Electronic cigarettes, tobacco | Prohibits the “nicotine hotel”: – Dangerous if Aunt Olga at 85 has to do it herself

E-cigarettes have declined in Norway and in several countries in recent years. Although some cases have shown that excessive consumption and cleaning the home can cause harm, there is still a broad consensus that the products are much less dangerous than regular cigarettes.

But it’s not just about getting started with e-cigarettes in Norway. Because if you want to quit smoking, you are still addicted to nicotine. But it is not allowed to sell in Norway. But you can import it from Sweden or other EU countries.

Therefore, various stores in Norway have offered so-called “nicotine hotels” where they store nicotine for customers and can help them mix. Since nicotine comes in a very strong variant, the bottles are full of warning signs.

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But this arrangement may come to an end. The e-cigarette giant KRS Damp was recently visited by the fire service, who had been tipped to inspect. They decided that this is not in accordance with the law. Therefore, customers now have to label nicotine on the kitchen counter.

– I think this is health morals at its worst. In their quest to ban tobacco, they now also persecute people who quit smoking. The damaging effects will increase, because people are sent home to create their own household insects. We have seen that in other countries things can go wrong, says FRP health policy spokesperson Åshild Bruun-Gundersen.

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She believes that this is because Health Minister Bent Høie has delayed the regulations. As early as 2016, the Storting decided that nicotine-containing e-cigarettes should be legal.

– Bent Høie did not remove his finger. This must be the last push. We demand that the Minister of Health clean up immediately. Now Bent Høie just has to comply, he tells Nettavisen.

The article continues after the measurement.

– The criticism is unfounded

Health Minister Bent Høie (H) responds to the criticism.

– The criticism is unfounded. It was I who proposed to the Storting that the current ban on the sale of e-cigarettes be lifted. But it will be both practical and legally difficult to allow the sale of e-cigarettes in Norway without waiting for the EU directive on tobacco, Høie tells Nettavisen.

He believes it will lead to more bureaucracy if Norway has to build its own system, rather than wait for the EU.

– I think Bruun-Gundersen doesn’t want such a buildup of bureaucracy, he says.

The Minister of Health believes that e-cigarettes have no documented effect on smoking cessation and is concerned about their attractiveness to young people.

– I understand that those who use e-cigarettes are impatient to put them on sale in Norway. But it is important that it occurs under a system that protects the safety of users in the best possible way. In the United States, there was an epidemic of serious lung disease related to e-cigarette use last year, particularly affecting young people. We must avoid such cases in Norway, says Høie.

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It confirms that e-cigarettes are unlikely to hit the market until 2021.

Ruth-Eline Bergum Sveinall is the CEO of KRS Damp and she is desperate about the situation.

– They have been and investigated. Now the municipality will make a final decision. But in anticipation of that, we have decided to clean up before it becomes a problem. So we’ve asked customers to pick up the nicotine or have it shipped to them by mail, he tells Nettavisen.

She emphasizes that it is the clients’ private nicotine that they store and nothing else.

– What’s stupid is that these bodies don’t talk to each other. Because they see the law in different ways. It creates confusion, says Bergum Sveinall.

But above all, she is concerned about customers, because many of them are older and switch to e-cigarettes to quit smoking.

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– We have considered this to be a safer solution for our clients than doing it ourselves. When Aunt Olga, 85, has to do this herself on the kitchen counter, it’s scary, she says.

Frank Tinmannsvik is vice president of Norsk Dampselskap, an organization of interest to e-cigarette users. He believes that the delay in the transmission of the state is “disgraceful”.

– In order for a person to stop smoking, they must receive nicotine. This is clearly a violation of the rules, but the alternative is much worse, Tinmannsvik tells Nettavisen.

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He is particularly frustrated because it has been four years since a decision at the Storting so far, and it is not yet clear when it will be allowed.

– 16 people die every day in Norway from tobacco-related injuries. If Bent Høie had introduced that directive on tobacco in 2016, we would have saved many lives every day. Imagine that 16 people die in traffic accidents every day. There was a protest, Tinmannsvik tells Nettavisen.