Estonia to Implement a New Tobacco Law — What Lies Ahead for E-Cigarettes? (Illustrated)

Next Thursday, the Estonian government plans to pass a legislative draft that will determine regulations related to tobacco sales, including a ban on displaying tobacco products at points of sale.

According to foreign media reports, the bill was proposed by Health and Labour Minister Jevgeni Ossinovski with the aim of minimizing the risk of addiction while preventing tobacco-related diseases.

Although Estonia has so far been relatively lenient in terms of tobacco regulation, a report released earlier this year by Euromonitor showed that in 2015 many smokers switched from cigarettes to tobacco alternatives such as cigars and cigarillos. The reason was that the latter were taxed at a lower rate, making them more price-competitive. In addition, the report stated that “sales of vapor products continued to surge in 2015.”

Tobacco product displays at points of sale will be banned

As mentioned above, among the major changes brought by the bill, the most widely discussed is likely the ban on displaying tobacco products at retail points of sale. According to the Euromonitor report, “for cigarettes, the most important distribution channels are these convenient locations, such as supermarkets and hypermarkets.” Against this backdrop, the ban is expected to have a significant impact on sales of such products.

Exempt from this ban are specialized tobacco shops, retail outlets located in closed areas such as airports and ports, and vessels operating on international routes.

The future of e-cigarettes in Estonia looks bleak

Unfortunately, this legislation also appears intended to reduce consumer use of e-cigarettes. It seems that in the future, these products will be banned in all public places where smoking is not allowed.

This proposal stands in contrast to the approach adopted by the UK. Following the release of the famous study by Public Health England, the UK fully endorsed the device as a smoking cessation tool. The study found that vaping is at least 95% safer than smoking.

In addition, the UK launched a petition calling on employers to support vapers who use vaping devices to quit smoking and to provide them with designated vape areas. This position in the UK has already helped the country reach the lowest smoking rate in its history. As a result, many public health experts hope that other European countries, including Estonia, will one day follow suit and reverse the current burden of smoking-related disease.