Market & legal data of the tobacco alternative sector in France

11th July 2024: France: Last week, on 4th July, the French Ministry of Health published its declarations about the transparency of the tobacco industry in 2023. The tobacco industry declared €805,992.55 in expenses related to influence or representation of interest activities, an increase of 13% compared to 2022. Under the Public Health Code, these expenses include salaries for internal staff engaged in lobbying activities; purchases of external services from specialised consulting firms in influence; and benefits exceeding €10 provided to parliamentarians, government members or other personnel tasked with preparing decisions on tobacco and nicotine products.
9th July 2024: France: The Regional Health Agency (ARS) of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, which includes Lyon, France’s third-largest city, has unveiled a new regional action plan that aims to reduce tobacco use. This initiative specifically targets young people and aligns with the National Tobacco Control Programme (PNLT). The plan supports the goal of achieving the first tobacco-free generation by 2032. It sets out three axes for action: preventing entry into smoking, supporting smokers – especially vulnerable ones – to quit smoking, and preserving the environment from tobacco-related pollution.
8th July 2024: France: Following the second round of voting in the legislative elections, the left-wing coalition New Popular Front (NFP) secured 182 seats in the National Assembly, president Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Ensemble alliance won 163 seats, and Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) party and its allies obtained 143 seats. Although the NFP programme does not propose any policies on tobacco or nicotine products, the new government – likely to be led by the left-wing coalition and Macron’s coalition – could introduce a more challenging regulatory environment, with stricter regulations, higher excise duties, and stronger measures to protect youth. While the Socialists (part of the NFP) seem to have a moderate position on alternatives, pledging to create a tobacco-free generation in ten years – although it is unclear what products it would tackle – Macron’s Renaissance party has prominent voices supporting the harm-reduction argument.
4th July 2024: France: On 25th June, the French subsidiary of Philip Morris was fined €900,000 for illegal advertising of the Iqos heated tobacco device, which was presented as not harmful for human health. Philip Morris used its website, store posters and stakeholder meetings to promote Iqos, bypassing the tobacco advertising ban by focusing on the device rather than its tobacco sticks. The Paris appeals court has imposed a €500,000 fine on the subsidiary Philip Morris France and a €400,000 fine on Philip Morris Products. This ruling significantly increases the original €75,000 fine issued by the criminal court in December 2021. The court also upheld the awarding of €50,000 in damages to the anti-smoking associations National Committee against Smoking Addiction (CNCT) and Tomorrow Will Be Smoke-free (DNF).
10th June 2024: France: President Emmanuel Macron has dissolved the National Assembly and called for snap parliamentary elections on 30th June and 7th July after Marine Le Pen’s National Rally achieved a significant victory in the European Parliament vote. Macron, who currently lacks a majority in the parliament, aims to achieve a clear legislative mandate but risks another victory for the far-right party, potentially leading to Marie Le Pen or Jordan Bardella (the party’s leader) as prime minister. It’s too soon to tell how this will affect the sectors because the EU election results do not precisely represent the population’s preferences, given that the French voter turnout was only 51%.
3rd June 2024: France: The National Committee Against Smoking (CNCT) has filed a complaint to the public prosecutor against the marketing and sales of nicotine pouches in France, citing their classification as toxic substances and the lack of regulatory compliance.
3rd May 2024: EU/France: France has requested to intervene in Case C‑731/23 P, Nicoventures Trading and Others vs Commission, in support of the European Commission (EC), and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has granted permission. The case concerns the appeal brought by Nicoventures Trading on the decision of the General Court of the CJEU declaring admissible the applicants’ action for annulment of the Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2022/210 0 that sets out the flavour ban for heated tobacco products (HTPs) across Europe.
26th March 2024: France: Senator Alexandra Borchio Fontimp from the Republicans group presented a bill that aims to restrict the retail sale of nicotine-containing products to tobacconists only.
28th November 2023: France: The Ministry of Health has published the new National Tobacco Control Programme 2023-2027, which aims to reduce the country's smoking prevalence to 5% by 2032. The programme introduces a set of measures targeting both tobacco and vaping products, such as better enforcement of sales bans to minors, reducing product attractiveness, introducing plain packaging for all products, and extending public usage bans. The programme also aims to ban disposable e-cigarettes, prohibit e-cig flavours that appeal to kids, and harmonise taxation of smoking and smokeless tobacco products.
2nd October 2023: France: The Parliamentary Office for the Evaluation of Scientific and Technological Choices published a report on new nicotine products, which uses TobaccoIntelligence data. The report makes the following recommendations: initiate new independent national studies to assess product toxicity, implement new regulatory restrictions based on the best available scientific knowledge, offer consumers clear and objective information about these products, strengthen controls and sanctions for sales to minors, and establish a regulatory framework for nicotine pouches and potential emerging products.
28th September 2023: France: The government has introduced to the parliament the 2024 Social Security Financing Bill, which does not propose any increase for heated tobacco excise duty nor introduce an excise duty for nicotine pouches.
4th September 2023: France: Prime minister Élisabeth Borne said that the government is not planning to increase the excise duty on tobacco products for 2024 through the Social Security Bill. Therefore, the planned tax increase for heated tobacco products (HTPs) until 2026 should not be amended. Starting 1st January 2024, heated tobacco sticks will be taxed at a rate of €30.20 per 1,000 units plus an ad valorem tax of 51.4%, while other forms of HTPs will be taxed at a rate of €113.90/kg plus an ad valorem tax of 51.4%.

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