British bureaucratic system found a way to monetize the electronic cigarettes segment. Since 2016 electronic cigarettes in the UK will be equated to drugs and will be subject to mandatory licensing. In e-cigarette certification will be engaged Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Until 2016 the electronic cigarette sale in UK is allowed, but MHRA don’t recommend people to use electronic cigarettes, because is not sure in their quality. One of the largest manufacturers of electronic cigarettes has previously tried to certify its products in the MHRA, the processing cost in the amount exceeding two million pounds, but the certificate has not been issued.
MHRA referred to the fact that there is still no widely accepted standards for the nicotine amount certification in the electronic cigarette cartridges. When testing it turned out that on the indicator of nicotine amount in smoker’s blood, has a great influence his manner of smoking, depth and frequency of puffs.
While testing the same electronic cigarette, in different test people the nicotine content in the blood was different. It is obvious that the MHRA little know about electronic cigarettes as a whole, and today, they do not have a clue about what and how check them. For example, how to test variable voltage where you need to take into account not only the depth and frequency of puffs, but also a different amount of vapor at different voltages, different types of liquids – with different nicotine concentration, and hundreds of models of atomizers that can be used with these devices. Until 2016 MHRA should resolve all this technical issues related to the electronic cigarette’s certification.
The electronic cigarettes licensing in the UK, according to experts, due to various reasons – beginning from quality consideration and security, ending with the ban of e-cigarette sales to children. In addition, according to representatives of MHRA, the free sale of electronic cigarettes can quickly nullify the results of anti-nicotine campaigns.
“The electronic cigarette sale restrictions allow us to be sure that adult smokers are able to purchase these products as freely as tobacco. But at the same time advertising of electronic cigarettes to children and non-smokers will be prohibited, “- said Deborah Arnott, head of the anti-smoking charity organization Action on Smoking and Health.
The sales of electronic cigarettes are currently forbidden in Brazil, Norway and Singapore and other countries, in Canada and Australia, the realization of such products is limited.