In Norway, it is only possible to buy e-cigarettes with nicotine liquid online from abroad. It must also be documented that it is for personal use. But after many delays, this will most likely be possible to buy in Norway in 2023, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Senior researcher at the Institute of Public Health (FHI), Liv Grøtvedt, fears the harmful effects. – The wisest thing would be not to allow e-cigarettes with nicotine in Norway, says the researcher. The researcher believes that Norwegian youth who do not smoke at all in the first place will prefer e-cigarettes. – Use of e-cigarettes is also common among young people who have not previously used tobacco. Future use among young people is unpredictable and depends on what kind of products appear, and that will again depend on the creativity of the producers, she says. Didn’t smoke “regular” cigarettes This is also shown by a survey carried out by a research center in Ireland, which investigated the use of e-cigarettes among young people. 68 percent of the young people who participated did not smoke “regular” cigarettes before they started using e-cigarettes. – Vaping for teenagers is a way into nicotine addiction, rather than out of it, says Professor Luke Clancy, who is director of the Tobacco Free Research Institute in an interview with Sky News. E-cigarettes are popular among young people in countries such as the United States. Photo: Richard Vogel / AP Warning against nicotine E-cigarettes have long been seen as a healthier alternative to “regular” cigarettes, since they do not contain tobacco – and thus are not as dangerous to health as the tobacco variety. But e-cigarettes with nicotine are still dangerous to health, according to a new report from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. There they write that cigarettes with nicotine can have harmful effects on both the respiratory tract and the cardiovascular system. – There is also a risk for mother and child when used during pregnancy and that nicotine can affect brain development in childhood and adolescence, says senior researcher at FHI, Rune Becher to news. In Mexico, the authorities have introduced a ban on electronic cigarettes because they are concerned about the health effects. This summer they did the same in the USA with one of the most popular brands there, Juul. The same has been done in several other countries. Some countries only ban flavored cigarettes. Protesters outside the White House in 2019 in connection with an earlier proposal to ban flavored e-cigarettes. Photo: JOSE LUIS MAGANA / AFP – Using e-cigarettes to quit smoking Nordamp is one of the chains that sell e-cigarettes in stores across large parts of the country. And there, most customers want nicotine in the e-cigarettes, according to department manager Stian Riise Sæbø. – Most of our customers use e-cigarettes to stop smoking or sniffing, says shop employee Christoffer Castellan. – The impression is that many are satisfied and that most quit altogether, he believes. The impression after news spoke to some of the customers is that several have managed to cut down on smoking. They also feel better after switching to e-cigarettes. But not everyone has managed to cut tobacco smoking completely. Department manager Stian Riise Sæbø shows Katherine Lumley some of the selection in the store. Katherine Lumley (36) has smoked e-cigarettes for six or seven years, and uses them because they taste better than regular cigarettes, she says. On this day, she stops by the shop to buy new liquid for the container. – I prefer apple and pineapple, she says, and smells a little of the container. She has also continued with cigarettes with tobacco. – Good enough alternatives The Storting already decided in December 2016 to lift the ban on the sale of e‑cigarettes with nicotine. After many delays, it is now expected that this will happen in 2023. This is according to State Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Care, Ole Henrik Bjørkholt. He says that the ministry is working with strict regulations when it comes to sales in Norway. The measures that have been announced include a 25-year limit, flavor bans on cigarettes and standardized packaging. – The ministry is currently working on a new tobacco strategy. There we will come back to concrete measures to prevent new generations from becoming addicted to nicotine and exposed to tobacco damage, he says in an e-mail to news. – We want to avoid e-cigarettes becoming a new trend product among young people, as snus has been for the past 20 years. The FHI researcher believes that there are already enough good alternatives on the market for those who want to stop smoking. – The majority of today’s smokers are well-grown people, who can get help from smoking cessation products at pharmacies (with or without a prescription). Smokers can also legally buy e-cigarettes with nicotine online for their own use, Grøtvedt objects.
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Researcher wants to ban e-cigarettes with nicotine from being sold in Norway – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
