Misleading advertising for e-cigarettes prohibited

Judgment against misleading advertising for e-cigarettes

09/11/2013

According to a court ruling, misleading advertising for e-cigarettes is prohibited in this country. If the electronic Glimmstengel advertised as less harmful than conventional cigarettes, this is not allowed.

Advertising slogans are misleading
According to a court ruling, misleading advertising for e-cigarettes is inadmissible. If the electronic Glimmstengel marketed as less harmful than conventional cigarettes, so lacked a study on safety and long-term consequences. Therefore, the competent judge at the Higher Regional Court of Hamm ruled that advertising slogans, according to which e-cigarettes cause much less harm than tobacco cigarettes, would be misleading and therefore inadmissible.

First instance verdict confirmed
The lamented company from North Rhine-Westphalia had their products with the statements „at least 1000 times less harmful than a tobacco cigarette“ and „contains nicotine as the only pollutant“ touted. This sees the fourth Civil Senate of the Higher Regional Court Hamm as misleading and issued on Friday, the judgment that this is inadmissible (Az .: 4 U 91/13) and thus confirmed a first-instance verdict of the District Court of Dortmund.
Less toxic but not safe
E-cigarettes, in which electronically so-called liquids evaporate and are then inhaled, are clearly less toxic than conventional cigarettes, according to the results of an expert's report. Nevertheless, the court referred to the lack of meaningful research on the safety and long-term effects of electronic cigarettes. The advertising claims are therefore inadmissible. And that the nicotine is the only pollutant, the court even considered wrong, because the main components of Liquids (propylene glycol) are indeed more harmless than nicotine, but not safe.

Experts disagree about risks
There is still a great deal of uncertainty about the health risks of e-cigarettes. On the one hand, cancer researchers warn that the risks of the battery-powered glow sticks available since 2006 have been insufficiently researched. On the other hand, some experts believe that e-cigarettes could help smokers quit. But the liquid particles that are released when consuming an e-cigarette when vaporizing in the room air, could harm others like conventional cigarette smoke. According to the cancer researchers, e-cigarettes should be treated like normal cigarettes.

Smoking is only simulated
Even the policy is not in agreement. The Green Ministry of Health in North Rhine-Westphalia warned against electronic cigarettes until they were banned by Münster judges. The EU Commission, on the other hand, plans to treat the smokeless diode stems such as nicotine patches and gums. Then, from a certain nicotine content, a drug approval would be necessary. Currently, however, they are still available without restriction. The e-cigarette has only something outwardly in common with the conventional glow stick. Smoking is only simulated without burning tobacco. Instead, a liquid based on a solvent is aerosolized. The remedy usually contains nicotine and flavorings. (Ad)

Picture: Rike