Health minister to review crackdown on illegal puff bars after poison centre warning

Denmark’s health minister will raise the sale of illegal puff bars with the justice minister and assess whether authorities have sufficient tools to enforce restrictions, following a warning from the national poison control centre.

Ida Auken (Social Democrats), who took office as health and ecclesiastical affairs minister in June, said she would discuss the issue with Justice Minister Nicolai Wammen (Social Democrats) to determine whether current measures are strong enough.

Giftlinjen, the Danish Poison Control Centre, has warned that puff bars can contain hazardous substances linked to organ failure and psychosis, and that their contents are not always visible on packaging.

Auken said her goal is to halt the spread of the small, often sweet-flavoured e-cigarettes, which can have high nicotine levels. “Unfortunately, we’re seeing these puff bars spreading,” she said. “I have children of that age who are being approached by what you might call pushers trying to sell them.”

The minister noted that puff bars are sold via online profiles, requiring a broader effort against sellers. “We need to look at whether we have strong enough tools to go after those who sell these puff bars,” she said. “We must ensure we have the means to inspect and shut down these profiles.”

Auken stressed that enforcement must target both sellers and those profiting from the trade. “There are a lot of people out there who want to profit from ruining children’s health,” she said.

Puff bars with flavours other than tobacco or menthol are illegal in Denmark, and their nicotine content is capped at 20 mg per ml. However, the Danish Business Authority allows travellers to bring up to ten nicotine puff bars with non-tobacco flavours into the country as personal luggage, provided they are for personal use and not ordered online.

Auken said she was surprised that nicotine puff bars with sweet flavours can legally cross the border. “That’s certainly new to me,” she said. “It’s clearly something we’ll look into.”

The minister warned that this exemption could undermine efforts to curb domestic sales. “If people can say they just brought them across the border, it undermines our own efforts,” she said. “Of course, we must stop puff bars everywhere they appear.”

Auken plans to raise the issue with Wammen and other ministries as part of a coordinated push to halt sales and penalise sellers. “We have close dialogue with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Business to stop this trade and target those who sell,” she said.

Stricter penalties may be part of the solution, she added. “This is something we’ll be dealing with for many years to come, and I believe tough penalties are one of the important tools.”