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No fruit or other flavors on store shelves. Except tobacco. Such was the intention of the resort of Vlastimila Válk a month ago (64, TOP 09). He sent a decree to the comment procedure, which, according to the manufacturers, would destroy the entire market with e-cigarettes in one fell swoop, which in the Czech Republic generates approximately 8 billion crowns a year and the resulting income to the state coffers. But as Blesk found out, everything is supposed to be different and the preparation of the decree was said to be a misunderstanding according to the actors of the parliament.
“We had a meeting with the minister (Válek) and all the coalition parties and we agreed that we will stop the preparation of that decree at the next health committee,” Zdenka Němečková Crkvenjaš (47, ODS) told Blesk.
Ani slovo?
But how did that misunderstanding even happen? We have to see the Senate. Its health committee noted in March that the number of e-cigarette users among minors is increasing. And he urged Válk to focus on candy flavors like gummy bears or cotton candy.
In April, the parliamentary committee attached a binding opinion in which it agreed with the inappropriateness of candy flavors or attractive packaging. At the same time, the committee wanted more oversight of the sale of electronic cigarettes to children. “However, there was no talk of banning flavors in general,” says Němečková Crkvenjaš.
Resort fault?
Blesk, however, has the original wording of the upcoming standard at its disposal. And there it says that electronic cigarettes must not contain “ingredients creating or contributing to the creation of a characteristic odor or flavor other than tobacco,” it says in the text. Another passage then explicitly mentions sweeteners, sugar, vanilla or fruit and others among the prohibited ingredients.
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In addition, the ban on flavors was indirectly confirmed a month ago by the director of the department of public health protection at the ministry, Matyáš Fošum. “You could say our goal is really to make this an electronic cigarette that tastes like tobacco,” interpreted on TV Nova. Blesk therefore turned to the Ministry of Health.
“There was never any talk of a blanket ban,” said spokesman Ondřej Jakob stating that it is false information. And he added that the department only started to edit the relevant decree according to the resolutions of both parliamentary committees. Where and how the “misunderstanding” occurred remains a mystery.
Back to cigarettes?
The difference between electronic cigarettes and classic cigarettes is striking. “Electronic cigarettes are not without risk. But the intake of toxic substances from them is only in percentage units compared to cigarette smoke,” explained to Blesk Eva Králíková, head of the Center for Tobacco Dependents of the 1st Medical Faculty of the Charles University and VFN in Prague and a long-time advocate of electronic cigarettes. “If e-cigarette flavors were banned, many people would go back to smoking. At least that’s what happened in the countries where they banned flavors.” Králíková added.
2024-09-17 04:41:48
#ecigarettes #Czech #Republic #ban #flavors #misunderstanding
#ecigarettes #Czech #Republic #ban #flavors #misunderstanding