E-cigarettes in finland

[Sähkötupakka]

Hi all, long time lurker, first time poster etc...
Concerning the legality of ecigs, you might do well to get up to speed on recent developments in finland, europe.

As one of the strictest anti-tobacco countries, finland has of course banned nicotine e-juices, thats to be expected... But now, starting 1.1.2012, it will be illegal to host pictures of ecigs, product names of ecigs, even prices can not be shown. It is even illegal to host this info on any server anywhere, if you can believe that

Of course this is un-enforcable, and it must be said that sales of ecigs are still legal, without nicotine of course. It begs the question, how can you pay for e-cigs if you cannot see the price?

Why is this relevant? The worldwide situation concerning e-cigarettes is shifting, and the framework of how this gets implemented vis-a-vis legislation is being tested by the age-old "keep poking until you get a reaction" technique. That makes finnish vapers the guinea pigs.

Oh, importing nicotine-containing e-cigs for personal use -> still legal after 1.1.2012.

I know greece, australia, and other countries have recently "banned" e-cigs, but i understand that zero-nicotine ecigs can still be sold?

 

[Vapeterry]

Thank you for posting & welcome!!!

 

[dormouse]

Welcome to ECF. Once you have 6 non-spammed posts or replies in New Members and then an hour wait, then you will be able to post elsewhere on ECF. In National Forums there is a Europe forum and a UK forum and those are probably the two closest areas to you. I didn't know Greece banned them. Australia I though allowed them but were funny somehow about nicotine (like Canada). Singapore seems to be a ban at least on sales.

 

[Sähkötupakka]

Well... singapore tends to ban everything, take chewing gum for instance...
The media is portraying it as if it actually were a ban, but knowledgeable peeps all say its just the nic juice thats banned. and ordering from abroad is still ok. as long as there is a single country in the EU where its ok to vape, the whole of europe can vape happily.

too bad about australia though, no EU for them

 

[Tona Aspsusa]

Sähkötupakka, please correct me if I am wrong, but isn't this latest Finnish "ban" just Valvira's interpretation of the old law that forbade chocolate cigarette's and licorice pipes?

The civil servants (and there's one or two fanatically anti-nicotine peeps, actually quite deranged, there) are again over-reaching. The idea to classify all nicotine containing substances as drugs/medicine was at least logical, but unless I've totally misundersood this latest news there's no chance whatsoever that it would survive any challenge. The question is just, who has the energy to challenge such stupidity?

 

[Sähkötupakka]

Tona: true, i oversimplify things...

the government DID pass a new law however, that comes into effect 1.1.2012. Valvira jumped the gun a bit, but the new law is tougher, so it kind of legitimizes their stance on the interpretation. As far as "no prices and no pictures on the internet" goes, sure, it cannot survive a challenge, as long as it is legal to buy, you MUST show the price... i mean, it must be illegal to sell something without showing how much it costs, right?

the actual law: FINLEX ® - Hallituksen esitykset: HE 105/2011 acknowledges the existence of "tobbacco-like" products, but restricts only the use of tobacco brand usage, think colt lighters, which has the same brand as colt cigarettes.

http://www.valvira.fi/files/Valvira_ohje_15_2011.pdf this is the valvira interpretation. yes, it is totally out there

you ask the right question. Who indeed has the energy to go to court over this... i'm thinking one of the bigger e-cig vendors? but arent they all moving outside of finland? also, that way they get to sell nicotine juices? seems like the easier way...

 

[Sähkötupakka]

here's a link that says zero-nicotine e-cigarettes cannot be restricted without studies, and it stresses proportionality...
Answer to a written question - Safety and certification of electronic cigarettes - E-0230/2010
there it is, straight from the horses mouth.