The Independent European Vaping Association (IEVA) has called on the Spanish government to reconsider its proposal to ban vaping shops.
According to IEVA, legislation under consideration would hand over the entire e-cigarette business to Big Tobacco.
"In violation of all the principles of EU law (proportionality, good regulation, good governance, fair competition and coordination), the Spanish government has proposed to ban and close all vaping shops in Spain (transferring sales of e-cigarettes and e-liquids to the state) ) monopoly of tobacco shops and bans all online sales,” IEVA wrote on its website.
According to IEVA, these measures not only violate EU rules on free competition and free movement of goods, but also generate unemployment during a certain period or economic crisis.
What's more, the group said, the proposal would deprive vapers of personalized access to vaping products, forcing them to buy in tobacco stores, which could tempt them to repurchase riskier combustible products.
As part of the legislative process, Spain submitted a so-called TRIS notification to the European Commission on June 21.