NEWS
The TPD Is The Beginning Of
The Regulatory Process…
Not The End
Why the leading scientists at EL Science Believe That A Huge Amount Of
Good Could Come Out Of This Flawed European Legislation.
You could be forgiven for thinking that
Shaun Wedgwood, the technical director
of e-liquid testing lab EL Science, hates all
aspects of the Tobacco Products
Directive (TPD).
At a recent seminar to industry leaders in
London he described it as: “Ill thought-out,
poorly written, misfocused and not fit
for purpose.”
These are harsh words indeed for this
European directive which is now law and
with which everyone in the e-cigarette
industry must comply.
But while the TPD is far from ideal,
the analytical chemist is adamant that
regulation within the industry is both
necessary and desirable and he argues
that many aspects of the TPD are
decidedly good for the industry.
He says that the testing requirements - the
most onerous part of the legislation by
far - are vital for a responsible industry
which puts the safety and well-being of its
consumers as a priority.
Speaking at an EL Science seminar held
at London’s prestigious Royal Society, he
said: “Imagine if we threw the entire TPD
out of the window and then sat down, as
an industry, with a blank piece of paper
before us.
“If we considered what sort of regulation
and standards we wanted to have, then
I believe that we would come up with
many of the regulations that are actually
contained in the TPD right now.”
Explaining why regulation was needed
within the vaping industry, he explained
that the key factor was minimising the
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risk of potential harm to people who used
electronic cigarettes.
He said: “Regulation is needed because
we want to do all in our power to minimise
the risk and to produce the safest product
that we possibly can, especially if we
consider that people could be using our
products for 20 years or more.
“We need to gather toxicological and
analytical data on vaping products
regardless of whether or not the TPD
exists. In effect the TPD has just given us
a time scale and accelerated what, as an
industry, we would eventually have
done anyway.”
He said it was up to the industry to take
a responsible view about the products
it sold to the public and that it was both
sensible and desirable that there should
be accurate data and regular analysis on
e-liquids being produced.
The EL Science Technical Director added:
“We want to push the industry forward in
a way that raises quality levels across the
board. We are a lot further along than we
were three years ago but there is still a
very long way to go.
“There is a real opportunity within the TPD
to set the scene and raise the bar as an
industry in terms of creating industry-wide
standards that are universally accepted
and used. Raising the bar in terms of
creating the standard is very
important indeed.”
He said another great boost from the TPD
was the fact that it would rise awareness
about e-cigarettes and to create an
opportunity to show e-cigarettes in a
good light.
Mr Wedgwood said the industry had
a huge responsibility to customers to
produce high quality products which
are stringently tested and which had
the potential to eliminate the need for
traditional cigarettes altogether.
The scientist said that e-liquid
manufactures should welcome the
introduction of regulation, international
quality control standards, regular product
testing and the reduction of harm.
“The greater the consumer confidence
have in e-cigarettes,” he explained “then
the faster people will move away from
traditional cigarettes and the more lives will
be saved.
“The opportunity to be involved in the
death of smoking in my lifetime is one of
the things thats gets me out of bed in the
mornings and drives me forward to play
my part in making this industry the best it
possibly can be.
“The TPD is a process and we must
understand that we are at the start of this
process and not the end.
“We are at the beginning of what is likely
to be a very exciting journey in a rapidlydeveloping industry where we have the
potential to change so many lives for the
better and we at EL Science find this very
exciting indeed.”
To find out more on being TPD compliant,
you can contact Shaun Wedgwood at
[email protected] or call
01733 352553