Mounting scientific evidence proves that e-cigarettes are harmful, addictive and attractive. E-cigarette use also appears to make young people more likely to start smoking tobacco compared to young people who do not use these products. To make e-cigarettes less attractive, this draft general administrative regulation creates a basis for a ministerial order in an amendment to the Tobacco and Smoking Products Decree in order to ban additives that create flavours other than tobacco flavour in liquids containing nicotine and nicotine-free liquids, and in other e-cigarette components. This will ban the production and sale of e-cigarettes in flavours other than tobacco. This shall help reduce the temptation for young people and former smokers to purchase these electronic heating devices or cigarettes. To enable regulation of flavours other than tobacco in liquids for e-cigarettes, the text now only allows additives that are relatively more common in tobacco-flavoured liquids than in sweet and attractive flavours. In this way, the Dutch Government considers it very likely that placing such sweet, attractive flavours on the market shall be impossible. A ministerial order shall adopt an exhaustive list of flavour-determining additives allowed as ingredients in liquids and in other e-cigarette components. By allowing only certain flavour-determining additives as ingredients, compliance with the regulations can be checked on the basis of the specified ingredients during supervision. Moreover, in cases of doubts as to whether the product meets the regulations, chemical analysis can determine whether the liquids contain unauthorised additives. Also banning the use of undesignated flavour-determining additives as ingredients in other components of electronic vapour products prevents the addition of unauthorised flavour-determining additives by means of cartridges, separate mouthpieces or other e-cigarette components. Given the harmful effects of inhaling chemicals in liquids for e-cigarettes and the addictiveness of nicotine e-cigarettes, reducing the attractiveness of e-cigarettes presents health benefits. For this reason, regulating flavours for e-cigarettes is justified by the need to protect public health. Here, the requirements will apply to all e-cigarettes placed onto the market in the Netherlands, the application of this measure is thus non-discriminatory. The government considers the measure to be proportionate given that the exhaustive list to be adopted by ministerial order will only indicate permitted flavouring additives and will not be used to determine all ingredients in liquids and other e-cigarette components. The measure does not go beyond the necessary level. A less restrictive alternative able to achieve the same goal is not conceivable either, such a form of state intervention is thus justified. It is proportionate because it does not ban the sale or use of e-cigarettes, but rather sets rules concerning the additive ingredients for liquid such as flavour-determining additives by ministerial order. It is therefore still possible to use e-cigarettes in order to quit smoking. The measures are also necessary in a democratic society because the legitimate objectives of a smoke-free generation by 2040, in which no young people start smoking, smoking is prevented in general and current smokers are helped to quit are more likely to be achieved if e-cigarettes are less attractive. The ministerial order containing the list of allowed additives has not been adopted yet, but it will also be notified to the European Commission once the draft is ready.
