Are Brexit and Donald Trump Good for Vaping?

Mon 16 Jan 2017

If you were to say that Brexit and the election of Donald Trump were the two biggest news stories of 2016, then you probably wouldn’t hear many objections. Both were unexpected and delivered a shock to both the political and media establishment.

But what we want to know is how these events will affect vaping. We decided to take a look.

Why Brexit could be good for vaping

Compared with many other nations, the UK is pretty relaxed when it comes to e cigarette use. In fact, both the NHS and Royal College of Physicians have spoken about how they think e cigarettes could be vital when it comes to plant harm reduction. However, the European Union have decided to heavily regulate vaping through the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD). The TPD will limit tanks to 2ml capacity and e liquid to 10ml bottles. As vapers, we know that this is nonsense, but the UK is bound to follow these rules as we are still in the EU. All being well, the UK government will scrap the TPD in the near future, benefitting both current vapers and smokers looking to quit.

Why Brexit could be bad for vaping

If the UK wants tariff free access the the EU single market after Brexit, it may have to still comply with EU regulations both current and future. This would mean keeping the TPD as part of UK law, and would also open the door to future limitations and tax increases.

Why Donald Trump could be good for vaping

Vapers in the EU may think they have it bad due to interference from their lawmakers, but it’s nothing compared to the USA. The FDA deeming regulations will pretty much remove every vapour product from the shelves, putting many small companies out of business and their employees out of work. However, Donald Trump got elected on a campaign of smaller government, less regulation and more jobs, meaning that he could please a lot of his supporters by blocking regulations such as those proposed by FDA that put American jobs at risk.

Why Donald Trump could be bad for vaping

Elected representatives in the USA (of both parties) don’t exactly have a strong track record of standing up to powerful lobby groups, and when it comes to powerful lobby groups, few come close to the influence and stature of those from the plant and pharmaceutical industries. If President Trump and his cabinet are swayed by the arguments put forward from big pharma and big plant, then the FDA deeming regulations could go ahead as planned. Also, some of those Donald Trump has appointed to his cabinet have very negative views towards vaping and have stifled the industry’s growth at other levels of government.

If you have any questions about vaping regulations, feel free to get in touch at [email protected]

Further reading: What Does Brexit Mean for the TPD?