Danish police have seized 18,000 disposable vape pens and 2,900 litres of flavoured e-liquid that are illegal to sell in Denmark. The seizure was made during a raid on a factory linked to an online sales platform.
The black market for e-cigarettes is extensive in Denmark. According to several reports in Danish media, it is primarily through illegal trade that minors get their hands on the highly regulated products. At the same time, many flavours are banned in the country and disposable e-cigarettes are so strictly regulated that they can hardly be sold at all.
"When it comes to disposable models, there is no outright ban, but there is a requirement that an e-cigarette must be child-resistant. And according to the Danish authorities' interpretation, only very few disposable models fulfil this requirement." says Kim Dabelstein Petersen, chairman of the consumer organisation DADAFO.
Only one legal model
Disposable vapes are usually activated by the user sucking on the mouthpiece. Currently, there is only one model that is considered child-resistant and thus approved for sale on the Danish market. This model has a safety mechanism that requires a lock button to be pressed to activate the device.
Does not prevent minors
However, the limited access to legal products hasn't prevented minors from obtaining disposable disposables. The black marketplace is large, says Kim Dabelstein Petersen.
Since last year, all flavours, except so-called tobacco flavours and menthol, have been banned in Denmark. The ban has had a major impact on vape shops, which have had to drastically cut back on their range.
"Of course there is a basis for a black market. There was a white market before the ban came into force. If you go on social media and search for e-cigarettes and e-liquid, you will quickly find them in closed groups. These can be buying and selling groups where experienced vapers can still get their hands on the flavours and devices they are used to. But for a young person who wants a mango vape, it's extremely easy to find them via Snapchat, Instagram and similar social media. Bans don't work against this," says Kim Dabelstein Petersen.
Confiscated flavour shots
In autumn 2022, the Danish authorities seized The Danish Safety Technology Authority flavour additions (flavour shots) from a store in Aalborg. The authorities believed that they were intended to add neutral e-liquid with something other than tobacco flavour or menthol. The store owner has appealed the case, which is pending in court.
The Danish The Danish Safety Technology Authority has also warned Swedish roadside shops against selling to Danish citizens, which has led to several retailers completely closing their sales to Denmark.
Sources:
- TT (via MSN): Nicotine factory revealed in Denmark
