Do you vape? What you need to know before traveling to Hungary
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Are you a vaper? If you are, traveling overseas requires a bit of extra preparation on your part because you need to know how to pack your e-liquid and vape gear in compliance with traveling regulations. You also need to know what the legal climate for vaping is going to be like in your destination country. Although Hungary is not a country that has banned vaping, there are several nations in which vaping is banned, which only underscores the importance of knowing what is and isn’t allowed in the place you’ll be visiting.
This is the ultimate vaper’s guide to visiting Hungary. All restrictions and regulations mentioned in this article are accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication, but it is always your responsibility to check for any changes or updates to the law before traveling.
How to Pack Your Vape Gear for Traveling to Hungary
Airlines have strict safety requirements when it comes to traveling with batteries and liquids. Since vaping involves both of those, you need to take special care when flying with your vape gear. You should be fully compliant with all regulations if you follow these rules.
- Batteries always belong in your carry-on bags. There is a slight risk of batteries expanding and/or overheating at altitude. If that happens during a flight, it needs to happen in the passenger compartment where flight personnel can respond to the emergency quickly. If you have a vaping device with a permanent battery, the device needs to be turned off and placed in your carry-on baggage. Loose batteries also belong in the passenger compartment. You can carry a vaping device in your checked baggage only if the battery is removed.
- Place all loose batteries in protective carriers that protect the batteries from impact and prevent them from touching other metal objects.
- Special rules apply to liquid products that you want to pack in your carry-on bag. Those rules apply to e-liquid bottles, disposable vapes and e-cigarette cartridges or pods. E-liquid bottles packed in your carry-on bag must be 100 ml or smaller, and all of the liquids in your carry-on bag must fit in a single one-quart zip-top bag. When you go through airport security, you’ll need to remove the zip-top bag and present it for inspection.
- You can carry as much e-liquid as you like in your checked baggage.
For maximum safety, you should only travel with vaping devices that you can turn completely off. Remove the batteries from your mechanical mods or leave those devices at home.
Don’t ever try to vape on an airplane. All airlines prohibit vaping, and you will get caught. Bring nicotine gum to keep your cravings under control during the flight.
Can You Vape in Hungarian Airports?
Airports generally prohibit vaping in all areas where smoking isn’t allowed. Smoking areas inside airports’ security perimeters are becoming increasingly rare, and that’s truer than ever during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Many airports were already looking for excuses to close their indoor smoking lounges, and several have done exactly that to encourage social distancing and help slow the spread of the coronavirus.
To ensure that you won’t end up disappointed and unable to get your nicotine fix, you should assume that you’ll need to vape before going through the security checkpoint at your origin airport.
Unless you live near a major city, you’re not likely to find a direct flight to Hungary from your nearest airport and will likely have at least one stop between your origin airport and Ferenc Liszt International Airport (BUD) in Budapest. If you want to vape between flights, you should assume that you’ll need to step outside and go through security again after vaping.
At the time of writing, Ferenc Liszt International Airport has a partially outdoor bar called The Terrace that allows vaping and smoking. Be aware, however, that the COVID-19 pandemic may result in the temporary closure of certain establishments in which it would be difficult or impossible to enforce social distancing rules.
How to Buy E-Liquid in Hungary
Hungarian law treats e-liquid with nicotine as a tobacco product, and that means you can only buy e-liquid with nicotine in stores that sell tobacco. The tobacco industry is a state-controlled monopoly in Hungary, and e-liquid with nicotine is only available from an official tobacco shop called a Nemzeti Dohánybolt. Be aware that, in Hungary, you’ll pay a hefty tax when buying e-liquid. The tax is applied per milliliter of vape juice. E-liquid isn’t a very profitable product for the national tobacco shops, so you shouldn’t expect a large flavor selection.
Standard vape shops also exist in Hungary, so you do have some options if you need supplies like coils or pods. It’s best to bring any required supplies with you, though, because foreign visitors have frequently commented that the prices for vape gear in Hungary are quite high. You should also be aware that, pursuant to Hungary’s regulations on the sale of e-liquid and tobacco products, Hungarian vape shops do not sell e-liquid with nicotine.
Hungary also follows the rules set forth in the European Tobacco Products Directive. That means Hungary only allows the sale of e-liquid with nicotine in 10 ml bottles or smaller. It also means that no e-liquid can have a nicotine strength higher than 20 mg/ml.
How to Vape in Hungary
As in most nations, you can’t vape in Hungary where smoking isn’t allowed. Public smoking and vaping restrictions in Hungary include all public buildings such as bars, clubs, restaurants and museums. Vaping is allowed outdoors as long as you stand more than five meters away from the entrance of any building. In general, you shouldn’t have to worry about vaping in Hungary as long as you do so in a designated smoking area.
Pay close attention to all signage when vaping in Hungary, because getting caught vaping or smoking in public outside an area in which smoking is allowed may result in an instant fine of 30,000 Hungarian forints (about $100 US).
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