If enacted, Spain’s proposed regulations on vaping products will hamper tobacco harm reduction.
In mid-May, a shockwave hit Spain’s vaping industry: The government presented a bill that would end the independent domestic vaping sector.
The proposal calls for limiting vapor product sales to state-owned tobacconist shops within five years. Specialized vape shops can stay in business only if they transition into licensed tobacconists—a step that would oblige them to sell combustible products as well. The bill would also ban online sales of vape products.
At a recent conference, Angeles Muntadas-Prim Lafita, chair of the Spanish Association Supporting Vapers (ANESVAP) explained that the proposed legislation means the government wants to monopolize the nicotine market. “A country that is a member state of the European common market wants to monopolize a free and independent market. That’s like going back to a time when Spain wasn’t even a democracy—or even to the Spanish Inquisition,” she said.
Muntadas-Prim Lafita considered it unlikely that vape shop owners would sell combustibles. Established tobacconist shops, on the other hand, might or might not sell vaping products under the planned rules. “This would be harmful for consumers who would be forced to go to a tobacconist to get their vape products—or as many as they could find because it would be up to the tobacconist to decide what he is going to sell,” she said. “In addition, smokers who use vaping to quit more hazardous products might be tempted to purchase combustibles again. It’s like forcing an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting to be held in a liquor store.”
If the bill, which is now in the stage of public consultation, passes, it would also mean the loss of 1,200 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs in times of emerging economic crisis, according to Muntadas-Prim Lafita. Vape shops would have only six months to notify the commission for the tobacco market that they wanted to transition to become tobacconists. “The result of this legislation would be black markets, disobedience and lots of people going back to smoking,” she predicted. “Tobacco control in Spain is one of the fiercest and most stalled in the European Union.”
Stefanie Rossel – Tobacco Reporter – 2022-11-01.