LATEST ALERTS
India: The Indian government may increase the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on tobacco products, currently taxed at 28%. One of the options
United Arab Emirates: The Federal Tax Authority announced in a press release yesterday (20th February) that it conducted more than 93,000 inspection visits to local
China: In an analysis on the tenth anniversary of Beijing’s tobacco control framework, the authorities report that the adult smoking rate (15+) has
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
Pakistan: Mukhtar Ahmed Bharath, coordinator to the prime minister on health, has approved the proposal to revive the Tobacco Control Cell, reaffirming his
US - Florida: House Bill 785 has been introduced that would expand existing tobacco product definitions to explicitly include heated tobacco products (HTPs). The
France: The Paris Criminal Court has fined the French subsidiary of Philip Morris and its former president Jeanne Pollès €500,000 and €50,000, respectively. The company
Indonesia: The head of the Ministry of Health’s Tobacco Disease Control Working Team, Benget Saragih, has advocated for the approval of the draft
EU, Austria, Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia: The comments and detailed opinions provided by the European Commission, the Czech Republic, Poland,
EU: Today, the European Parliament Committee on Public Health (SANT) held an exchange of views with the Polish minister of health, Izabela Leszczyna,
France: On 18th February, the Senate definitively adopted the 2025 Social Security Budget Bill, and no new excise tax has been introduced for nicotine
Chile: The developing decree of law 21,642 has been published in the country’s official journal today. The decree and the law will both
US - Georgia: House Bill 96 has been introduced. The bill would amend Georgia’s tobacco tax law by increasing the excise tax on
Bangladesh: The government is developing a policy to control the production and cultivation of tobacco across the country. Farida Akhter, advisor to the government on
US - Iowa: Senate Bill 1137 has been introduced. It would impose a tax on certain nicotine products, including e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches. For
US - Arkansas: Senate Bill 252 has been introduced. It would establish a new directory system managed by Arkansas Tobacco Control, requiring manufacturers to
Portugal: The Single-Use Plastics Management Association (ÚNICO) has been granted a licence to operate Portugal’s first extended producer responsibility system for managing waste
Russia: The government is actively discussing reforms in the tobacco trade, focusing on tougher liability for counterfeit sales. Instead of fines, violators may
Philippines: The Health Care Providers Alliance Against Covid (HPAAC) has called on the Senate to reject bill 11360, which seeks to replace the
Gulf Cooperation Council: The Technical Committee for Tobacco Products of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Standardization Organization (GSO) has preliminarily approved a standard introducing flavour
Algeria: The General Directorate of Taxes has sent a clarification note to its regional directors at the state level, detailing the list of activities that
Thailand: The E-Cigarette Policy Committee within the Thai parliament is preparing a proposal for a regulation to prevent the tobacco industry from interfering
Panama: The Ministry of Health (Minsa) has regulated the sale, use, and advertising of vaping products, heated tobacco products, and nicotine pouches through resolution
Ukraine: The Bureau of Economic Security reported an incident involving a man who was detained at the Polish border while trying to smuggle over
US - Federal: The Trump administration has begun reducing the federal workforce, affecting agencies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers
South Korea: The two main political parties in the parliament, the People Power Party (ruling party) and the Democratic Party of Korea (opposition
Philippines: The Philippine Tobacco Institute (PTI), a trade association, supports a tax proposal that would replace the annual 5% hike on tobacco and
Chile: The Ministry of Health has confirmed to TobaccoIntelligence that the developing decree of law 21,642 has been recently approved by the relevant
France: On 12th February, the National Assembly adopted, without a vote, a new reading of the “expenditure” part and the entire 2025 Social Security
Indonesia: The chairperson of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, has reportedly instructed the parliament to properly examine the concerns raised by stakeholders
Spain: The Spanish Society of Public Health and Health Administration (Sespas) is urging the government to raise tobacco prices and implement plain packaging
US - Federal: Robert F Kennedy Jr. has been confirmed by the Senate as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services
Austria: An agreement to reach a government coalition between the Freedom Party of Austria (right) and the Austrian People's Party (centre-right) after the
Pakistan: The federal government's decision to dissolve the Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB) has been challenged in the Peshawar High Court (PHC), which has requested a
Philippines: The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has reminded sellers of vaping and heated tobacco products (HTPs) that they are required to verify the
India: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued a new advisory about the ban on e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products (HTPs), and other electronic
Oman: Mansour Al-Hajri, chairman of the Health Committee of Oman's Shura Council (a consultative assembly), has said that Oman is the only Gulf Cooperation
EU: The European Ombudsman has concluded that it will not conduct further inquiries on the case concerning its investigation into whether there is a conflict
EU: Yesterday (11th February), the European Commission (EC) published its Work Programme for 2025. Neither the revision of the tobacco control framework –
EU: When asked about the European Commission's plans to review the Tobacco Excise Directive (TED) in the parliamentary Subcommittee on Tax Matters, the
Lithuania: Jurgita Sejonienė, a member of Parliament (MP) from the Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats, a main opposition party, has submitted a
South Korea: The bill seeking to expand the definition of tobacco products to products derived from all parts of the tobacco plant (including
US - Illinois: Senate Bill (SB) 2338 has been introduced (a companion bill: House Bill 3606). It would introduce a new definition for “nicotine” that
US - North Dakota: House Bill (HB) 1570 has been introduced. It would expand the definition of tobacco products to include electronic smoking
Poland: A bill imposing an excise duty on nicotine pouches is being processed at the Sejm (lower chamber of the parliament). The bill proposes an
Indonesia: The director of prevention and control of infectious diseases at the Indonesian Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, has said she is
Czech Republic: The State Agricultural and Food Inspection Authority has updated the list of notified tobacco products and their ingredients.
Italy: The Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM) has updated the lists of retail prices and excise duties for heated tobacco consumables (HTPs) and herbal
