Market & legal data of the tobacco alternative sector in Europe

6th March 2025: Austria: The newly formed government is planning to increase the excise duty on heated tobacco products (HTPs) starting 1st April 2025, press reports. Instead of the already approved increase from €180 per kg to €197 per kg that is set to take effect on 1st April 2025, the new tax would reportedly be of €339 per kg. Despite the plans from the new government to introduce a tax on e-liquids and nicotine pouches, it seems that these are left outside the scope of the tax reform for now. The bill still has to be introduced to the parliament.
6th March 2025: Croatia: Within the National Strategy for Action in the Field of Addiction for 2030, the Ministry of Health proposes several amendments to the Act on Restricting the Use of Tobacco Products. The minimum age to buy nicotine pouches and heated tobacco products (HTPs) would be raised to 18, and the amendments would also introduce a flavour ban for these products, in addition to e-cigarettes.
6th March 2025: Denmark: Yesterday (5th March), the Ministry of Interior and Health released several executive orders, introducing a stricter legal framework for nicotine pouches. The executive orders introduce new rules for plain packaging and labelling and health warnings. The new rules aim to standardise packaging by restricting branding and marketing elements, in addition to package size, shape and colour. Another order introduces a limit on nicotine content and on ingredients, including a flavour ban, and limits the number of units per pack for nicotine pouches and chewing tobacco. This regulation aligns Denmark’s tobacco and nicotine policies with EU standards, focusing on public health protection and reducing product appeal, particularly to youth.
5th March 2025: EU: TobaccoIntelligence has received a copy of the note prepared by the Presidency of the Council of the European Union (held by Poland until 30th June 2025) presented for discussion during the meeting of the Working Party on Tax Questions on 26th February 2025. As we reported, the Working Party discussed the challenges of tax regulations in the tobacco and nicotine products market. In its note, the Presidency acknowledges the challenges to the internal market posed by “the heterogeneity of national approaches to the taxation of [novel tobacco and nicotine] products”. The Presidency also notes that “manufacturers and distributors exploit loopholes or regulatory gaps to introduce new products that circumvent existing regulations, using every available means to increase sales and attract new (soon-to-be-addicted) users”. The Presidency proposes several tax-related questions, including the challenges faced by member states in controlling online sales.
5th March 2025: Moldova: During the meeting of the Committee on Social Protection, Health and Family, a draft was proposed for approval to the plenary session of the parliament. The document, developed by the Ministry of Health and the National Agency for Public Health, targets heated tobacco products, electronic cigarettes, and traditional tobacco products. The bill would expand the list of places where smoking is prohibited and increase fines for smoking in prohibited places. It also introduces new labelling, health warning requirements, and sales restrictions for related products, such as e-cigarettes, refill containers, and herbal smoking products. Additionally, the draft bans several types of promotion and sponsorship of tobacco-related products. The draft law aims to align national legislation with European Union legislation and the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC).
5th March 2025: Italy: A recent report from Federconsumatori – a non-profit association for consumer protection – has shown how the price of tobacco products has risen due to the increase in excise duties, but this had little impact on smoking cessation. The report highlights the annual costs for smokers and the high expenses for quitting, including therapies and psychological support, and smoking cessation advocates call for prevention policies and investment in smoking cessation centres, funded by tobacco taxes. This year, taxes in Italy increased from €28.20 to €29.50 per 1,000 cigarettes, with an average increase of €0.10 per cigarette pack.
5th March 2025: France: A resolution signed by 33 French members of Parliament (MPs), led by Frédéric Valletoux (Horizons), proposes limiting tobacco supply per country based on local consumption, in order to combat illicit trade. The initiative aligns with a World Health Organization (WHO) protocol that has never been fully implemented and aims to reinforce supply chain controls and independent tracking. The resolution highlights cross-border over-supply as a key driver of the black market, with an estimate of 16bn cigarettes (out of the 52bn consumed yearly in France) coming from bordering countries.
5th March 2025: Greece: The Ministry of Health has updated the list of notified tobacco products. The list contains herbal heated products, heated tobacco products and nicotine pouches, among others.
5th March 2025: Iceland: The Consumer Agency has fined three companies advertising electronic cigarettes and nicotine pouches on social media with fines of ISK300,000 (€2,053) and ISK200,000 (€1,368). Online advertising of nicotine products is currently prohibited in Iceland. The agency considers that the prohibition should be interpreted broadly and must encompass any publication that shows nicotine products or any detailed description of the product.
4th March 2025: EU: In a letter to commissioner for health and animal welfare Olivér Várhelyi, the Dutch state secretary for youth, prevention, and sport Vincent Karremans has urged the European Commission to put “comprehensive restrictions on flavours, maximum nicotine levels, and plain packaging” on e-cigarettes and other nicotine products and to take “decisive” action to protect young people’s health, media reports. Reportedly, the letter comes after the Commission excluded tobacco-related legislation from its 2025 work programme. Belgium and Latvia are reported to have also endorsed the letter.
3rd March 2025: Portugal: The Tax and Customs Authority has updated the list of approved and non-approved tobacco products in force, which includes nicotine-containing e-liquids. The total number of tobacco products included is 9,377.
3rd March 2025: Czech Republic: The State Agricultural and Food Inspection Authority has updated the list of notified tobacco products and their ingredients.

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