MEPs and Ministers of Health of the Union reached an agreement on the place of the electronic cigarette in the next directive on tobacco.

The agreement reached Wednesday between the European Parliament and the Ministers of Health of the European Union does not really address the fate of the electronic cigarette. If MEPs and the European Council agreed on the content of the future directive on tobacco, the text leaves the fate of the " vapoteuses " in the hands of states. Electronic cigarettes can be considered pharmaceuticals states that will choose . A prospect that worries supporters of the electronic cigarette: considered a drug , the electronic cigarette is much more controlled than it is now and in particular subject to lengthy authorization procedures for placing on the market. In other states , electronic cigarettes are considered tobacco products.

European Directive , which must still be adopted by the European Council and Parliament , and would provide standards to regulate a product that is experiencing a meteoric success and popular with many experts recognize the considerable benefits in the fight against tobacco. The maximum concentration of nicotine in a cartridge for electronic cigarette is 20 mg / ml and the maximum capacity of a single use cartridge 2 ml .

A PERIOD OF ASSESSMENT FOR ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES RECHARGEABLE

Doubt remains , however, on the question of rechargeable electronic cigarettes are very popular . A trial period of two years is provided , in which the European Commission may prohibit , under certain conditions . In the event that three Member States decide to ban them for reasons of public health , the EU executive would be able to extend the ban to the whole Union.

Once the directive is adopted , member states will have two years to transpose it into their national legislation. This is where France may choose to classify electronic cigarettes as drugs or as tobacco products. The debate promises to be complicated : he has ten days, the Tribunal de Commerce de Toulouse gave it due to a tobacconist who saw a dealer of electronic cigarettes an " unfair competitor ." Evidence that the discussion does not only focus on health.

Across the Atlantic, the debate is no less vivid . The electronic cigarette has just been banned in public places in New York. The goal : to ensure the consistency of legislation that bans tobacco. The New York City Council wanted to avoid "making normal again smoking in public places ."