Another European Country to Ban Flavored Vapes

On Thursday, March 23, the Latvian Parliament supported an amendment in its second reading, planning to prohibit the sale of tobacco products, alternative products, herbal vapor products, e-cigarette devices, and pods to individuals under the age of 20.

In short:

Currently, the aforementioned products are available to individuals aged 18 and above.

• With the amendment, the planned age for purchasing the aforementioned products will be raised to 20 years.

• The amendment also prohibits the marketing of flavored liquids for e-cigarette devices and tobacco alternative products.

• The proposed legal amendment does not suggest a complete ban on e-cigarettes.

• The opposition's plan to ban smoking in the parliament building and government buildings has also gained support.

• There are plans to ban smoking in casinos.

These changes received support from 79 members of parliament, while 6 voted against. For the ban to take effect, the legal amendment still needs to be approved in the third reading (final reading) in parliament.

At the same time, there are plans to restrict the production and marketing of tobacco products, tobacco alternatives, or e-cigarette devices that resemble candy, snacks, and toys.

Inga Bērzi?a, chair of the Social and Labor Affairs Committee, previously stated that the revenue from selling smoking products cannot be more important than people's health and lives. In her view, it is particularly important to protect the health of vulnerable groups in society—children and young people—by reducing the appeal of smoking products in their eyes.

According to the amendment, the planned restrictions on tobacco use in public places, sales and advertising restrictions, as well as sponsorship and packaging conditions will also apply to tobacco products, alternative products, e-cigarette devices, and pods. The law also plans to strengthen penalties for violations. Currently, tobacco heating devices and alternative products are not regulated by law.

Data shows that Latvia is one of the countries in Europe with the highest number of smokers, with about 24.9% of the population smoking daily.