indication of how it will be implemented, it only asks permission to do whatever, it gives no indication of what that will be.

But that's how Irish government works, by decree. I would say fup em but this is important, please do respond answering only the questions relevant to e cigs and use the comment box to expand your argument. As always, be polite and respectful, abuse is no use, no matter how frustrating it is.

Ill add some guidelines later and describe how each measure we are being consulted on will effect vaping. This is closing Nov 18 so theirs time to think about your answers.

Didihno

Any further info Tommy?
Its vital we fill out our sections with the most cohesive and compelling comments possible.

Pines

tommy2bad wrote: »

please do respond answering only the questions relevant to e cigs and use the comment box to expand your argument. As always, be polite and respectful, abuse is no use, no matter how frustrating it is.

This is what I did, as it happens. Answered most of the questions actually, except where I really didn't care, and then used the comments sections on the e-cig ones to point out, in case anyone from the Dept of Health actually reads it, that they need to be progressive, follow the UK lead, and push for less regulation and restriction, with encouragement for better, innovative products because that's going to be better for public health. Making an attractive smoking cessation tool unattractive, and forcing products towards the least effective cigalike end of the market, will inevitably mean people either don't take up vaping or don't find it useful, in which case it's back on the smokes.