In the end of 2019, the Danish Government proposed to ban flavors other than menthol and tobacco in e-liquids, as a part of a national plan against young people’s smoking. Few days ago the EU Commission issued a statement against parts of the package because it contravenes the TPD and the flavor ban seemed to be postponed indefinitely. Now it’s back, and it could be operative from April 2021.

The Danish Government in agreement with a broad majority of the parliamentary parties proposed in December 2019 a national plan that foreseen massive measures against smoking and tobacco products, in order to protect children and young people.

Next to measures such as smoke-free school time in schools and requirements for age control system for all retailers marketing over the Internet, and the introduction of standardised packaging for all tobacco products, the most debated proposal is the ban of flavors other than tobacco and menthol in e-cigarettes, as well for hookah and chewing tobacco.

In April 2020, a notification was made to submit the bill for consideration by the European Commission. The Commission collected many stakeholder and private opinions on the proposal, and at the end of August, as reported by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, “it issued a “detailed statement” against parts of the Danish package because it “contravenes” the Tobacco Directive”. As a consequence, Health Minister Magnus Heunicke informed in September the parties that the flavor ban for hookah and chewing tobacco is postponed indefinitely.

The same good luck, however, is not reserved for the world of electronic cigarettes: “the Ministry of Health has subsequently stated that it considers that e-cigarettes are not covered by the Commission’s opinion. The Ministry is therefore continuing to work on banning e-cigarettes with flavor as of April 1, 2021”.

So Denmark aligns with Lithuania and the Netherlands, which have proposed flavor bans, following Finland and Estonia where the measure is already in effect.