As from January 1st, 2017, the use of electronic cigarettes will be subject to the pretty much same restrictions in Portugal as those that cover traditional tobacco products, if the government gets its way.
The State wants to keep e-cigarettes away from schools and other places where children and youths congregate but also wants to add health warnings and restrict advertising for the safer e-alternative.
The government has proposed a draft bill to extend e-cigarette smoking bans to all those indoor areas where smoking already is prohibited such as places where under-18s congregate, schools and hospitals and even outside these places because 'smoke could drift in the window under certain conditions.'
The packaging restrictions will extend to e-cigarettes too with a warning printed on the e-cigarette outer that must ‘cover 30% of the most visible surface.’
This anti-tobacco bill aims to protect citizens who don’t smoke from "the involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke" and create "measures to reduce demand which leads to dependence." This will apply to e-cigarette vapour unless there are changes to the proposed new law.
The Government also intends to ban the advertising and promotion of e-cigarettes, in particular, by prohibiting any mention "that a particular tobacco product is less potentially harmful than others," thus undemining the main advertising thrust of all e-cigarette companies.
If the bill goes through, it also will be illegal to create websites "for information, dissemination or promotion of tobacco products," including e-cigarettes - which clearly are less harmful.
One socialist MP is not at all happy with lumping e-cigarettes in with the tobacco legislation.
Isabel Moreira hopes this legislation "never sees the light of day", pointing out that e-cigarettes do not actually burn tobacco and that the law as proposed is manifestly idiotic.
