Since May 20, 2016 and the promulgation of the ordinance transposing the European tobacco directive into French law, propaganda or advertising, direct or indirect, in favor of vaping products is prohibited.
Unfortunately, this does not prevent many companies in the vape sector from continuing to engage in illicit advertising. Problem, and this is a great first, the company AKIVA (which offers “Wpuff” e-cigarettes from Liquidéo) has just been sentenced by the Paris court for illicit advertising.
This not really trivial court decision could well set a precedent and must obviously challenge the French vape sector on its choice of communication channels.
A VAPE SECTOR UNDER HIGH SURVEILLANCE!
With a vaping market that is becoming more democratic and a booming “puff” phenomenon, it is now impossible to stay under the radar for vaping professionals. If for years the monitoring of propaganda and advertising for the vape remained almost non-existent, today it is a real witch hunt that is in place.
First victim: Recently, the National Committee against Smoking (CNCT) did not hesitate to seize the President of the Paris court in order to condemn the company akiva, editor of the website Wpuff “, for illicit advertising in favor of vaping. The association is also pleased with this " first stop to particularly aggressive marketing strategies from the vaping brand. Even more vigilant since the emergence of "puff" e-cigarettes, the CNCT had discovered last February the two websites “ wpuff.com "," wpuff.fr » as well as an Instagram account of the brand, intended for a French-speaking audience.
According to the judge, these sites are in flagrant violation of the law and specifically target " young consumers“. The judge clarified that: In fact, published inserts are not limited to informing the consumer about the objective and essential characteristics of vaping products, with respect to their nature, composition, usefulness, conditions of use or terms of sale, but clearly constitute advertising messages. promotional material to encourage consumption of the products sold on the site ».
If society akiva may appeal the decision, it will nevertheless have to answer for these facts before the Paris Criminal Court at a hearing scheduled for the first half of 2023.
WHO AND HOW TO COMMUNICATE ABOUT VAPE IN FRANCE?
Small analysis of the law
If this provisional condemnation is a first for the vaping sector in France, it could quite quickly have a snowball effect with the case law that will result from it.
Indeed, today, as stated in the article L-3513 4 of the Public Health Code " propaganda or advertising, direct or indirect, in favor of vaping products is prohibited ". Whether on a is the international treasure (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok) or on a french website/blog, the vaping professional therefore takes the risk of a " manifest violation of the ban on all advertising » by communicating and has no guarantee in the event of condemnation of the French (or European) media which proposes this illicit communication.
Article L3513-4 of the Public Health Code
Propaganda or advertising, direct or indirect, in favor of vaping products is prohibited.
These provisions do not apply :
1° To publications and online communication services published by professional organizations of producers, manufacturers and distributors of vaping products, reserved for their members, nor to specialized professional publications, the list of which is established by ministerial decree signed by the ministers responsible for health and communication; nor to online communication services published on a professional basis which are only accessible to professionals in the production, manufacture and distribution of vaping products;
2 ° To printed and published publications and to online communication services made available to the public by persons established in a country outside the European Union or the European Economic Area, where such publications and communication services online are not primarily intended for the Community market;
3° Posters relating to vaping products, placed inside establishments selling them and not visible from the outside.
Any sponsorship or patronage operation is prohibited when its purpose or effect is propaganda or direct or indirect advertising in favor of vaping products.
Solutions exist: you can entrust your communication to two companies…
If you are a vaping professional in France and want to communicate calmly, only two companies can currently allow you to do so legally.
- The Vapelier OLF (Vapoteurs.net/Levapelier.com) because the company has settled in Morocco, therefore outside the European Union and the European Economic Area, and all the content produced is in more than 100 languages. The Vapelier OLF is not only aimed at the community or French market, far from it, but at all vapers and all vaping companies around the world.
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The Vaping Post (PG/VG). Same approach here, since the company has settled in Switzerland (therefore once again outside the European Community market), and publishes all its content in at least two languages (including English). It is aimed at the entire French-speaking market on the planet, as well as the Anglo-Saxon market.
Therefore, unless provisioning 300 000 euros (what the fine for illegal advertising costs), and plan to spend a few months in prison, we can only advise all vaping professionals to contact these two companies, which are the only ones capable of legally carrying your communications.
A well-informed company is worth two it seems ... that's good, contact The Vaping Post and / or Le Vapelier OLF, and sleep easy.
