The appointment of Jarmila Vedralová as national drugs policy coordinator in the Czech Republic has been heavily criticised by many people, including her predecessor Jindřich Vobořil. Vedralová has vowed to re-examine and possibly overturn Vobořil’s proposed national drug strategy for 2019-2027, which tackles tobacco use and e-cigarettes, focusing on promoting the principle of harm reduction.
The new coordinator has also expressed fears that e-cigarettes may cause “popcorn lung” and said nicotine leads to cancer. Whatever the outcome of her controversial review, the Czech government is expected to adopt the strategy by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Spanish press is reporting that business is still tricky for the country’s vape industry, though things may be looking up. It is suggested that the new regulatory framework could boost confidence in Spanish consumers, as the previous lack of regulation is thought to have been one of the causes of the notorious bursting of the Spanish e-cig bubble.
In the UK, the government has issued guidance for businesses about what would happen with EU directives and regulations if Britain leaves the European Union next year without concluding a “Brexit deal”. The guidance mainly concerns the labelling and notification of e-cigarettes and tobacco products.
These – along with notification of regulatory developments in 18 European countries and at EU level – were among 55 stories published last month by ECigIntelligence to subscribers through our daily European regulatory Live Alerts.
All the stories from August’s European regulatory Live Alerts can now be found here, on one page, ordered alphabetically by country.
– ECigIntelligence staff