Here is the press release proposed by the association " Helvetic Vape Which defends the rights of Swiss consumers of e-cigarettes.
« Helvetic Vape has carried out several actions in recent months in order to obtain a rapid legalization of vape liquids containing nicotine in Switzerland (open letter to Mr Alain Berset, call to action of the vaping community, legal opinion of Maître Roulet, sale of nicotine liquid). These actions have generated some rare evasive answers from the federal executive.
In general, the federal executive is hiding behind the bill on tobacco products. We can not do anything now, we have to wait for the bill to succeed, are the most frequently received answers. For the record, this project, which is a creation of any piece of a new law, will not succeed before 2018 or 2019. Yet today, a simple adaptation of the 3 paragraph of Article 60 of the new version of the Federal Ordinance on Foodstuffs and Household Goods (ODAlou) will quickly legalize fluids to be vapered containing nicotine. This order being in course of elaboration the Federal Office for Food Safety and Veterinary Affairs (LFV), its modification is very easy. Say " we can not do anything now Is therefore a lie. If the federal executive had enough guts, it would say clearly we do not want to do anything now ". But of course, by loudly asserting a questionable will rather than a false incapacity, he exposes himself to criticism and debate. It's a lot less comfortable than the cozy lie that everyone seems to swallow without flinching.
Apart from seeing more smokers quit taxed tobacco for the sake of vaping, what are the risks of a quick legalization of vape liquids containing nicotine? ?
The recent report of Public Health England tells us that personal vaporizers (including those used with liquids containing nicotine) are 95% less harmful than tobacco. That personal vaporizers are an effective way to stop smoking. That the " passive vaping Is no problem. That vaping is not a gateway to smoking, neither for adults nor for young people. That vaping makes it possible to level social inequalities in the face of smoking. That vaping is a public health opportunity. And all this today, in a market without precise regulation, without standardization and without controls. There is therefore no health risk in immediately legalizing vape-free fluids containing nicotine in Switzerland without heavy regulation.
However, if the federal executive refuses to consider simple and rapid legalization, there must be a compelling reason since there is no health risk. This is important enough not to try to reduce the number of illnesses and deaths due to smoking as quickly as possible. The speakers of the file not speaking clearly on this subject, one must try to imagine the obscure meanders of the politico-administrative reasoning likely to explain the current position of the executive.
Is it fear that the Tobacco Products Bill will be weakened ?
It is a poor opinion of one's own work to consider that it would be weakened by the mere legalization of a tool for reducing the risks associated with nicotine consumption. This legalization would not change anything in the bill. Federal parliamentarians would still be able to legislate on tobacco products. In addition, the rapid legalization of the nicotine liquids market would allow accurate monitoring of this market to provide reliable data that is currently sorely lacking in our country. Debates in the Federal Parliament could thus be made in full knowledge of the facts. If it is this fear that drives the federal executive, it is totally ridiculous and counterproductive.
Is it the fear of offending federal parliamentarians by removing the decision to legalize liquids to be vape nicotine ?
The federal executive had no regard for Parliament's opinion when it decided unilaterally to ban these liquids. The legal opinion of Maître Roulet has revealed the gross flaws of this prohibition taken in defiance of Swiss law and the competence of Parliament. Even the Tobacco Products Bill does not respect Parliament, with the executive retaining the right to set all the details by order. There are two weights, two measures. To make a decision that goes against public health, no problem, the executive takes his ease and illegally imposes his inept vision. But when it is necessary to act quickly in favor of public health, the executive retreats frantically behind the procedures. A little courage, admit your mistake, correct it and then let the Parliament debate a coherent regulation. The principle of legalization of liquids containing nicotine was welcomed. A quick boost would be to the credit of the federal executive.
Is it a panic fear of nicotine ?
Since the advent of tobacco control, nicotine has been portrayed as a hideous monster responsible for all the ills of smoking. If nicotine does participate in addiction to smoked tobacco, it is the combustion of tobacco and the cocktail of chemicals added by tobacco companies that cause the procession of serious diseases associated with smoking and create addiction. It's high time to open your eyes and see nicotine for what it really is. A substance similar to caffeine which can be consumed independently of tobacco. A quarter of the Swiss population regularly uses nicotine. The main problem is that this consumption occurs mainly through smoked tobacco. The proponents of abstinence need to take off their blinders, embrace the change and reconsider their plans. Some strategies dictated by the WHO worked for a time, but today the most serious weapon against smoking is the vaping of liquids containing nicotine. The change in the way nicotine is consumed must quickly be encouraged across the country. If the fear of nicotine distorts the judgment of the federal executive, let it find out properly. The traditional "advisers" are perhaps no longer of much use as they are stuck in their retrograde certainties.
Is it the influence of lobbies like the tobacco industry or the pharmaceutical industry ?
This possibility is unfortunately not to be dismissed. As long as vape liquids containing nicotine are banned from selling, tobacco companies do not have to worry about vaping competing with conventional cigarettes in Switzerland. They also have the free field to freely market their new low-risk products such as heated tobacco systems. The pharmaceutical industry earns a lot of money by marketing inefficient nicotine substitutes and especially by providing drugs to the many chronically ill people who smoke. This industry is in no hurry to see a legal tool that competes with its own products and will reduce smoking-related diseases. The decisions taken so far in Switzerland are obviously very well suited to the tobacco industry and the pharmaceutical industry to the detriment of public health. If these influences are the obscure reason that drives the federal executive at a distance, it is a shame for our country.
Is it, on the contrary, the fear of tobacco companies trying to undermine anti-smoking policies? ?
An "electronic cigarette" that is supposed to solve the smoking problem sets off alarm bells among anti-smoking people. Years of fighting the tobacco industry and its obscure tactics immediately lead some to think of yet another deceptive move. Beware, slander, even ban, no need to think, we must counter everything that emanates from this disastrous industry. The problem is that vaping is not the product of the tobacco industry. Starting from an almost anecdotal Chinese invention, vaping has conquered tens of millions of people around the world for one reason, it works. Equipment and liquids have evolved rapidly through constructive interaction between users, Chinese manufacturers and small entrepreneurs around the world. There is no tobacco industry in this development. The tobacco industry only became interested in the subject when it began to fear for its long-term survival. Which, by the way, clearly demonstrates the strength of this global popular movement. Never has an anti-smoking measure so shaken this industry, which is forced to spend millions to try to react. Today there are probably more than 10 references of equipment and liquid in the world of vaping. The tobacco companies only own a dozen brands of inefficient first generation products. Wanting to counter the tobacco industry is a laudable goal in itself, but we must not get the wrong target for lack of knowledge and reflection. An analysis of the facts rather than an imaginary fear must guide the federal executive in its decisions.
Is it just that the record is taken lightly ?
After all, there are only a few vapers in Switzerland. Some self-proclaimed self-styled think that personal vaporizers are only gadgets and ephemeral vaping. But let's be realistic, the number of Swiss vapers is artificially low only because of the prohibition on vape liquids containing nicotine imposed by the federal executive since 10 years. That of smokers who could have gone to vaping and take care of their health and that of those around them if they had not heard that nicotine liquids are prohibited. What's the point of taking the risk of trying to order illegal stuff abroad when you can legally buy cigarettes on every corner. The rapid progression of vaping in neighboring countries where fluids to be vape containing nicotine are legal shows Switzerland's revolting backwardness in terms of risk reduction. Vape is not a fad for the future for frivolous gadgets. It is a tidal wave that is fundamentally revolutionizing the fight against noncommunicable diseases caused by smoking. When there is in the balance 9'000 deaths every year, to take lightly this revolution is a very bad calculation of the federal executive.
It's definitely a subtle combination of all these raisons "Which presides over the present attitude of the small federal politico-administrative world vis-à-vis vaping and" justified The shameless lie that is served to us. Blame is easy but what matters most is the future. So let's stop the wood tongue and discuss what actually prevents the federal executive from quickly legalizing fluids to vape containing nicotine. And let no one just say " we can not ". Let those who have concrete and valid arguments against rapid legalization expose them without lies so that a saving debate can finally take place in broad daylight. Of course, abstinence zealots, zero risk fanatics, and hygienists of all stripes will seek to spread their visceral fears in the hope that nothing will change. But the revolution is underway and it will succeed no matter what they say. The only question is how long it will take, and decision-makers have an important responsibility here. They may continue to procrastinate for years or make saving decisions quickly. No one will blame them for having sought to quickly reduce the risks associated with nicotine consumption, but they could be called to account one day for having delayed too long in doing so without valid reasons. "
The President
Olivier Théraulaz
Source : Helvetic Vape
