So here’s a turn-up for the books. Just like alcohol retailers joyously taking to the concept of informing us all that we should drink responsibly, tobacco companies are now trying to convince us that they have our best health interests at heart! Call me cynical, but with an estimated 100,000 deaths a year in the UK linked to smoking, according to ASH (Action on Smoking and Health), and vaping reported as being the fastest growing and most effective way of helping their customers to break their toxic habit, I’m not at all surprised that big tobacco are trying to find new ways to curb the e-cigarette market.

In an article published by Reuters last month, it was reported that: “Big tobacco companies have pushed for a range of controls on e-cigarettes. These include lengthy health warnings, reduced product ranges, restricted sales, and scientific testing requirements.” This, some think will squeeze smaller e-cigarette companies out of business. Was this all by design?

Though the vaping world is a young one, there have been many in its short history that have sought to stifle its growth. There are plenty of organisations and institutions around the globe that have questioned the validity of claims about the benefits of vaping to help smokers to quit, claims of not enough research into the long-term effects of e-liquid and nicotine on our systems, and even the odd suggestion that e-cigarettes could be dangerous (based on a couple of less than clever people trying to charge theirs with the wrong adaptor!). But there have always been enough experts, scientists, corporations and associations that have backed vaping as the single best chance for any smoker to help themselves to quit their toxic habit. And it’s difficult to silence a community several million strong in the UK who are very vocal about their own success stories, and how, when all else failed, e-cigarettes were what got them to where they wanted to be – tobacco free.

While some regulation is inevitable and responsible as every sector has its chancers and charlatans, this regulation should be a careful balance between the desire to protect the public from the unscrupulous retailer and the need to not cripple a marketplace that offers a valid alternative to smoking. A valid alternative that can help save some of those 100,000 lives a year lost due to tobacco addiction…

The former head of UK charity ASH is reported as saying that by regulating e-cigarettes too strictly you run the risk of making them less appealing, which will only help large tobacco companies to keep their customers longer.

Vaping firm Totally Wicked have taken their fight to the source – well, the local source anyway – the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg, where they are challenging Europe’s Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) which is due to come into force in 2016. The excessive documentation, approvals and testing required for producers pre-launch of any new e-cigarette product is, in their eyes even more strict than restrictions placed on traditional cigarettes, and could stifle innovation.

What are your thoughts on vaping regulations? Is it a good thing or will it hold the sector back, are you someone who has quit smoking thanks to e-cigarettes or do you have any worries you’d like to air? As one of London’s premier responsible e-cigarette, Mod and e-liquid retailers, we’d be happy to answer any questions you might have.

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