E-cigarettes are still freely available

Verdict: E-cigarettes are not a pharmacy drug

21/11/2014

E-cigarettes may be widely sold in tobacconists and on the Internet. This was decided by the Federal Administrative Court on Thursday in its eagerly awaited ruling (file reference: BVerwG 3 C 25.13 to 27.13). The Leipzig judges had to deal with the question of whether the nicotine-containing liquids, so-called liquids in e-cigarettes are classified as pharmacy-drug.

E-cigarettes could be badly damaging to your health
E-cigarettes are filled with nicotine-containing liquids, which evaporate when smoking. Experts argue that since the emergence of electronic glow sticks about a potentially harmful effects of these liquids, there are in various flavors. As Fritz Sörgel, head of the Institute for Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Research (IBMP) in Nuremberg, pointed out in an interview with the news magazine „Mirror online“ In May this year, the additives contained in the liquids could trigger Algerian asthma. There are also no studies on the long-term consequences for the lungs. Thus, the main ingredient propylene glycol has not been tested so far. In addition, the intake of nicotine in e-cigarettes is not freely dosed. Too high a nicotine concentration could quickly cause poisoning. Sörgel also draws attention to another problem. E-cigarettes would also be suitable for the use of illegal drugs, as the substances would be delivered via the vapor quickly in the brain.

E-cigarettes lack the positive health benefits to be classified as a medicine
Health experts hoped that the Federal Administrative Court therefore a decision for a ban on sales of e-cigarettes in tobacco shops and online shops. But the court came to a different conclusion.

The judges had to consider whether classification of e-cigarettes as a pharmacy-only medicine is necessary. If that were the case, the nicotine-containing liquids would no longer be sold outside pharmacies. According to the court, however, it lacks a positive health effect and a therapeutic purpose of the liquids, so that a classification as a drug is unjustifiable. Thus, the court was the complaints of an ex-shopkeeper from Wuppertal and two manufacturers of e-cigarettes in the last instance right.

If e-cigarettes had been classified as a medicinal product, this would have resulted not only in a ban on selling tobacco shops and Internet shops, but also in the lengthy procedure of the approval procedures that all medications must undergo.

Nicotine-containing liquid in e-cigarettes could be carcinogenic
The complaints had come after, inter alia, the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices assessed the nicotine-containing fluids as a medicine. A spokesman for the institute criticized the verdict against the news agency „dpa“ sharp: „Although e-cigarettes vaporize nicotine and are therefore associated with potential health risks, they are still not screened, not monitored. "

Martina Pötschke-Langer from the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg also pointed out to the news agency the dangers of e-cigarettes: „E-cigarettes are less harmful in comparison with tobacco cigarettes. A complete changeover to smoking e-cigarettes could probably reduce the health risk of smokers. "Nevertheless, the e-cigarette vapor should not be downplayed. „It is addictive, is a cytotoxin and promotes the growth of existing tumor cells. It is also suspected to even cause cancer, "said Pötschke-Langer.