Hot or cold – How would you like your surströmming Sir?

For those of you who enjoy vaping Swedish Fish, surströmming is one variant you’re unlikely to see at your local vape store any time soon. It’s among the most rank-smelling food products the world has ever known. But I’d happily scoff down a tin or two if it meant escaping the heads-I-win-tails-you-lose situation facing the ecig industry right now.

The Swedish government published its 174 page transposition of the Tobacco Products Directive today. I was expecting this mighty tome to contain a whole raft of gold-plating additions to the dismal Article 20 laws on ecigs. But there weren’t any.

Does this mean that Swedish vapers will only be subjected to the daftness of the common-or-garden Article 20, with no added wibble?

No. Or at least, not yet anyway. Because the document notes that they haven’t really bothered to look at Article 20 yet. That’s because everyone’s still waiting for the court judgement on whether ecigs are medicines. If it’s decided that they are, the government confirms that they’ll be regulated (banned) as such. If they’re not, then and only then will the government whip out Article 20 and get to work implementing it, with or without gold-plating.

The court decision is imminent. A cynic might conclude that with so little time left, the government has known for some time what the decision will be. But I would never question this fine institution.

In the absence of any fresh insight as to how things are going to pan out, the standout element of this document for vapers was the inclusion of some of the policy proposals from “stakeholders” – i.e. anyone but the public who will actually be affected by these new laws. And regular readers of this blog might be able to hazard a guess as to whose mask slipped the furthest.

That’s right – it was everybody’s favourite state-funded glantzian troughers.

“Tobaksfakta consider that e-cigarettes should be completely forbidden, because of the risk that they attract children and youth into nicotine addiction.”

Head, meet desk. Again.

It’s hardly a suprise I suppose, coming as it does from an organisation that includes health fascist Margareta “I’m not a health fascist” Haglund, but it’s yet another reminder of the need to put a stop to the considerable influence these creatures have on policymakers around the globe.