Tue 8 Dec 2020

Vaping is pretty new. Not necessarily new-new but new enough that many bets are still out about its place in society and where it’ll be in 10 years time. However, like any other product that is inhaled, or more broadly “consumed”, regulation is required to ensure public health.

So what’s the governing body involved? The TPD or Tobacco Products Directive was established by the EU in 2014 and still applies to the UK market via the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency). As such, it’s important to know what this means for vaping and how vapers can use this to ensure that their products are good quality and safe to use.

Vaping and the TPD

It’s important to note that even though e-liquids are not strictly tobacco in the literal sense, they are considered tobacco products so still fall under the Tobacco Products Directive; even if you’re smoking nicotine-free liquids.  We’ve already got a page dedicated to this and how we work with the TPD, read it here.

The TPD was designed to regulate the market by introducing a set of guidelines for the manufacturing and distribution of such products. This regulation is necessary as it prevents black-market products from reaching the shelves and potentially harming consumers.

The primary objectives of the TPD are:

• Protect the health of underaged people (those being under 18s in the UK). This means that any distributor of tobacco products, including e-liquids, must ensure that they take adequate measures to ensure that they’re not promoting or selling products to underaged people.
• Protecting the health of consumers by ensuring that all manufacturers of tobacco-related products, no matter how small, are adhering to strict guidelines regarding their ingredients and mixing environments.
• Further protecting consumers by ensuring that both manufacturers and distributors offer adequate information on the nature of tobacco-related products and any health concerns that may be related.

Consumers and More

The itemised details of the TPD are pretty complex and they go to great lengths to cover as many facets of tobacco-related product protection as necessary. You can read more about it on the .GOV Website.

So what does this mean for the consumer? Ultimately, consumers can now enjoy peace of mind. The industry of vaping is growing so rapidly that it would be easy for new-on-the-market mixologists to cut corners in order to remain competitive but this could be dangerous.

The TPD ensures that the e-liquid is safe as all liquids with a nicotine content must undergo emissions testing in a lab. Not to mention that nicotine strength in all qualifying countries is capped at 20mg/ml – this helps prevent further nicotine addiction complications.

The TPD also includes an innovative tamper-evident and childproof policy which aids to limit the number of young people being able to access and use the products. Not to mention, as with regular cigarette and tobacco packets, e-liquids and other vaping liquids must adhere to labeling and packaging requirements that display important health information; clearly and concisely.

Ultimately, the TPD aims to work with manufacturers, distributors, and consumers alike, ensuring a safer and fairer environment. ELFC is proud to be an entirely TPD compliant distributor. 

ELFC

ELFC was founded to provide DIY vapers with a convenient and easy to use online shop supplying high quality flavour concentrates from some of the best e-liquid producers and flavour houses in the world.

For more information on the products we offer, take a look at our range of DIY Kits, Drop Shots, Flavour Shots, Bottles and Supplies. For information on anything else, Contact Us today or give us a call on 01924 792217.