Do you love to travel but can’t stand the thought of being without a vape for your entire vacation? Now you can know which countries to avoid on your next Eurotrip. The Nanny State Index has recently released their 2016 list of “the best and worst countries to eat, drink, smoke, and vape in the EU”.
The countries are ranked according to the following criteria:
The e-cigarette category includes de facto or de jure prohibition (40 points), advertising restrictions (up to 10 points), tax (10 points) and vaping bans (up to 40 points) with a total of 100 points available.
Prohibition. A country scores 40 points if it is illegal to sell nicotine-containing e-cigarettes or refills. In several countries, this has happened because e-cigarettes or refills are classified as medical products for which no licence has been granted.
Advertising. Points are awarded according to the size and scope of advertising restrictions. 10 points are awarded for a total ban.
Tax. Countries which place a specific tax on e-cigarettes (in addition to standard sales tax) score 10 points.
Vaping ban. Up to 40 points are awarded for bans and restrictions on e-cigarette use (vaping) in public places. In countries where vaping is classed as smoking for the purpose of smoking bans, the score from the smoking ban subcategory in the tobacco index is used.
For stupid people like me, they even color-coded the list according to how restrictive their vaping laws are: Countries in green are friends of vaping and countries in red are freedom-hating surrender monkeys who will try to pry your vape from your cold, dead hands.
Greece ends up being the least free when it comes to vaping:
Greece’s e-cigarette laws are even less liberal. Nicotine-containing refills cannot be sold or advertised and vaping is banned in all the places where smoking is banned.
The UK ranks as the most free country in the EU when it comes to vaping (no surprise there, they literally prescribe them to patients who want to quit smoking).
The only sliver of liberalism comes in its policy on e-cigarettes. Although the Welsh Assembly has proposed banning e-cigarettes in many indoor public places, no legislation forbids e-cigarette use in the UK. E-cigarette advertising is legal and regulated.
