All electronic cigarettes that are currently on sale in Britain would be banned and removed from the shop shelves under new European Union proposals.
A confidential negotiating document drafted by the European Commission seeks to overturn a vote by MEPs that rejected outlawing them in their present form. Brussels officials fear that there is a “risk that electronic cigarettes can develop into a gateway to normal cigarettes”, according to the paper, and want to include the smoke-free alternative under a new EU “tobacco products directive” — despite the fact that they contain no tobacco.
The bid to ban e-cigarettes drew anger from suppliers in Britain, where some 1.3 million of the current 10 million smokers have switched to the electronic devices.
Fraser Cropper, the chief executive officer of Totally Wicked, an e-cigarette supplier based in Lancashire, accused EU officials of wanting to introduce a ban by the back door in defiance of the European Parliament.
“Behind closed doors in Brussels, unaccountable and unelected bureaucrats are drafting proposals that will deny millions of existing and former smokers access to a safer alternative to tobacco cigarettes,” he said. » | Bruno Waterfield, in Brussels and Henry Samuel in Paris, Brussels | Thursday, November 28, 2013
