LATEST ALERTSSlovenia: Ahead of No-Cigarette Day, which takes place on 31st January, the minister of health and the National Institute of Public Health have said that heated tobacco products and nicotine pouches are not smoking cessation aids and therefore they do not recommend their use as such.
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Egypt: Ashraf Hatem, chairman of the House of Representatives’ Health Committee, has argued that although novel nicotine products pose significant health risks, they are less harmful than regular cigarettes, and that curbing nicotine addiction can begin gradually by relying on e-cigarettes or heated tobacco to replace regular cigarettes, press reports.
US - Oregon: Multnomah County is being sued over its ban on flavoured tobacco and vaping products, media reports. Tobacco and vaping retailers filed a lawsuit which claims that the county's ban is pre-empted by state law. Tobacco retailers previously sued Washington County over a similar flavour ban, and won. Furthermore, lawmakers in Oregon recently introduced a bill that would end the sale of flavoured tobacco products across the state.
India: The health department of the state of Tamil Nadu, a southern state of 76m citizens, will appeal the recent order of the Madras High Court, press reports. The order annulled the decision of the commissioner of food safety of the state that banned the manufacture, storage, transport, distribution and sale of gutkha, pan masala and other chewable food products containing tobacco or nicotine as ingredients. Reportedly, the minister of health of the state is also contemplating provisions to ensure a ban on the manufacture and sale of tobacco products.
27th January 2023 - North America, United States |
US - Federal: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorised the marketing of three new tobacco-flavoured heated tobacco products included in Philip Morris Products S.A.’s supplemental premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs). The products to receive marketing granted orders are Marlboro Sienna HeatSticks, Marlboro Bronze HeatSticks, and Marlboro Amber HeatSticks. More information can be found in our news briefing.
Spain: Along with medical and anti-tobacco associations from various countries, the Spanish anti-tobacco organisation "No-fumadores" is organising a campaign aimed at collecting 1m signatures throughout Europe to promote the first smoke-free generation in Europe. The campaign is also supported and organised by the National Committee for the Prevention of Smoking (CNPT) – an organisation that includes all anti-tobacco associations in Spain – which hopes to encourage a prohibition on the sale of tobacco products to those born after 2010. Among the measures, a smoking ban on beaches and a ban on tobacco advertising are being proposed.
Russia: A bill has been signed today by the president that increases the excise rates for heated tobacco consumables and omits the excise tax for heating devices, media reports. The provisions will enter into force on 1st March 2023. The increase will be from RUB7,839 (€104) to RUB8,669 (€115) per kg in 2023, with further increases in 2024 and 2025.
Germany: The federal drug commissioner, Burkhard Blienert, has called for stricter rules on the advertising of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and heated tobacco, press reports. Blienert said that the products should be banned from social media, the internet, TV and radio. For e-cigarettes and heated tobacco in particular, he supported a ban on colourful advertising at kiosks, supermarkets and fuel stations.
26th January 2023 - Mexico, North America |
Mexico: There is a daily increase in the number of judicial constitutional appeals (“amparos” ) against the amendment of the Tobacco Act that entered into force in January prohibiting the public use, display and advertising, either direct or indirect, of any tobacco product. One was resolved last week when a Mexico City court judge rejected the amparo on public health and public interest grounds, as press reported. The president of the Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce, Services and Tourism (Concanaco-Servytur) said that the restrictions will have a negative effect on the sector. Retail giant Walmart submitted an amparo last week. The tobacco industry is also planning to appeal. The president of the National Council of the Tobacco Industry (Conainta) said that this regulation will create a black market problem and will increase cigarette smuggling. Conainta estimates that more than 180,000 restaurants and more than 200,000 businesses could opt to appeal the regulation.
Belgium: Health minister Frank Vandenbroucke said he intends to ban nicotine pouches to protect kids and young people from developing nicotine addiction, local media reports. The government notified a proposal to ban nicotine pouches and cannabinoid-containing pouches to the TRIS database in June 2022. The proposal received negative opinions from Croatia, Hungary and Sweden, while the EU Commission did not submit any comment. A bill may be introduced in Parliament soon.
Russia: Prime minister Mikhail Mishustin has signed a decree on conducting an experiment to introduce a system that excludes the technical possibility of selling expired products and illegal tobacco products in Russia. It will take place between 1st February and 1st August 2023. Among the different products, chewing tobacco and heated tobacco consumables were selected for the experiment. Participation for the sellers of such products is voluntary.
Indonesia: Vice president Ma'ruf Amin said today that the effects of e-cigarettes would be reviewed and, if proven to be harmful to public health, they would be banned by the government, press reports. These statements are likely to affect heated tobacco products, as they are considered a type of electronic cigarette in Indonesia.
Indonesia: The minister of health, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, said yesterday that regulations for e-cigarettes are still being discussed across ministries, press reports. The minister highlighted that these products cannot be considered a substitute for traditional tobacco products, and that they are considered to target children due to their attractive flavours. These statements are likely to affect heated tobacco products, as they are considered a type of electronic cigarette in Indonesia.
India: The Madras High Court has quashed the decision of the commissioner of food safety of Tamil Nadu banning the manufacture, storage, transport, distribution or sale of gutkha, pan masala and other chewable food products containing tobacco or nicotine as ingredients. The Court argued that the commissioner is only empowered to ban these products for a temporary period that may extend up to a maximum of one year, press reports. Therefore, the Court has held that the successive notifications issued in Tamil Nadu extending the ban on these products year after year are illegal. The scope of the decision is limited only to the state of Tamil Nadu, a southern state of 76m citizens.
Russia: Today, the Federation Council (upper chamber of the parliament) approved a bill increasing the excise rates for heated tobacco consumables and omitting the excise tax for heating devices, media reports. If signed by the president, the provisions would enter into force on 1st March 2023. The increase would be from RUB7,839 (€104) to RUB8,669 (€115) per kg in 2023, with a further increase in 2024 and 2025.
25th January 2023 - Asia, Philippines |
Philippines: Health advocacy groups have expressed their support for House Bill 5532, which aims to raise taxes on heated tobacco products, press reports. The bill was presented by representative Joey Salceda of the majority bloc Lakas-CMD party and proposes an increase to PHP40 ($0.73) per pack of 20 units, with a 5% increase in the subsequent year. The bill is pending in the Ways and Means Committee.
Lebanon: Yesterday, 24th January, the Lebanese Tobacco Authority published an updated list of heated tobacco prices, specifying the following prices per unit: LBP6,700 ($4.44) for Nuso, LBP6,725 ($4.46) for Heets, LBP9,400 ($6.23) for Heets Dimensions and LBP5,175 ($3.43) for Fiit. The Tobacco Authority in Lebanon sets the prices for all tobacco products based on the provisions of Decree No. 151/1959, which establishes a state monopoly on tobacco.
Egypt: In a televised interview, Ahmed Abdel-Maged, secretary of the Senate's Health Committee, said that heated tobacco products are as harmful as smoking. He said tobacco companies mislead the public by marketing them as healthy alternatives to smoking, while they are equally dangerous as the inhaled smoke contains nicotine, which is addictive. Earlier this week, a bill was submitted to the Senate’s Health Committee to expand usage restrictions on heated tobacco and to ban its usage in universities and schools in order to curb widespread use by youth.
Finland: Yesterday, 24th January, Parliament approved in the first reading the content of the bill contained in the government's proposal HE 304/2022, amending the Finnish Tobacco Act. If further adopted, the definition of heated tobacco would be added to the act. The heated tobacco flavour ban will also enter into force on 23rd October 2023.
US - Hawaii: House Bill (HB) 1076 has been introduced. This bill would ban the sale of flavoured tobacco products and mislabelled e-liquid products. Any nicotine-containing products and e-cigarettes would be included in the definition of tobacco products for the purposes of this bill.
Russia: Today the Federation Council (upper chamber of the parliament) Committee on Economic Policy supported a bill increasing the excise rates for heated tobacco consumables and omitting the excise tax for heating devices, media reports. The Federation Council will consider the bill during its first spring session meeting tomorrow (25th January). If approved and then signed by the president, the provisions would be in force as of 1st March 2023. The increase would be from RUB7,839 (€105) per kg to RUB8,669 (€116) per kg in 2023, with further increases in 2024 and 2025.
Tunisia: Tobacco importers and manufacturers have until 13th December to place a health warning on their products. Last year, the health ministry imposed health warnings covering 70% of the packaging, with an original deadline of 21st January 2023. Heated tobacco is treated as a tobacco product and has been under the monopoly of the National Tobacco and Matches Authority since September 2021.
Sweden: The government has notified through the EU TRIS database a bill to implement further restrictions on notification, advertising, labelling and packaging of nicotine pouches. The standstill period ends on 21st April.
23rd January 2023 - Asia, South Korea |
South Korea: A bill was introduced last week seeking to reduce the national health promotion tax on snus and nicotine pouches from KRW534.50 ($0.43) to KRW56.10 ($0.046) per g.
US - Oregon: House Bill 3090 has been introduced, which would ban the sale of flavoured tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, menthol and smokeless tobacco. The bill’s definition of “tobacco products” includes all those that contain either natural or synthetic nicotine.
Indonesia: The Directorate General of Customs and Excise has revealed how much revenue was collected from e-cigarette and heated tobacco excise duty in 2022, press reports. A total of IDR1.02tn ($68m) included IDR627.11bn ($42m) from open-system e-cigarettes, IDR119.47bn ($8m) from closed-system e-cigarettes, and IDR271.93bn ($18m) from heated tobacco products. The total revenue collected from tobacco and related products was IDR218.62tn ($14.57bn), of which e-cigs and heated tobacco accounted for just 0.4%.
23rd January 2023 - Czech Republic, Europe |
Czech Republic: A Ministry of Health draft decree on tobacco-free nicotine pouches has been notified to the EU TRIS system. It seeks to provide further regulatory details for the composition, labelling, notification and other requirements for nicotine pouches, including a limit of 12 mg of nicotine per pouch. The standstill period ends on 20th April.
Bulgaria: Members of We Continue the Change, a centrist party with the second most seats in Parliament, have presented a bill to amend the Law on Tobacco and Tobacco Products. Among the measures proposed are an expansion of the prohibition of marketing and advertising, including the obligation of health warnings on advertisements. The bill would affect heated tobacco products.
Egypt: A bill presented by representative Mohamed Emara – secretary of the Youth and Sports Committee – will be discussed by the Senate health committee on Sunday, 22nd January. Among the provisions of the bill are expanding usage restrictions on heated tobacco and banning its consumption in universities and schools in order to curb widespread use by youth, press reports. However, heated tobacco usage has already been treated as smoking, which means that even if the bill is adopted, it would not impact the current situation.
US - Vermont: The state Senate has introduced bill S 18, which would prohibit the sale of flavoured tobacco products, including menthol tobacco products and e-cigarettes. The bill would also direct the office of the attorney general to report on the extent to which Vermont may legally restrict advertising and regulate labels for e-cigarettes and other vaping-related products.
Germany: The Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) presented a third amendment to the Tobacco Products Law draft, which will transpose the flavour ban for heated tobacco products imposed by EU Directive 2022/2100. The draft has not yet been sent to Parliament.
19th January 2023 - Mexico, North America |
Mexico: The National Association of Small Retailers (Anpec) has warned that the General Tobacco Control Act amendment that came into force on Sunday will hit its members hard, press reports. It says the new measures, which include a display ban, will encourage black market sales and “generate direct socioeconomic effects on small and medium-sized shops, since the sales of these products represent 25% of their monthly income”.
Italy: Health minister Orazio Schillaci told a meeting of the Chamber of Deputies Social Affairs Committee that he intends to update the anti-smoking law by extending the smoking ban to public places frequented by children and pregnant women, eliminating smoking rooms in public places, and equating heated tobacco use and vaping with smoking. A bill to that effect may be introduced in the parliament soon.
18th January 2023 - Europe, United Kingdom |
UK: Junior health minister Neil O’Brien said yesterday that the government has no current plans to implement further tobacco harm reduction strategies. He also said that because the government encourages users to quit all forms of tobacco, it did not recommend the use of heated tobacco. He added: “Snus is banned in the United Kingdom and we have no plans to introduce additional tobacco products to the market as we have safer nicotine delivery products currently available for smokers to switch to.”
Russia: Parliament’s lower chamber, the State Duma, today fully adopted the government’s proposed tax amendments, media reports. Assuming they also pass the Federation Council, the upper chamber, and are signed by president Vladimir Putin, the excise tax on heated tobacco devices will be scrapped, while that on the tobacco itself will reportedly rise from RUB7,839 (€105) per kg to RUB8,669 (€116) per kg on 1st March, with further increases to follow in 2024 and 2025.
18th January 2023 - Europe |
EU: An application to the European Court of Justice by Nicoventures and five others to annul the EU-wide flavour ban for heated tobacco products imposed by Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2022/2100 has now been published. The applicants claim the ban goes beyond the powers delegated to the European Commission (EC) under Directive 2014/40/EU and say the Commission failed to state reasons, as required by Article 296 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Our regulatory report provides a detailed analysis of whether or not the contested measure may be considered to exceed the EC’s powers.
US - Hawaii: Senate Bill 148 has been introduced, which would prohibit the sale or furnishing of a tobacco product or e-cigarette to anyone born on or after 1st January 2003.
18th January 2023 - Asia, United Arab Emirates |
United Arab Emirates (UAE): The Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology has told TobaccoIntelligence that a new fee is now being charged to issue the conformity certificates for regulated products. The fee is AED670 ($182) for the certificate and AED620 ($169) for the technical review of documents. It now takes one and a half working days to resolve an application instead of three, and applications are submitted per model type or per stock keeping unit (SKU).
17th January 2023 - Europe, United Kingdom |
UK: In answer to a parliamentary question about when the new tobacco control plan and a response to the Khan review would be published, junior health minister Neil O’Brien said Khan’s recommendations were being considered and that further information would be available “in due course”. In the past few months, no official has denied reports that the new plan may not get published under the current government or said when it would be published. This suggests no changes to the alternative tobacco products regime can be expected within the next few years.
17th January 2023 - Paraguay, South America |
Paraguay: Opposition senator Pedro Santa Cruz has written to president Mario Abdo Benítez urging him to increase the tax on tobacco products, including heated and oral tobacco, from 20% to 22% of the wholesale price, with proceeds to go to the National Cancer Institute (Incan).
Russia: The State Duma Committee on Budget and Taxes has backed the government’s tax amendments, media reports. Under the plan, if adopted, excise tax on heated tobacco devices will reportedly be scrapped, while the tax on heat-not-burn (HnB) consumables will rise from RUB7,839 (€105) to RUB8,669 (€116.50) per kg on 1st March, with further increases in 2024 and 2025.
US - Indiana: House Bill 1133 has been introduced. This bill would prohibit the sale of flavoured tobacco products and their components, including cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and smokeless tobacco; and tobacco products that have a characterising flavour.
US - New Mexico: House Bill 94 has been introduced. This bill would prohibit the sale of flavoured tobacco products. The definition of tobacco products would include nicotine-containing products, and e-cigarettes specifically.
16th January 2023 - Europe, Netherlands |
Netherlands: Today, 16th January, is the last day of the public consultation on the ban of tobacco-free nicotine products for oral use, such as nicotine pouches, announced by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport in December 2022.
US - New York: Many new bills have been introduced, including Bills A 699 and A 93. Bill A 699 would prohibit the sale of flavoured smokeless tobacco within 500 ft of a public or private school. The bill further provides for a definition of "flavoured smokeless tobacco" which would include any product made/derived of tobacco or nicotine intended to be placed in an oral cavity; the ban would comprise all flavours except tobacco. Bill A 93 would prohibit the distribution without charge or sale of flavoured nicotine pouches.
Morocco: The Party of Progress and Socialism proposal to amend Law No. 15.91/1995 was referred to the Justice, Legislation and Human Rights Committee of the parliament for further discussion on Friday (13th January). The bill – which proposes the implementation of a ban on using tobacco in public areas and lays down restrictions on the marketing and advertising of all tobacco products – defines tobacco products as any product made entirely or partly from tobacco, including hookahs, heated tobacco, and electronic cigarettes.
16th January 2023 - Europe |
EU: As highlighted in our compliance calendar, the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) “Call to achieve a tobacco-free environment and the first European tobacco-free generation by 2030” is starting to collect signatures as of today, 16th January 2023. It seeks to end the sale of nicotine products to people born after 2010, to extend outdoor smoking-free and vape-free spaces, and to eliminate tobacco advertising and social media presence. The ECI needs to collect a total of 1m signatures in seven different member states in one year before the European Commission considers proposing any related legislation.
16th January 2023 - Mexico, North America |
Mexico: The amendment to the regulation of the General Tobacco Control Act entered into force yesterday, 15th January. The regulation prohibits the display – direct or indirect – of any tobacco product, and prohibits smoking in all public and crowded places, such as beaches, streets or parks. It does, however, establish the possibility of creating smoking areas. The smoking ban is also applicable to heated tobacco products.
16th January 2023 - Asia, Philippines |
Philippines: Following seizures of smuggled and untaxed products, the Bureau of International Revenue (BIR) has called on all distributors and sellers of e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products and novel tobacco products to comply with the business registration requirements and tax obligations specified in BIR Revenue Regulations 14-2022 and DTI Department Administrative Order 22-16. Among the requirements is the obligation for sellers and distributors of products via e-commerce and internet websites to be registered with the competent authorities.
US - New York: Bill A 86 has been introduced. This bill would increase the tax imposed on the sale of certain tobacco products from 75% to 129% and increase the tax imposed on the retail sale of vapour products from 20% to 48%.
