E-cigarette dealer may sell Gummibärchenaroma to children

OLG Hamm: online retailer not obliged to age verification
E-cigarette dealers may sell nicotine-free "gummy bear flavor" to children, even if it can be used for e-cigarettes and e-shishas. When selling such flavors, online retailers do not have to perform age verification, the Higher Regional Court (OLG) Hamm ruled in a ruling announced on Thursday, April 27, 2017 (Ref .: 4 U 162/16).

In this particular case, an online retailer from the Westphalian town of Bünde had offered numerous "liquids" in addition to e-cigarettes, which are evaporated when smoking with e-cigarettes and e-shishas. In addition, he also sold numerous flavors such as the nicotine-free "aroma gummy bears". According to the description, this was not only suitable for flavoring the liquids; The gummy bear aroma can also refine drinks or be used in cooking and baking.

(Image: tibanna79 / fotolia.com)

A competitor from Lünen complained that on the internet platform no age verification is made when selling the gummy bear aroma. According to the youth protection law e-cigarettes and their accessories are likely to be sold and shipped only after an age verification. This therefore also applies to refill containers of flavorings.

The defendant company, on the other hand, said that commercial food flavorings should also be sold without age restrictions.

The OLG Hamm in his judgment of 7 March 2017 followed this. According to the Youth Protection Act, nicotine-containing products and their containers should not be sold to children and adolescents in the mail order business. These included, according to the law, e-cigarettes and e-shishas, ​​as well as possibly the so-called e-liquids, but not nicotine-free flavorings. The Higher Regional Court has approved the revision of the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe.