Is an e-cigarette a cigarette?

NRW has one of the sharpest Non smoking protection laws in Germany. Now a dispute over e- cigarettes is kindled . For the Ministry of Health , they fall under the law , innkeepers see it differently .

North Rhine -Westphalia has one of the sharpest Non smoking protection laws in Germany . The smokers have to do without in many places on tobacco consumption . At the same time the so-called e- cigarettes are on the rise, as a kind of substitute drug .

For the Ministry of Health is crystal clear that the e -cigarette falls under the law. Many a restaurateur or game room operator sees things differently. In the coming months, the first time the administrative courts in Cologne and Minden must therefore deal with the dispute .

The restaurant owners are complaining about declining sales , since the Law on Protection of Non smoking came into force in May 2013. In the Spielotheken turnover is since fallen by 15 to 20 percent complained Slots King Paul Gauselmann . The cigarette industry is likely to have an interest in ensuring that the e -cigarette is an alternative.

At around 500 million euros of turnover is estimated using the e- cigarettes in the EU . Emphasizes the German cigarette association , the influence of the e- cigarette was in 2013 " not quantifiable" and therefore not an issue.

" A marginal incident"

The tobacco companies but are already on the market or are preparing to , mitzumischen in the e- cigarettes, such as RJ Reynolds, British American Tobacco and Lorillard , the U.S. group . So far, the products are mainly from China.

e- cigarettes

Well not entirely coincidental about the two pending proceedings on familiar names . In Rheda -Wiedenbrück operates the nephew Paul Gauselmanns , Manfred Gauselmann , a gambling hall . As the clerk's office asking him to take action against e- cigarettes there , he moved before the Administrative Court Minden. Previously, the district court had set the penalty proceedings .

And Paul Gauselmann sent word through his spokesman that the e - cigarette " is a marginal occurrence , which we still largely tolerate the moment " in the Mercury Spielotheken . They would however intervene if someone should feel harassed , "or there is a clear provincial rules and regulation " .

In the Cologne process laments an innkeeper . His lawyer is the administrative law professor Holger Schwemer . Schwemer has written a report for the Association of eZigarettenhandels . Then the e - cigarette is not covered by the Non smoking protection law. The legal text mention the e- cigarette does not explicitly . There will only spoken of "smoking" , " and thus the process of pyrolysis, to which it does not come in the use of e- cigarette" .

" Risk to third parties is not possible"

Not surprisingly , that the house of Minister of Health Barbara Steffens ( Green ) has a very different view on things. Was in the explanatory memorandum of the draft law has been clearly referred to e- cigarettes, says ministry spokesman Christoph Meinerz .e cig wholesale

You reject yourself as close to a clarification of the federal government in December 2011, says the spokesman. It says: "The federal government believes that electronic cigarettes basically fall under the Federal Non smoking protection law because this law regulates a total ban without " smoking " in terms of consumption of certain product groups, such as cigarettes , cigars, herbal cigarettes or electric cigarette is differentiated. "wholesale e cig

In addition, the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment ( BfR) in February 2012 have emphasized that threats to a third party "reasonably possible based on current knowledge " are . There are so many different liquids , the so-called Liquids that was questionable what a smoker in the specific case actually inhale .

" BfR recommends , therefore, to treat e- cigarettes in Non smoking areas like traditional cigarettes and to prohibit the e- smoking there." It now must decide the administrative courts . Concrete hearing dates are not yet available .