The Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) or European Tobacco Products Directive (EUTPD) (2014/40/EU) is a directive of the European Union which regulates the sale and merchandising of tobacco and tobacco-related products across the EU. TPD was put in place to ensure a high level of health protection for citizens in the EU and to improve the functioning of the internal market for tobacco and related products. The Directive came into force on 19th May 2014 and became applicable in the EU Member States on 20th May 2016.
The Directive applies to the manufacturing, presentation and sale of tobacco-related products including cigarettes, pipe tobacco, cigars and electronic cigarettes. In order to address the situation, the European Union and its Member States took various tobacco control measures in the form of legislation, recommendations and information campaigns.
The following rules require tobacco companies to submit detailed reports to the Member States with the ingredients that are used in the tobacco products, this includes the health warnings that appear on packages of tobacco and related products. The health warnings need to be accurately stated on 65% of the product packaging.
In summary, the policies for the Tobacco Products Directive are; the regulation of tobacco products on the EU market (e.g. packaging, labelling, and ingredients), advertising restrictions for tobacco products, the creation of smoke-free environments, tax measures and activities against illegal trade, and acquiring anti-smoking campaigns.
Regarding E-cigarettes, the TPD introduced new rules such as:
- Minimum standards for safety and quality.
- All products must state health warnings.
- All products need to be notified and detailed reports must be submitted to the Member States.
What are the new TPD rules?
As of May 2017, any e-liquid containing nicotine must:
- Restriction on the maximum volume of e-liquid in a single container to 10ml.
- No sealed bottle of e-liquid containing nicotine can be in a bottle larger than 10ml.
- Restriction on the maximum nicotine strength of e-liquid to no more than 20mg/ml.
- E-liquid containing nicotine can have a maximum of 20mg/ml.
- All bottles need to be child-resistant and tamper-proof.
- All bottles would need to be sealed, tamper-proof and child-resistant to avoid children from getting their hands on it.
- Relevant warnings and information.
- E-liquid packaging must state health warnings about nicotine and substances.
- All e-liquids need to be submitted to MHRA before they are able to be sold.
- All e-liquids need to meet certain standards before they are available on shelves. The e-liquids will be notified and submitted to MHRA and only after approval, they will be able to put on the shelves for sale.
As of May 2017, any hardware must:
- Restrict the capacity of tanks to no more than 2ml
- Vape tanks cannot have a capacity more than 2ml.
Is there a way around the TPD?
In our previous blog, we explained the way around the maximum capacity of e-liquid containing nicotine in a 10ml bottle. This is done by using shortfill bottles, what is a shortfill bottle you might ask? Well… A shortfill is a flavoured e-liquid base usually in a high VG ratio and without nicotine, they are sold in a larger bottle with space to accommodate an unflavoured nicotine booster. If using a high VG e-liquid, make sure to mix it with a high VG nicotine booster.
The only drawback of using a shortfill is that if you are a smoker looking to convert to vaping, you won’t be able to reach a high enough nicotine level to satisfy your needs. The highest nicotine level you can reach without losing flavour is around 6-8mg in a 50ml shortfill. We recommend to smokers looking to convert to vaping to use either high strength freebase nicotine or high strength salt nicotine, which is available in 50% VG / 50% PG.
Manufacturers have found another way around TPD with hardware such as tanks and pods. Some manufacturers provide an extra replacement glass or pod in the box which is bigger than the 2ml capacity limit. Another thing the manufacturers are doing is making bigger coils to fit new tanks which are also compatible with older coils, but once you put one of the older coils in the tank, you will have more than a 2ml capacity.
What Vapox have done:
Since TPD came into effect, we have been working to ensure that all our products are compliant, have gone through the necessary tests and have all been submitted. Our own Vapox products have been submitted for testing and certification.
All our e-liquids have passed due to containing only the highest-grade ingredients such as:
- Propylene Glycol (PG)
- Vegetable Glycerine (VG)
- Pharmaceutical Grade Nicotine
- Natural and Artificial Flavourings
Our liquids are Diacetyl and Acetyl Propionyl free.
If you have any questions about TPD and any of our products, we are on hand to offer support and advice whether it’s by phone, store or live chat via our website.
Vapox Team
