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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.
7th October 2022
EAEU: In accordance with the decision of the Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission, heated tobacco products are included in the list of goods for personal use that can be imported into the customs territory of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU, an economic union of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia) without payment of taxes, subject to quantity norms, namely up to 200 heated tobacco consumables. These norms apply to individuals age 21+ when entering Kazakhstan, and to those age 18+ when entering other EAEU member states. The decision comes into force tomorrow, 8th October 2022.22nd September 2022
Russia: Russia may adopt World Health Organization (WHO) standards in tackling illegal tobacco. Izvestia reports that the Ministry of Health has prepared a new version of a government decree and a draft law on “the accession of the Russian Federation to the protocol on the elimination of illicit trade in tobacco products”. Russia has been a member of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) since 2008.
13th September 2022
Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU): Following a decision by the Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission, up to 200 heated tobacco consumables can be imported duty-free into the EAEU – the economic union of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia – for personal use. This will apply from 8th October to over-21s entering Kazakhstan and to over-18s in the other EAEU member states.
8th September 2022
- Russia: The Ministry of Health is in favour of labelling vapes with a warning about their dangers and creating packaging for them containing frightening images, media reports. However, the ministry believes that first such labelling requirements need to be included in the draft technical regulation of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU - an economic union of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia) for nicotine-containing products, which is currently being developed. Including such requirements to the technical regulation would mean that they would be also applicable to heated tobacco, as the Eurasian Economic Commission previously told TobaccoIntelligence that heated tobacco would fall under the nicotine-containing product category.
29th August 2022
- Global: An investigation from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism has focused on Iqos reports that the "brand contains much more nicotine than claimed" as there is "eight times the amount often claimed by maker Philip Morris International (PMI)", and thus PMI is accused of "misleading and confusing" consumers. In response, "PMI accused the Bureau of conflating nicotine emissions and nicotine content ... It added that its own testing had found up to 4.6mg of total nicotine per stick and that the sticks 'are considered to be as addictive as cigarettes'." The Bureau is a consortium of independent European journalists funded by a myriad of transnational organisations, including the Open Society, the Gates Foundation, and Vital Strategies.
18th August 2022
- Russia: Member of Parliament (MP) Sultan Khamzaev from the ruling party, United Russia, has called for a national ban on the sale of nicotine-containing products to those born after 2014, media reports. In May 2022, MPs from the parliament inter-factional working group on protecting the health of citizens from the dangers of alcohol, drug and tobacco were considering prohibiting the sale of nicotine-containing products to anyone born after 2010, but no formal moves have been made to date. The current legal framework includes heated tobacco products and nicotine-containing liquids under the definition of nicotine-containing products.
29th June 2022
Russia: The State Duma Budget and Taxes Committee has backed a government amendment which would increase excise rates on heated tobacco consumables and devices by 4% from 2025, media reports. If the bill is adopted, heat-not-burn (HnB) devices will be taxed at a rate of RUB70 ($1.38) and consumables at RUB8,479 ($167) per kg.
22nd June 2022
Russia: Bill 99437-8, specifying additional product, labelling and notification requirements for smokeless tobacco products intended for sucking, chewing or sniffing, has come through its first reading in the State Duma. If adopted, it will come into force on 1st September. As the sale of most oral products, including snus and nicotine pouches, is illegal in Russia, TobaccoIntelligence believes this bill would apply to chewing tobacco.
10th June 2022
- Russia: The bill on regulating the production and circulation of tobacco products has been submitted to the Russian government, media reports. Reportedly, the document would provide for licensing activities in the production and import of tobacco and nicotine-containing products, among other things. However, no further details have been circulated.
31st May 2022
- World: Today, 31st May, is World No Tobacco Day, as decided by the member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) 35 years ago. This year's campaign is focused on warning against the environmental costs of using tobacco and vaping products ('Tobacco: Threat to our environment'). A full report investigating the issue has been released, and according to the WHO it shows how "every year the tobacco industry costs the world more than 8 million human lives, 600 million trees, 200 000 hectares of land, 22 billion tonnes of water and 84 million tonnes of CO2", and that “tobacco products are the most littered item on the planet". It also says that "products like cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and e-cigarettes also add to the build-up of plastic pollution". The WHO is calling for the "Polluter Pays Principle" to be extended to the tobacco industry and make it responsible for clearing up the pollution it creates. Thus, the "WHO calls on policy-makers to treat cigarette filters, as what they are, single use plastics, and consider banning cigarette filters to protect public health and the environment".
30th May 2022
- Russia: On 27th May, during a meeting on the illegal circulation of tobacco products, senator Sergey Ryabukhin – the first deputy head of the Budget Committee of the Federation Council (upper chamber of the parliament) – announced the need to create a single centre for monitoring the tobacco market in Russia, media reports. The senator proposes to assign such functions to the Federal Service for Alcohol Market Regulation.
