Our Plans for Nicotine Concentrate Under TPD Rules

Tue 12 Jul 2016

As you may be aware, the European Union laws regarding e-cigarettes came into effect in May of this year, with full implementation due to go ahead from May next year. The TPD regulations have been met with confusion and anger from the vaping community, who see them as heavy handed and unnecessary. For the record, we agree.

 

As a business, we are committed to providing our customers with high quality DIY e liquid products not just for now, but for well into the future. We are not in the e-cigarette industry just to make a quick buck, we are here because we understand the huge benefits vaping can bring to smokers, and because we care about tobacco harm reduction. We truly believe that DIY e liquid is a great way for vapers to save money and get the kind of e liquid they want.

 

If you are unaware of the TPD regulations, you can check out our guide. In a nutshell, tanks will be limited to 2ml capacity, e liquid will be limited to 10ml bottles and nicotine will be limited to 20mg. So many limitations.

 

In the DIY e liquid world, the only product that is affected by TPD rules is nicotine concentrate. Flavour concentrates, PG and VG do not fall within the remit of the regulations. So if you’re someone who vapes zero nicotine e liquid, don’t expect anything to change.

 

TPD rules state that nicotine containing liquid must be limited to 20mg and cannot be sold to customers in containers larger than 10ml, and we have been working with our suppliers to ensure that we comply with these rules whilst still providing high quality products and great service.

 

With all of that in mind, we have come up with a 4 point plan to overcome the challenges of the TPD.

 

1: Wholesale

 

Limitations on nicotine concentrate do not apply to wholesale customers under TPD rules, this means that we will have to stop selling our 72mg nicotine concentrate in 50ml, 100ml and 250ml bottles as we do now. Instead, we will introduce a separate wholesale area of our website for those wishing to purchase nicotine concentrate in larger quantities (500ml and above) for commercial purposes. We also plan to sell some flavour concentrates in larger quantities through the same wholesale area. If you do purchase nicotine concentrate from us wholesale, it is your responsibility to comply with TPD rules when selling e liquid to customers. We will work with our suppliers to provide wholesale customers with all necessary technical data.

 

2: Nicotine Shots

 

If you use 6mg or lower nicotine e liquid then Nicotine Shots will be a convenient option for future DIY mixing. One 10ml bottle of flavourless nicotine at 20mg will be enough to create 30ml of e liquid at 6mg, and 60ml of e liquid at 3mg. We are planning on making flavourless Nicotine Shots as cheap as possible for our customers, so that the cost benefits of DIY e liquid can still be maintained.

 

3: Just Add Flavour

 

For those vapers using higher nicotine strengths (10mg and above), Just Add Flavour bottles will be the best option. We plan to introduce 10ml bottles containing 8-9ml of flavourless nicotine so users can simply add 1-2ml of flavouring. We will most likely stock Just Add Flavour bottles to allow customers to make 12mg and 18mg strength e liquid. As with Nicotine Shots, we plan on making Just Add Flavour bottles as cheap as possible.

 

4: Nicotine Replacement

 

We are currently working on an additive that will mimic the effects of nicotine so that vapers do not have to worry about nicotine at all. This replacement will be made from only the safest ingredients used in current e liquid flavourings/additives. The current sub ohm trend has led to a lot of vapers using very low nicotine strengths, and many have found it easy to make the transition to zero nicotine. Without ammonia and other chemicals in tobacco cigarettes, studies have found that nicotine isn’t as addictive, meaning that many vapers currently using nicotine containing e liquid do not need to do so. We are confident that our replacement will provide the same throat hit, mouthfeel and lung sensation as nicotine.

 

Oh, and what about the black market?

 

We’re not naive. We understand that banning something inevitably leads to the formation of a black market industry, especially when that something is banned in one country but is perfectly legal in another. Just because something is illegal doesn’t mean that it goes away, just ask one of the thousands of people in the UK who regularly take illegal drugs. If you choose to buy nicotine concentrate on the black market, we urge you to proceed with caution, do your research and only buy from reputable suppliers. Also, we highly recommend that you DO NOT buy 99.9% pure nicotine from China and elsewhere. This concentration of nicotine is extremely dangerous and should only be handled by trained professionals.

 

But we voted to leave the EU!

 

Yes, the UK did indeed vote to leave the European Union. However, this does not necessarily mean that the TPD will go away. Like all other EU directives, the TPD will need to be discussed during the Brexit negotiations. Check out our blog about what Brexit means for the TPD.

 

What can you do?

 

If you are concerned about the future supply of nicotine concentrate, you can always stock up now have have enough for many years to come. Yes, nicotine has a shelf life of around 2 years. However, this can rise to 5 or maybe even 10 years if nicotine concentrate is put in a freezer. Both nicotine concentrate in PG and VG can be stored in a freezer to extend its usable life.

 

If you have any questions about nicotine concentrate and the TPD, feel free to contact us at info@eliquidflavourconcentrates.co.uk.

 

Read the full TPD legislation.

 

Read the UK TPD implementation guidelines.