LATEST ALERTSBelgium: The Federal Public Service for Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment has told TobaccoIntelligence that the draft 2022-2028 Strategy for a Tobacco-Free Generation will be voted on on 14th December by an interministerial conference on public health made up of federal and regional ministers. The plan sets several objectives, including reducing the price gap between different tobacco products; keeping the tobacco industry out of the preparation and implementation of public health policies; improving health promotion policies; a ban on vending machine sales; tighter restrictions on long-distance sales and advertising; and improving the make-up of tobacco products.
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Georgia: The parliamentary Human Rights Protection and Civil Integration Committee has discussed a proposed amendment to the Law on Tobacco Control, media reports. If it is adopted, the regulation of standardised plain packaging for tobacco products, which should come into force on 31st December 2022 under the current legislation, will be put back by two years. The proposal follows industry demands to postpone the regulation due to the war in Ukraine, which was the main manufacturer of tobacco products imported into Georgia.
France: The Social Affairs Committee of the National Assembly approved an amendment to the 2023 Social Security Funding Bill that aims to introduce two tax categories for heated tobacco products and an annual tax increase until 2026. In order to encompass possible future products, one category would tax heated tobacco sticks, while the other would tax all other forms in which heated tobacco is sold.
21st November 2022 - Europe, United Kingdom |
UK: When asked if the government will use the data on adult smoking habits by the Office for National Statistics for the Tobacco Control Plan, a junior health secretary, Neil O'Brien, said: "Should a new Plan be published, it will be informed by the most recent Office for National Statistics information on adult smoking habits in the United Kingdom." The future of the Tobacco Control Plan will also be tackled on 23rd November in the House of Lords where Lord Faulkner of Worcester will ask when the government intends to publish it and if it is still committed to achieving the smoke-free goal by 2030.
Malaysia: None of the three main coalitions in Malaysia got the amount of votes needed to hold a simple majority of seats in Parliament after the 19th November parliamentary election results, leading to extreme uncertainty over the formation of the next government. Khairy Jamaluddin, former minister of health and proposer of the Tobacco and Smoking Control Bill 2022 – a bill that proposes to ban the sale of tobacco products to anyone born after 2007 – is highly unlikely to continue as minister of health as his party's coalition only won 30 of the 222 total seats in Parliament. Khairy has already accepted his electoral loss.
21st November 2022 - Czech Republic, Europe |
Czech Republic: The government meeting took a positive stance on the proposed regulation of nicotine pouches, media reports. As we reported last week, the Ministry of Health presented a decree on nicotine pouches that seeks to provide regulatory details for the composition, labelling, notification and other requirements, as well as set a nicotine limit of 12 mg per pouch. If adopted in the parliament, it would enter into force in July 2023.
US - Nevada: Assembly Bill 53 has been prefiled in Nevada, which would modify the penalty for selling certain tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, to persons under 21. This bill would establish that for a second violation within a 24-month period the civil penalty would be decreased from $1,250 to $1,000. Additionally, the licence would be suspended for up to 180 days.
18th November 2022 - Asia, Philippines |
Philippines: The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has published revenue regulations for e-cigarettes, heated tobacco and novel tobacco products in compliance with the recently enacted Vaporised Nicotine and non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act. Among the measures are inspection fees and minimum retail prices. It also establishes that manufacturers or importers of e-cigarettes, heated tobacco and novel tobacco products should register with the Regulatory Division of the BIR national office as an excise tax payer before entering the market.
Russia: At the round-table discussion in the Federation Council, the Ministry of Finance proposed to increase the excise tax on e-liquids by 94% instead of 6% next year, media reports. In addition, the ministry also reportedly proposed to raise the excise tax on heated tobacco by 33% instead of the planned 4% next year. That said, no legislative moves have been made so far.
Finland: The government proposes to include a definition of heated tobacco products in the Tobacco Act and to ban heated tobacco flavours. The characteristic flavours of cigarettes, rolling tobacco and e-cigarette liquids were banned in 2016, and in May 2022 the Tobacco Act prohibited flavour cards and other products with which consumers can change the taste of tobacco products themselves. If adopted in the parliament, the proposed amendment should enter into force on 23rd October 2023.
Lithuania: The Health Affairs Committee of the parliament is currently discussing the draft national agenda on drug, tobacco and alcohol control, prevention of drug use and drug-related harm up to 2035. The plan aims to reduce the supply of tobacco and related products through policies based on scientific studies, improving excise duties, raising awareness of the effects of smuggling on the public budget, regulating emerging products promptly, and strengthening advertising restrictions. The draft should be voted on by the parliament in the next weeks.
16th November 2022 - Europe, United Kingdom |
UK: Tower Hamlets Council in London has announced the seizure by Trading Standards officers of 8,817 g of “illicit banned smokeless tobacco” as well as 640 counterfeit and ‘Potentially dangerous’ e-cigarettes that exceeded the nicotine cap.
France: A joint committee made up of seven assembly members and seven senators has failed to agree a common version of the 2023 Social Security Financing Bill after the Senate adopted a version that would introduce a specific tax category for heated tobacco amounting to €44 per 1,000 consumables plus 45.3% of the tax-inclusive retail sales price (TIRSP) in 2023, €45.50 per 1,000 plus 47.4% of TIRSP in 2024, and €46.40 per 1,000 plus 49.4% of TIRSP in 2025. The bill has now been sent back to the National Assembly for another reading.
Germany: Following a meeting last week when members of the Bundestag discussed a smoking cessation study financed by the Federal Joint Committee, the body responsible for determining what medical care is covered by statutory health insurance, one of the study team has told TobaccoIntelligence that heated tobacco will be given to participants as a harm reduction product. The study has four stages: psychological counselling, nicotine replacement therapy, smoking cessation medication, and harm reduction products.
Bulgaria: The Ministry of Finance is drafting a bill to increase excise duties on tobacco products gradually until 2026, media reports. Heated tobacco products would be taxed at BGN282 (€144) per kg in 2023, BGN331 (€170) per kg in 2024, BGN380 (€195) per kg in 2025 and BGN400 (€205) per kg in 2026. The bill has not been introduced in the parliament yet. The previous government tried to increase the excise duties in June, before being dissolved following a no-confidence vote.
Sweden: Bill 2021/22:245, presented in May by the previous government, has been adopted by the Finance Committee and will be debated in Parliament in the coming weeks. The proposal aims to increase excise duty on tobacco products by 3% in 2023; however, the exact rates are not mentioned in the bill. Starting in 2024, snus would be taxed at SEK508 (€47) per kg, nicotine pouches at SEK202 (€19) per kg, and chewing tobacco at SEK560 (€52) per kg. The Swedish Tax Agency told TobaccoIntelligence that depending on the authorities’ interpretation, there are two possible rates that may apply to heated tobacco consumables, either those on cigarettes or on other tobacco products. Cigarettes would be taxed at SEK1.78 (€0.16) per stick in 2024, while other tobacco products would be taxed at SEK2,166 (€200) per kg.
Italy: The Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM) has updated the retail prices and excise duties on heated tobacco consumables.
Lithuania: Bill XIVP-2036(2) was today approved at its first reading in Parliament. The proposal aims to strengthen the Drug, Tobacco and Alcohol Control Department (NTAKD)’s power to shut down illegal advertising and online sales of tobacco and tobacco-related products. If it is passed, the NTAKD will be authorised to order internet and network service providers to remove the illegal content.
15th November 2022 - North America, United States |
US - general: According to a new study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), more than 3m middle and high school students reported using a “tobacco product” in 2022. The study assessed eight commercial products and concluded that for the ninth consecutive year e-cigarettes were the most commonly used tobacco product, followed by cigars, cigarettes and smokeless tobacco.
15th November 2022 - Europe, Netherlands |
Netherlands: Public health minister Maarten van Ooijen is investigating the possibility of a total ban on nicotine pouches, media reports. The Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) announced in November 2021 that pouches with more than 0.035 mg of nicotine per pouch could no longer be sold because they are “harmful to health”; now pouches could be banned entirely.
Italy: Starting 1st January 2023, nicotine pouches will have to bear a tax stamp to be introduced into the Italian market. The Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM) enacted a circular establishing the tax stamps' size and information on how to attach them to the packaging. Further details on how to request tax stamps can be found via the ADM's website.
Morocco: The House of Representatives has approved Finance Bill No. 50.22 for the fiscal year 2023, which stipulated an additional tax on the retail sale price of heated tobacco, at a rate of MAD675 ($62) per kg. The law explains that tax increases are implemented to restrict the usage of alternative nicotine products as they pose a similar risk to health as cigarettes.
Qatar: In advance of the FIFA World Cup, the Ministry of Public Health has announced a campaign titled "Sport for Better Health" to ensure the enforcement of Law No. 10/2016 regarding the ban on consuming tobacco products inside the stadiums and during the tournament, saying that in stadiums a team of 80 inspectors, volunteers, and security staff will ensure the ban is enforced.
Egypt: In a televised interview, Consumer Protection Agency head Ayman Hossam El-Din warned tobacco retailers about selling their products at inflated prices, saying that the agency will launch control campaigns to monitor prices and fight the black market. He explained that violations could result in fines of up to EGP2m ($82,000).
Ireland: Calls have been made to raise the legal age to 21 to purchase tobacco products and e-cigarettes, press reports. Center-right party Fine Gael health spokesperson and Cork North Central TD (Teachta Dála, a member of the Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas – the Irish Parliament) Colm Burke has called on the government to consider this option and include it in the Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill 2019 that is currently under consideration. Burke made this proposal at an event titled "Tobacco 21: The case for raising the legal age for the sale of tobacco and e-cigarettes in Ireland" to which the Irish Heart Foundation and Council of the Irish Heart Foundation, among other medical organisations, attended. Currently, Fine Gael holds 35 seats out of 160 in the Dáil Éireann and it is part of the coalition government, alongside the center-right Fianna Fáil and the Green party.
14th November 2022 - Czech Republic, Europe |
Czech Republic: The Ministry of Health has presented a decree on nicotine pouches, media reports. It seeks to provide regulatory details for the composition, labelling, notification and other requirements, and sets a nicotine limit of 12 mg per pouch. The decree will now be assessed by the working committee of the government's Legislative Council. If adopted in the parliament, it would enter into force in July 2023.
US - California: Tobacco companies are suing California over the flavour ban that passed via the ballot on Tuesday 8th November. They state that although the state and localities have broad authority to regulate tobacco products under federal law, "one thing they cannot do is completely prohibit their sale because they do not meet the state or locality’s preferred 'tobacco product standards'." Thus, the flavour ban would be pre-empted by federal law. The plaintiffs are RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company, RJ Reynolds Vapor Company, American Snuff Company, LLC, Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Inc., Modoral Brands Inc., Neighborhood Market Association Inc., and MORIJA LLC dba Vapin' The 619.
Ukraine: An MP from the Servant of the People majority parliamentary faction submitted Bill 8174 "On Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine and some legislative acts of Ukraine regarding the strengthening of control measures over the circulation of excise goods", media reports. Bill 8174 seeks, among other things, to postpone the entry into force of the EU Tobacco Products Directive (TPD)-like provisions of the Ukrainian tobacco legislation adopted last December, different provisions of which should enter into force between 12 and 18 months after its publication. It means that if this bill is adopted, the period of entry into force will be calculated not from the date of the publication of TPD-like provisions, but from the day following the end of the war in Ukraine.
Estonia: The Board of Health, the Ministry of Social Affairs and the World Health Organization (WHO) are among bodies that have submitted comments on the Tobacco Act Amendment Bill. The WHO and the Health Board do not support the bill, saying it would weaken the current regulatory framework. The Ministry of Social Affairs welcomes the regulation of nicotine pouches but suggests a broader regulation of non-tobacco nicotine products, and like the other two bodies rejects the proposals on distance selling and point-of-sale display. The first reading of the bill is scheduled for 15th November.
EAEU: Representatives of all five Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) countries – Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia – attended a meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, to discuss the regulation of nicotine-containing products. Members said all such products were “harmful” and that in line with World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, heated tobacco products should be considered not as electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) but as tobacco and “regulated as strictly as traditional tobacco products” as there was no evidence that they are any less harmful than cigarettes.
France: The Senate has approved an amendment to the 2023 Social Security Financing Bill presented by Republican senator Catherine Procaccia which would require the government to produce a report assessing the harmfulness of heated tobacco products in comparison to other tobacco and nicotine products, as well as the implementation of taxation system based on the products’ harmfulness.
US - California: As expected, voters in California yesterday passed Proposition 31 to uphold the 2020 legislation banning the sale of flavoured tobacco products. Senate Bill 793 was delayed due to a referendum call by the tobacco industry, which gave the voters the final say. Many local jurisdictions in the state have already passed some sort of restriction on flavoured tobacco products, the sale of which will now be forbidden state-wide.
9th November 2022 - Chile, South America |
Chile: The Chamber of Deputies Health Committee yesterday heard the government’s comments on Bill 12626-11, which, together with Bill 12632-11, seeks to equate heated tobacco products with other tobacco products. The committee has set a new deadline of 17th November to end discussion and decide on the bill, which also introduces certain provisions on devices and their components.
Malaysia: Caretaker minister of health Khairy Jamaluddin said today that if the National Front (Barisan Nasional) wins the upcoming general election, to be held on 19th November, and he is reappointed to the post, he will reintroduce the Tobacco and Smoking Control Bill 2022, popularly known as the Generational End Game Bill, press reports. He added that if the Alliance of Hope, currently the largest opposition group, wins the election, former health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad will also ensure that the bill is tabled. Dzulkefly was a member of the parliamentary committee reviewing the bill, which proposes a ban on the sale of tobacco products based on the potential purchaser’s birthdate. An analysis of the impact of the Malaysian elections on the sector is available in our Policy Radar.
Morocco: The governing National Rally of Independents has proposed amending the 2023 Finance Bill, placing an additional tax on the retail sale price of heated tobacco, at a rate of MAD675 ($62.30) per kg, press reports.
US - California: Proposition 31, which aims to uphold Senate Bill 793, is on the state ballot today. A “yes” vote would ban the sale of flavoured tobacco products in California.
8th November 2022 - Europe |
Europe: The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a set of videos illustrating what it sees as the harms of heated tobacco products (HTP) and how they differ from e-cigarettes, along with some policy recommendations. It says: “The boundaries between these products are being rigorously blurred by the tobacco industry to confuse users and normalise the use of HTPs and ENDS.” The WHO also reminded regulators of its tobacco control guidance to curb the use of HTP, including recommending banning flavours that appeal to children, prohibiting use in indoor spaces where smoking is not permitted, and banning sales to minors.
7th November 2022 - North America, United States |
US - General: Philip Morris Holland Holdings B.V. (“PMHH”) – an affiliate of Philip Morris International Inc. – has announced that it "is pleased to complete its offer for Swedish Match and become the owner of 82.59% of the shares". The offer period is now extended until 25th November. It stated that both companies together "can create a global, science-led smoke-free champion, combining expertise in heated tobacco and oral nicotine—including multiple MRTP authorizations. Swedish Match would lead the combined company’s oral nicotine business."
Jordan: The World Health Organization (WHO)’s director of the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases Office in Jordan, Hala Bou Kardana, expressed the organisation’s concern over the high rate of tobacco use in Jordan, highlighting that e-cigarettes may be worse than regular cigarettes, since no studies have addressed their long-term effects, press reports. Furthermore, Bou Kardana urged a hike in tobacco taxes, pointing out that Jordan has one of the highest rates of tobacco usage in the world, with 66% of males over 18 smoking cigarettes and 16.5% using alternative nicotine products.
Hong Kong: The Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health has proposed to ban those who were born in or after 2009 from buying cigarettes by 2027. Similar measures are being considered in Malaysia and New Zealand. Hong Kong already prohibited heated tobacco and vapour products earlier this year.
France: The Senate Social Affairs Committee presented an amendment that aims to restore the original version of the tobacco products tax reform in the 2023 Social Security Financing Bill, meaning only one tax category for heated tobacco products would be introduced in 2023. The Senate will start discussing the bill on Monday 7th November.
Italy: The Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM) published the 2021 Blue Book, which shows that the revenue from heated tobacco products amounted to €791,060,000 (€385,940,000 of VAT and €405,120,000 of excise duties).
4th November 2022 - Europe |
EU: The European Commission has opened for feedback a Draft Implementing Regulation amending Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/574 on technical standards for the establishment and operation of a traceability system for tobacco products. The amendments seek to improve the functioning of the traceability system for tobacco products by addressing a number of exceptions and special cases that were encountered after the launch of the system, facilitating the reporting by all those involved in the trade of tobacco products and reinforcing the good practices in terms of data management and analysis. The feedback period will end on 1st December 2022. The traceability system will start applying to heated tobacco products from 20th May 2024.
Indonesia: The government has decided to increase the excise duties for tobacco products for the next year, press reports. The increase for heated tobacco products will reportedly be 6% this year, while the increase for chewing tobacco products remains unclear. No formal decision has been reached yet, nor has any bill been proposed. Heated tobacco products are currently taxed at IDR2,710 ($0.18) per g, and chewing tobacco products are subject to a tax of IDR120 ($0.0078) per g.
US - Ohio: Last week, the Columbus City Council met with business owners to discuss a potential ban on flavoured tobacco, which would also include flavoured e-cigarettes and menthol products, according to local news. The idea came out of a Columbus Public Health study, which signalled that minority communities are being targeted by tobacco shops, especially regarding menthol flavoured products. In the meeting, many spoke out against the proposed ban, especially vape shop owners, though it was also supported by several others, among them doctors and a middle school teacher. Columbus is the capital of Ohio, with a population of around 900,000.
3rd November 2022 - Asia, Azerbaijan |
Azerbaijan: The country plans to reduce excise tax rates on several types of tobacco products, including chewing tobacco, by 26.7% starting next year, media reports. It is not yet clear if the possible reduction would also be applicable to heated tobacco products.
3rd November 2022 - Europe, United Kingdom |
UK: Yesterday (2nd November) Steve Brine was newly elected as chair of the Health and Social Care Committee. Brine was a junior minister at the Department of Health and Social Care from 2017 to 2019. Earlier this year, Brine said that the last tobacco control plan promised to consider the “polluter pays” tax policy to raise funds for tobacco control and smoking-cessation services and pressed the health minister to fulfil this commitment.
3rd November 2022 - Europe |
EU: Commission Delegated Directive 2022/2100 amending the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) to set out a flavour ban on heated tobacco products has been published in the Official Journal today. The delegated directive will enter into force on 23rd November 2022. Member states must transpose the delegated act into their national frameworks by 23rd July 2023 at the latest, and provisions will start applying in member states from 23rd October 2023.
Slovakia: The amendment to the Act on the Production, Labelling and Sale of Tobacco and Related Products and to the law on the protection of non-smokers with regard to nicotine pouches regulation has been signed by president Zuzana Čaputová, media reports. The amendment is reported to introduce age limits, labelling requirements, and a maximum nicotine content of 20 mg per pouch. It will come into force as of 1st January 2023.
