Belgium will ban sales of disposable e-cigarettes in a first for the EU : NPR

BRUSSELS — Belgium will ban the sale of disposable digital cigarettes as of Jan. 1 on well being and environmental grounds in a groundbreaking transfer for European Union nations.

Well being minister Frank Vandenbroucke stated the cheap e-cigarettes had changed into a well being menace since they’re a simple method for youngsters to be drawn into smoking and get hooked on nicotine.

“Disposable e-cigarettes is a brand new product merely designed to draw new shoppers,” he stated in an interview.

“E-cigarettes typically include nicotine. Nicotine makes you hooked on nicotine. Nicotine is unhealthy in your well being. These are truth,” Vandenbroucke added.

As a result of they’re disposable, the plastic, battery and circuits are a burden on the surroundings. On prime of that, “they create hazardous waste chemical compounds nonetheless current in what individuals throw away,” Vandenbroucke stated.

The well being minister stated he additionally focused the disposable e-cigarettes as a result of reusable ones may very well be a instrument to assist individuals stop smoking if they can’t discover one other method.

Australia outlawed the sale of ” vapes” outdoors pharmacies earlier this yr in among the world’s hardest restrictions on digital cigarettes. Now Belgium is main the EU drive.

“We’re the primary nation in Europe to take action,” Vandenbroucke stated.

He desires harder tobacco measures within the 27-nation bloc.

“We’re actually calling on the European Fee to come back ahead now with new initiatives to replace, to modernize, the tobacco laws,” he stated.

There may be understanding about Belgium’s resolution, even in some retailers promoting digital cigarettes, and particularly on the environmental problem.

As soon as the cigarette is empty, “the battery continues to be working. That is what is horrible, is that you may recharge it, however you haven’t any method of recharging it,” stated Steven Pomeranc, proprietor of the Brussels Vapotheque store. “So you’ll be able to think about the extent of air pollution it creates.”

A ban often means a monetary loss to the business, however Pomeranc stated he thinks it is not going to harm an excessive amount of.

“We have now a whole lot of different options that are additionally very straightforward to make use of,” he stated. “Like this pod system, that are pre-filled with liquid, which might simply be clipped into the rechargeable e-cigarette. So we are going to merely have a shift of shoppers in the direction of this new system.”