E-cigarette vapor harmful; under 18 sales banned

State Secretary Martin van Rijn (Health) is intensifying the rules for the use of e-cigarettes to prevent young people having easy access to it. New rules will include an age restriction of 18 years for purchasing an e-cigarette, including e-cigarettes that do not contain nicotine. There will also be stricter requirements for the ingredients in e-cigarette liquid. Van Rijn wrote this in a letter to the Tweede Kamer - lower house of parliament - following the results of a study done by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) and the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA), which found that while e-cigarettes are less harmful to health than tobacco cigarettes, the vapor from an e-cigarette contains substances and chemical impurities that could be detrimental to health. The study also found that the composition of many e-fluids available in the Netherlands vary considerably from the vapor released. Some substances, for instance, are only formed when the liquid was heated. For this reason van Rijn wants producers to clearly indicate which fluids can be used in which evaporators without any harmful substances being released. Van Rijn requested this study because of the rapid growth in the number of e-cigarette users and the uncertainties about the health effects. The RIVM will assess the risk of inhaling "second hand vapor" later in the year.