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Increasingly stringent regulation from environmentally conscious policy-makers will put the vaping and tobacco industries under even more pressure with regard to disposable e-cigarettes and combustible cigarettes, according to Jan Mücke (pictured), managing director of the Federal Association of the Tobacco Industry and Novel Products (BVTE) in Germany.
Mücke – who will be speaking about European environmental social and governance (ESG) regulation at the World Tobacco Middle East 2024 event in Dubai this week – told TobaccoIntelligence the industry needs to direct consumers towards more sustainable tobacco harm-reduction products.
“Environmental and ESG considerations can no longer be considered a side issue,” he said.
More regulation in Europe and worldwide
Not only has recent European Union legislation, such as the Green Deal, impacted the industry’s due diligence in supply chain packaging waste and ordinance, the European Commission will be revising its Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) in 2025. This comes with the risk of further tightening of product-related regulations such as plain packaging and restrictions on the use of flavours, Mücke said.
“From my point of view, it is not the time for new regulations, and research has shown that this view is widely shared in the industry,” he said. “A more stringent TPD would affect our business quite heavily.”
On a global level, the United Nations is developing a legally binding international agreement that could potentially ban single-use cigarette filters around the world.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that the tobacco industry take responsibility for the cost of cleaning up the environmental impact of its products – specifically single-use plastic cigarette butts – without being allowed to partake in the decision-making process.
While the EU is not currently considering a ban on single-use cigarette filters, it will be reviewing its Single-Use Plastics (SUP) Directive in 2027.
“It’s too early to say which direction the legislation will go in, but the future viability of the industry hinges on adhering to all of these regulations,” said Mücke.
The rise of disposables for harm reduction
While applauding the industry’s innovation in developing new products that enable “a lower intake of harmful substances”, such as e-cigarettes, heated tobacco devices and nicotine pouches, Mücke highlighted the importance of analysing and reducing the environmental risks of each product.
He cited the example of disposables, a product category that has seen considerable commercial success and raised the profile of e-cigarettes.
“They were a good and inexpensive way for consumers and smokers to try out e-cigarettes for the first time, but their success brought an increase in consumption among young people. The negative publicity around this effect is putting the entire e-cigarette category at risk,” he said.
Mücke reported that many small retailers in Germany often did not comply with youth protection regulations and there has been an increased influx of illegal disposable products arriving on the market, including gamified devices and even phone vapes.
“The BVTE is against the gamification of devices and advocates strict compliance with the protection of minors, where the state in Germany has too few controls and penalties are far too low,” he said.
What goes up must come down
Mücke also highlighted consumers’ lack of awareness of effective disposal methods for electronic devices. Not only does their incorrect disposal alongside general household waste increase the risk of fire in waste disposal facilities, it also raises environmental issues associated with the loss of important raw materials and resources.
Mücke says the disposables category has already passed its peak in Germany, and sales are declining as users switch to rechargeable products.
The category will be further hampered by two upcoming regulations, according to Mücke. The EU Battery Regulation came into force in member states in February 2024 and will require e-cigarette batteries to become removable from 18th February 2027. And on a national level, the revision of Germany’s Electrical and Electronic Devices Act means that distributors will need to have set up a take-back option for disposables at their points-of-sale by 30th June 2026.
“We hope that with these new options for disposal and if the regulatory framework for rechargeable e-cigarettes is maintained and strengthened, the category of disposable e-cigarettes will tend to disappear,” he said.
Education is key
While this is a challenge for the industry, Mücke sees it as an opportunity to educate the public about the benefits of switching to more sustainable harm-reduction products.
The BVTE was involved with the implementation of the SUP Directive and built up its own campaign against littering to raise smokers’ awareness of the proper disposal of cigarette butts, distributing more than 500,000 pocket ashtrays since 2020 and sponsoring collection bins for particularly polluted spots.
As the SUP Directive will be revised in 2027, the issue of single-use plastic filters will continue to be a concern for the industry in the coming years, and discussions about restrictions of cigarette filters will expand outside Europe.
The BVTE advocates educating policy-makers as well as consumers, and Mücke says the industry needs to work with decision-makers and open the forum for more science-based discussions about the benefits of harm-reduction products.
“Unfortunately, this isn’t easy for us because most of the politicians don’t understand the science and are not always open to discussion with the tobacco industry,” said Mücke.
“In Germany, for example, some politicians still think e-cigarettes are more dangerous than tobacco. It’s frustrating to have such a huge misunderstanding about the potential of tobacco harm reduction for public health. They deny it and discuss possible nicotine addiction rather than the harm of tobacco.”
- Mücke will be informing the industry about upcoming European environmental social and governance regulation that will impact the industry at the World Tobacco Middle East 2024 event in Dubai this week (12th to 14th November).
– TobaccoIntelligence staff
