Alternative tobacco and nicotine products in the UK
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Detailed legal reports outlining industry regulation, analysis of the laws, and pertinent organisations
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NEW FORMAT
From February of 2022, subscribers will be able to view and filter individual regulatory alerts per region. If you want to get our monthly compilations, visit our alerts Round-up section.
Alerts
Our legal experts track the evolving regulation around the tobacco alternatives sector on a daily basis. These alerts are then compiled into our Monthly Round-up section.
13th May 2022
US - reminder: 14th May is the deadline for submitting premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) for all synthetic nicotine products that were placed on the market on or before 14th April. Companies not planning to use the online portal and wanting to physically submit the PMTA should do so by today, 13th May, at 4pm.12th May 2022
- UK: Javed Khan, who has been tasked by the government to head an independent tobacco review, stated that he will present his recommendations to the government on 25th May 2022 at 3pm.
27th April 2022
- UK: Yesterday, 26th April 2022, a Westminster Hall debate on the progress of the government's Smokefree 2030 ambition took place. MP Bob Blackman said that the review of tobacco laws also needs to look at shisha tobacco, chewing tobacco and snus. The independent review led by Javed Khan OBE that will make a set of recommendations to the government is expected to be published next month.
26th April 2022
UK: In response to a parliamentary question, junior environment minister Jo Churchill said no specific assessment had been made of the number of vape pens that go to landfill. She reiterated that the government plans to consult on reforms to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations later this year.
20th April 2022
UK: Health secretary Sajid Javid has told Parliament that the independent review of tobacco control, headed by Javed Khan, should be published in May.
12th April 2022
UK: Westminster City Council and the Metropolitan Police have seized 2,366 snus products in a raid on a souvenir shop in London’s Oxford Street, press reports. Snus cannot be sold legally in the UK.
8th April 2022
- UK: A plastic packaging tax that applies, among other things, to plastic protective film around a box, has entered into effect. A tax rate of £200 per metric tonne applies to plastic packaging that is manufactured or imported and does not contain at least 30% recycled plastic.
30th March 2022
UK: Junior health minister Maggie Throup told MPs during a debate on “Smoke-free England” that she was aware of the desire to bring snus to the UK market to give smokers further choice of less harmful alternatives, but reiterated that the government does not intend to introduce a new tobacco product. She added: “We will continue to consider the evidence around snus and we welcome additional non-tobacco reduced-risk products to the UK market.”
28th March 2022
UK: The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has published its eagerly awaited Post-Implementation Review of Tobacco Legislation. It says the government will consider changes to the Tobacco and Related Product Regulations (TRPR) as part of its plans towards meeting its Smokefree 2030 ambition, but recommends, on the basis of the evidence reviewed, that the current regulations should remain in force. The consultation responses supported regulating nicotine pouches under the TRPR. The government will consider this and has asked the Committee on Toxicity to consider the toxicological risks from tobacco-free oral nicotine pouches during its 2021/22 work programme. Respondents said flavour restrictions for cigarettes should be extended to heated tobacco.
23rd March 2022
UK: Conservative MP Bob Blackman today called on the government to raise the purchasing age for tobacco products from 18 to 21 and introduce a “polluter pays” levy on Big Tobacco in order to achieve the smoke-free 2030 targets and to raise funds for smoking cessation services. Prime minister Boris Johnson agreed that smoking was a number one cause of preventable deaths and said that Javed Khan, who is currently reviewing tobacco policy, would take Blackman’s proposals into account.
15th March 2022
UK: Conservative MP David Jones has asked the health secretary whether there are any plans to regulate the sale of nicotine pouches and what policy implications are tied to the British Standards Institution (BSI) specification on the composition, manufacturing and testing of tobacco-free oral nicotine pouches. The department could not provide answers at this time.
