Chile's latest vaping bill has been met with cautious optimism from consumer advocates - but what does it actually contain? Ignacio Leiva joins us to elaborate on Chile's regulatory makeover, and what this means for vapers in the country!
Transcription:
00:04
Joanna Junak: Hello and welcome. I'm Joanna Junak and this is GFN News on GFN.tv. After years of unclear regulations, Chile has finally passed law number 21.642, setting clear rules for nicotine delivery electronic systems and non-nicotine electronic systems. This important law is a big step forward for nicotine innovation in Latin America. Joining us today to provide more insights on the regulations and discuss positive measures for both the industry and consumers is Ignacio Leiva. Multimedia journalist, key advocate for vaping users in Chile's legislation and founder of AsoVape Chile. Hello Ignacio. Can you please summarize the key changes the new law introduces?
01:19
Ignacio Leiva: Well, the first thing to know about this new law is this is the first time that we have a specific regulation for nicotine delivery systems in Chile. Before that, we have kind of only some restriction that it was that the nicotine was being able to sold only by pharmacies. There was no other regulation. And in the real life, that was like banning because pharmacies were not selling, obviously, nicotine. So it was like a medium ban. We were in a very gray area. This is the first time that we were able to make the country to have a regulation. So this law, it's a big change just starting because of that. But there are many things also that it's not more illegal to sell nicotine in Chile, and it's open to other markets. Well, first, and this is very important, and we never forget about that. The first thing is that it's forbidden for miners. That is something that is very important for us. Antis used to say that they don't want miners to vape, and we're like, who want them? So the first thing, finally, it's forbidden for miners because that's something that authorities don't think about when you have black markets. Miners can access very easily to electronic cigarettes, Symbacil, Argentina and the other countries that are still having a very tough ban. The second one and I won't go in, I will just say them, there is, I won't go from the most important one to the less important one. Another one that it's very new in terms of discussion and we're very happy about this one. It's that we were able to break the 20 milligram myth. They were trying to put the 20 milligrams limit, but we were able to fight for it. Anyway, we have another very strange number. It's have the same sense that the 20 milligrams. So now the law of Chile put the limit on 45 milligrams. It means 4.5% of nicotine in the liquids what it's very good it's for us the most important stuff as I said was to break that nonsense limit that it's placed in many parts like in Europe but we were able and now it's 45 milligrams in the same area of the discussion, we were able also to protect the market or protect the users, finally, because I protect the users. And they were not able to put a restriction in the size of bottles. So they were trying to copycat the TBD in Europe and were able to broke the 20 and were also able to not let them put a maximum size for bottles with nicotine. But it really have no sense and also damage a lot the planet with all the plastic and cartons that you need to produce for the little bottles. So that's another good thing that we got in law. Also, we were able to fight the warnings in labeling We got a very fair one in the process of law, in the process of law badly and we will need to discuss that in the future, I mean legally, it's that the the project of law applied the warning of 20% of one of the faces of the of the product. But the minister, through the Reglement of labeling, they put something that we consider absolutely legal, that goes against the spirit of the law, but also goes against the information of the users. They forced to add another labeling produces by the minister without further discussion in the senator or deputy chamber. And it's ultra-use. It's full of life. They talk about heavy metals, evali, and all that stuff that we know that are untrue, but are placed by the aunties. Something very important to have in mind is that the Minister of Health of Chile have a huge... It's under the... power of Bloomberg directly. We have some people that have directly direct connections with Bloomberg. What talks very nice, very good about our legislators because they were not taking the pressure of the Minister of Health while doing the new law. But it's a very bad thing that we will need to keep fighting with these people that can do this kind of stuff knowing that they are going against a very, very long discussion. And it's a very bad thing. But in terms of the previous state of vaping in Chile and now anyway, it's still a better way. Also, we were able to fight for no limit for tanks or the tanks on disposables or on open devices, open system, there is no limit like it was placed in Europe, what only affect the users. It's super stupid that part, so we were able also to get that. Another very good point of this law is that, well, maybe it's the most important one, even if it's placed inside of the law of tobacco. In the second article, it totally defined that tobacco and electronic cigarettes are not the same. That the things that apply to cigarettes does not apply to electronic cigarettes until unless it's expressly set in the project of law. In that, we were able to make another huge important difference As in many countries, the advertisement for tobacco is full ban. There is no way of making any kind of advertisement for tobacco. And in the countries that have been applied, it's not used not to make advertisement. in the electronic cigarettes, it's a way to not let the users get information about the electronic cigarettes and what's going on around the world so they can keep lying and trying to change the perspective of the people. We were able to make a huge difference on that and the advertisement on electronic cigarette will be restricted in terms of um hours and places where you can you can make advertisement that need to be said by the minister of health anyway they can't forbid it but it's a very important thing knowing that it's totally controlled by Bloomberg and his minions so it's a very good thing. Other stuff that is very good for the users is that manufacturers and importers need to report annually to the Minister of Health what is the product composition. That is very important if you're going out of a great market or a black market like it was in Chile. One of the very first things that you want to do is to let the users know what they are using and get safer products.
10:05
Joanna Junak: And who, according to the new law, has the authority to monitor compliance with regulations and impose potential penalties?
10:15
Ignacio Leiva: That needs to be the health authority in Chile, especially the Minister of Health and related supervisory bodies. They have the power to monitor, inspect and sanction those who violate the law. I'm not sure how much they will do. We know that they don't do much. They talk a lot about what they want. But finally, we know what they want. They just want to get money from from who are supporting them. And finally, respect that they not only go over the industry, ensuring the proper leveling. I really hope that they do something to preventing the miners to have access to electronic cigarettes. Anyway, we know everywhere the authorities shout a lot, but then you can see that miners everywhere, even here in Europe, they can access very easy to normal tobacco. But as the association, we are preparing what will be our ways to fight against it, and we will really do it because I really think that we need to defend what it took so much for us to get over. This is for Adl. We never wanted a minor to be smoking or vaping, so we will find a way to play a part in that game.
12:01
Joanna Junak: So Ignacio, what do consumer activists in Chile think of the new regulations?
12:07
Ignacio Leiva: We are very happy. It could be better. That's always when you're fighting such amount of disinformation and that amount of money that it's placed in the game. It's very hard to fight absolutely every single spot of the misinformation. We were able, as I said, to stop most of it. Well, now we are very I'm not sure if this word is a bad word in English, but we're very pissed with this thing that the minister put on the leveling, going very, very over what it was accepted by the legislators. We really expect that they won't go further in the other topics that they still need to regulate. But we will, we will, we are very, very happy with the, with the situation, the industry can finally start working openly. They were treated like narcos and that was awful because actually when you treat people like narcos, some others start acting like narcos. So you got a black market that we really hope that it will disappear or go very, very low now that we have a low, but we are, we are satisfied just waiting for the next fight because we know that this is not then it have been a process of 14 years now. And we know that it might be 10 or 14 years more to fight to, until we can settle down and let people choose.
14:02
Joanna Junak: And in your opinion, does the new law balance public health protection with the right of adult consumers to use alternatives to cigarettes?
14:15
Ignacio Leiva: I'm not sure what to answer to this, because I think if they were really concerned about health, what I think they are totally not, they will just try to apply as much as possible, electronic cigarettes, put them in the public's health plans, but it's very far from any kind of regulation that we know. There are some step forwards in UK or in New Zealand, but I really think that they don't care at all about the health of people. If they were caring about health of people, it will be totally different. We will be seeing how to make the people quit smoking and go to electronic cigarettes, giving cigarettes, electronic cigarettes for free in the emergencies of the hospitals, having chops in the hospitals, so the patients could go and take electronic cigarettes as soon as possible and quit smoking like we can see in some part of the UK. So it's a hard question. So saying that, that I really think that they really don't care and the only thing that matters for them is to get the money from Bloomberg and others that really, really goes against health. There are some little things that I'm again not sure if they are for health reasons, but using electronic cigarettes in closed public spaces was forbidden. Anyway, there is a little difference in this project of law that have nothing to do with our part. it have to do with the people that fight for the rights of people that use THC. It was placed in this law that people that have medical receipts or I don't know how to say it when the doctor give you a paper that said that you need to use some kind of vaporizer that it's not the same as us. We are focused only on nicotine. The ones with THC and CBD, they can vape anywhere. And no one can forbid them to vape in any place. I think they cannot. The only place where they can't use them, it's in hospitals. And the others, it's like taking care of the products that the users will finally know what they're vaping and those products will be safe. Also the devices, we hope that they will need some kind of registration of safety. We're still waiting for that part to come from the minister. and protecting the adults that need to use them. The law opened the market, make the industry able to start working. It has been some weeks by now that we have the law and we are seeing huge change in the amount of places where the users can get their electronic cigarettes now. And that's it. We're very happy and we hope that things will continue in this way.
17:56
Joanna Junak: Thank you Ignacio. That's all for today. Tune in next time here on GFN TV or on our podcast. And make sure to check out our social media pages for the latest updates on this year's Global Forum on Neocotin conference. Thanks for watching or listening. See you next time!