perspective.
“In Bahrain they have put it under the smoking sector but in the
UAE they are not considering it as smoking, they are considering
it as [an] anti-smoking product that will help people. They want to
use it as an anti-smoking product.”
However, using e-cigarette products in the country will remain in
line with the use of traditional cigarettes and will only be permitted
for use in designated smoking areas, though UAE doctors have
already come forward to say they won’t be recommending vaping
as a smoking alternative.
Unsurprisingly, the prohibitive laws on selling e-cigarettes in the
UAE saw a black market rise to supplying products to locals who
didn’t want to buy online and it is this activity that ESMA hopes to
combat when it brings in the relaxed laws.
Ahmed has observed a decline in black market activity in the
countries where vaping has been legalised: “The market was a
mess at the beginning, you’re going to find people selling at their
homes; people are selling through social media, it’s not like well-
established organisations.
“But now, after legalising it and having standards and regulations,
they see that they can work in a proper way, the prices are not
going up and down. Now they’re establishing their companies
where they have the market analysis; they research, they look
into the demand and so it’s changing the way that they used to
work and they’re happy because they’re more stable now.”
This black-market rise is something that Stuart Anderson, director
of Red Box Vape noticed while he was in the UAE recently. He
told Vapouround: “I’ve just spent a week in Dubai and there’s
already a massive underground market of vape products, though
“The UAE regulations are different
From Kuwait and Bahrain. They are
working close to the UK standards
so that’s why they will have
specifications like 10ml, they’ll have
a maximum nicotine level, they’ll
have caution stickers, they are
following the UK perspective. They
are considering it as an anti-smoking
product that will help people”
it’s not illegal to vape.”
Stuart, together with his business partner Mark Shaw, welcome
this relaxation of vaping laws in the UAE as they’d like to make
Red Box a household name in the region.
Stuart says: “We’re keen to expand the business globally and we
see that geographical region as an area of interest to us. As a
manufacturer, we’re developing product that suits the taste of that
market, because it is different to the UK and Europe.”
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