International - TobaccoIntelligence

20th December 2024: Indonesia: The minimum retail price of heated tobacco products (HTPs) and nicotine pouches will increase from 1st January 2025, following the publication of Ministry of Finance regulation 96 of 2024. Minimum retail price will be set at IDR6,240 ($0.39) per g for HTPs and IDR257 ($0.016) per g for nicotine pouches.
20th December 2024: Armenia: According to the Tax Code, the heated tobacco tax rate will increase from AMD3,400 ($8.45) per 1,000 pieces to AMD3,750 ($9.30) per 1,000 pieces as of January 2025.
20th December 2024: Kyrgyzstan: According to the Tax Code, the tax rate for heated tobacco sticks of cylindrical shape will increase from KGS2,500 ($28) per 1,000 pieces to KGS2,750 ($31) per 1,000 pieces as of January 2025. The tax rate for loose tobacco for heating will increase from KGS5,000 ($56) per kg to KGS6,000 ($67) per kg as of January 2025.
18th December 2024: New Zealand: On 16th December 2024, The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Bill received royal assent. As of 17th December, penalties for breaking the law have been increased, new specialist stores will need to have zoning restrictions, and all retailers of smokeless products must notify the Ministry of Health that they are selling such products. As of 17th June 2025, retail visibility restrictions will enter into force.
16th December 2024: Indonesia: The Ministry of Finance has issued regulation 96 of 2024, to take effect on 1st January 2025, press reports. The regulation sets out the minimum retailing price for tobacco and nicotine products. These will be set at IDR6,240 ($0.39) per g for heated tobacco products and IDR257 ($0.016) per g for nicotine pouches. The government previously decided not to increase excise duties for tobacco or nicotine products, instead opting now to increase the minimum retail price.
16th December 2024: Vietnam: The National Assembly has issued resolution 173/2024/QH15 in which it formally asks the government to ban the production, trading, import, storage, transport and use of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco from 2025. It asks the government to set the ban's implementation, strengthen enforcement and raise awareness.
13th December 2024: Japan: The government is planning to raise the excise duty on heated tobacco products (HTPs) to the same rate as traditional cigarettes in April 2026, and then raise the tobacco tax for both traditional cigarettes and HTPs by JPY0.5 ($0.0033) per cigarette/stick each year from 2027 to 2029.
13th December 2024: New Zealand: The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Bill was adopted in the third and final reading. The main changes expected are zoning restrictions for specialist stores, increased penalties for breaking the law, and retail visibility restrictions. The bill must now be given the royal assent. The zoning restrictions and increased penalties will come into force the day after the royal assent, and the retail visibility restrictions will come into force six months afterwards.
12th December 2024: Indonesia: Merrijantij Punguan Pintaria, director of Beverages, Tobacco Products and Refreshment Materials within the Ministry of Industry, said that the draft regulations introducing plain packaging for all tobacco and nicotine products continue to be controversial in the country, press reports. She reiterated that the economic impact of the provisions still needs to be considered before the regulations can be approved.
12th December 2024: Mexico: Yesterday (11th December), the Senate passed an amendment to the constitution that expressly bans the manufacture, distribution and sale of vaping products and heating devices, press reports. This bill, which also includes a ban on fentanyl, was passed unanimously at the general vote, with opposition from just the centre-left Movimiento Ciudadano (Citizens’ Movement). At the specific vote, it was passed by 86 votes in favour and 39 against. The parties that voted against, which claim that these products should be regulated but not banned, were again Movimiento Ciudadano, the centrist PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party) and the conservative PAN (National Action Party). This occurred one week after the amendment was passed by the Chamber of Representatives (lower house). The import and sale of vaping products and heating devices were already banned through a decree introduced by former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador in May 2022. However, some companies that appealed at court were given permission to sell them, as the ban was considered unconstitutional. With this amendment, the government aims to prevent any of these companies from selling vaping products.
11th December 2024: Indonesia: Former director of research policy and cooperation at the World Health Organization (WHO) Tikki Pangestu said that, in order to reduce the prevalence of smoking in Indonesia, authorities need to come up with policies that are based on scientific evidence, press reports. Pangestu urges the promotion of alternative tobacco products in order to reduce the number of smokers and the burden of health costs in the country.
11th December 2024: India: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in India has introduced the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2024, increasing visibility of health warnings, in order to further dissuade the public from tobacco consumption. The new health warnings will be effective from 1st June 2025, and their text and pictures have been updated. The images will rotate and each will be valid for 12 months. These amendments also impose additional compliance requirements on manufacturers and distributors, mandating standardised and updated packaging to ensure consistency across all tobacco products.

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