The Swedish court broke Wednesday, 17 February, the ban in the country on the sale of electronic cigarettes, giving reason to an online seller who wanted to do without the approval of health authorities.
The Supreme Administrative Court ruled, contrary to the lower courts, that the electronic cigarette was not a medicine, and that therefore the national drug agency could not oppose its placing on the market: " To constitute a drug, a product must have the property of preventing or treating a disease and thereby offer a beneficial effect on human health. »
However, according to the Supreme Administrative Court, the scientific studies cited by the drug agency « do not allow firm conclusions about the effects or importance of e-cigarettes for treating tobacco dependence ». By the way these cigarettes « do not contain instructions on how to use them to reduce smoking or nicotine addiction ».
For the Swedish company which had seized the courts of this case, called The Trade Teamthe judgment falls too late: it has been liquidated. But others can theoretically revive this trade.
The regulation of e-cigarettes is changing rapidly and varies a lot according to the European countries, ranging from those which do not impose any restrictions on it, such as Portugal, which imposes a heavy tax, to those who forbid it if it contains nicotine, like Switzerland. The largest European market is France, with nearly three million vapoteurs ».
Source : Lemonde.fr
