Excessive Nicotine Levels of Most Swiss Disposables Revealed

According to a report by swissinfo on March 16th, the Swiss Anti-Smoking Association stated that the majority of disposable e-cigarettes sold in Switzerland do not meet legal requirements. The e-liquid and nicotine content in these products exceed standard thresholds.

This standard is based on the 2014 European directive which states that the e-liquid capacity of each closed system e-cigarette must not exceed 2 milliliters, approximately equivalent to 600 puffs.

However, according to a study by the Swiss Smoking Control Association, more than half of the products sold on the Swiss market exceed this value. Online sales sites or stores make it easy to buy e-cigarettes that can deliver up to 1500 puffs or 2500 puffs. There are even products available containing 30 milliliters, equivalent to 16000 puffs, which is 15 times the legal limit.

The organization also exposed the issue of disposable e-cigarettes having excessively high nicotine levels. The law dictates that the nicotine content in disposable e-cigarettes must not exceed 20 milligrams per milliliter. Despite some states forcing certain stores to remove these products based on a study released in March 2022, people can still easily purchase them from foreign websites.

According to data from the Swiss tobacco control agency AT Suisse, their inspections found that nearly all websites (totaling over 100) are selling products that exceed legal standards.

The Swiss Anti-Smoking Association expressed regret over this, stating, "We originally thought that only small marginalized businesses might behave in this way, but the reality is far from it."