A federal court decision in Switzerland has overturned a years-long ban on vape products. The law that was overturned prohibited the sale of e-cigarettes or e-liquid containing nicotine, although vapers were allowed to import products like box mods and vape tanks or other similar devices for their own use.
The Swiss Federal Administrative Court (FAC) sided with Swiss vape company InSmoke, which challenged the ban. According to the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation’s Swissinfo site, the government was already in the process of ending the ban, but the court decision ends the nicotine prohibition immediately.
“The FAC’s decision on Tuesday authorizes with immediate effect the import and sale of [bottles] of liquid with nicotine for e-cigarettes," Judith Deflorin of the Swiss federal food safety authority FSVO told Swiss broadcaster SRF, according to Swissinfo.
Switzerland is not a member of the European Union (EU), so is not bound by the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) that restricts bottle and tank size, and nicotine content in the U.K., France, Germany, and the other 25 EU member states. Swissinfo reports that about 0.7 percent of the Swiss population vapes. That’s about 60,000 of the country’s 8.4 million people.
Swiss vapers are represented by one of the oldest vaping organizations in Europe — Helvetic Vape, which was founded in 2013. The consumer group has actively worked toward loosening the government's restrictions. Helvetic Vape recently issued a position statement outlining demands by Swiss vapers.
The International Network of Nicotine Consumer Organisations (INNCO) — an umbrella group of advocacy groups from around the world — is also based in Switzerland.
Because of declining cigarette sales, state governments in the U.S. and countries around the world are looking to vapor products as a new source of tax revenue.
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