I'll do what I can.
What happens in US will affect the rest of the world.
Have you read the FULL European Directive and EU guidelines?
What's already happening
now in some places and WILL happen next year ( May 2016 deadline for minimum enforcement of EU directives for EU countries) in
a lot more places and what MAY happen afterwards in the near future is pretty nasty and completely ON PARR with the proposed US regulations!
The EU guidelines mention the obligation for all devices to give a
constant EQUAL output (no more VW or VV) all MODS are likely to be banned.Atomizers would have to insure that each "puff" distributed an equal amount of nicotine and of every ingredient contained in the eliquid(impossible or nearly so,I would guess ?).
As in the US proposal, all "new equipment" and eliquids would have to request authorization to be commercialized at least 6 months beforehand, at each minor change a new authorization must be requested=
the documentation required would include tons of administrative paperwork & extensive lab studies that would make the whole procedure way too costly for small & medium level companies...
eliquid will be limited to 10ml bottles and not more than 20mg nicotine .
Clearomizers= not more that 2ml and must be sealed and unleakable which will outlaw 99% of all clearos presently on the market...
=
The US proposals are not very different from the FULL EU Guidelines!
The rules that will go into effect next May in the EU are only the FIRST step ,with certain MINIMUM obligations but each EU country is free to go BEYOND those MINIMUM guidelines if they so choose.... .
Apart from Forum-readers,most vapers here in France arent even AWARE of all this and dont even suspect what is going to come down on them next May (at the latest).
Theyre still at the level= "oh no...this is a free country...THEY cant stop me from vaping...ha-ha how ridiculous...that could NEVER happen!" (SURPRIZE ! it's already voted and going into effect in six months!)
France has a considerable amount of vapers and vape- related businesses, and yet when it was still possible to DO SOMETHING( like signing the petition AGAINST these EU Directives...which would have been aborted had a predetermined % of EU residents signed !) unfortunately VERY FEW DID!
NONE of the vape stores even bothered to mention it to their customers!
And yet, as an example,on the Paris street where I live there are...
11 B&M vape shops, all opened within the last 2-3 years, there are also 4 pharmacies, 4 bakeries, 3 butchers, 2 newsagents...)
There are at present over 2000 vape companies in FR .
Once the EU directive is implemented studies estimate that that number will be reduced to only TEN major companies who will have the financial clout to stay in business.
Now it's no longer possible to fight the EU Directive (TPD) that will go into effect next May (the "first step".... with a set of minimum requirements).
I urge anyone who lives in a country where the regulations are still at proposal-level to FIGHT IT WHILE THEY CAN (US, GB? others...
Dont say it CANT happen...its ALREADY happening here in Europe!
Even in Europe/EU we can still fight to stop it from getting even WORSE (and to perhaps limit actual enforcement once certain regs
are established)
PLEASE,everyone,
dont think it CANT happen!
Even things most people consider
"safe" are not necessarily so .....For ex,in GB a major drug store/chain who sells large 1L bottles of VG has purposely added ingredients that have rendered it "unvape-able" but that should not disturb "regular" customers. (adding lemon or lavender "perfumes" is one of their ways...)