Bulgarian Lawmakers Pass Vape Ban 197-0 on First Reading

The Bulgarian National Assembly voted unanimously on Feb. 12 to advance a bill that would ban the sale, distribution, and advertising of all vaping products, including zero-nicotine vapes. 

The bill, which would amend the country’s tobacco control law, passed its first reading in the nation’s parliament by a vote of 197-0, according to the Bulgarian News Agency. It’s unclear if the bill will maintain such a high level of support by all parties through debate and further votes.

The proposed prohibition seems to be based on a fast-moving moral panic over vapes containing cannabinoids (and possibly other intoxicants) that supposedly played a part in the death of a Bulgarian teenager in January.

Following that incident, in a few weeks’ time, consideration of a complete vape ban moved from loose talk to unanimous passage (on first reading) in Bulgaria’s parliament. It’s not clear what lawmakers intend to do next.

Bulgaria has not sought EU approval for its ban

Bulgaria has apparently made no attempt so far to obtain European Union approval of the proposed law, which must be done before the law can take effect.

Laws concerning free movement of legal goods within the EU single market must be notified to and receive approval from the European Commission through the Technical Regulations Information System (TRIS) before they can be adopted. No outright vape ban has been proposed or considered before by an EU country since vapes became a legal product in the 2014 Tobacco Products Directive (TPD).

After a TRIS notification is filed, there is a three-month “standstill period” during which the public, the Commission, and other EU countries may comment on the proposal. If the Commission or other governments object in a detailed opinion to a draft law concerning product rules, the standstill period is extended to six months, and the member state proposing the law must engage in dialogue with the Commission. The law can be blocked by the Commission for a year or even longer if the applicant doesn’t satisfy objections.

There is a TRIS procedure for passing “urgent” legislation addressing “serious and unforeseeable circumstances relating to the protection of public health or safety,” but that too requires the country to notify the Commission and receive approval in advance of implementing the law. If the Commission doesn’t consider the application meets “urgency” criteria, it can refuse the application and move the proposal to the standard three-month standstill period.

Bulgaria has the highest adult smoking rate in Europe

Bulgaria—officially the Republic of Bulgaria—has 6.5 million residents, and lies on the western shore of the Black Sea, north of Turkey and Greece, and south of Romania. It joined the EU in 2007 after a turbulent political history, including over 40 years of communist rule that ended in 1989. It is widely considered the most corrupt EU member state.

Bulgaria has the highest smoking rate in Europe. The Tobacco Atlas reports that, as of 2022, 34 percent of Bulgarian adults smoked, as well as 15 percent of 10- to 14-year-olds. 

Cigarettes are cheaper in Bulgaria than in any other EU country. Despite that, from 2018 to 2021 (at least), cigarette taxes provided more than 10 percent of the government’s total revenue—an extraordinarily large portion.