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Environment & Sustainability
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Global business and regulatory news covering the alternative tobacco industry
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Daily regulatory updates of the tobacco alternative sector. It includes weekly podcasts and monthly compilations
26th March 2024
Denmark: The Ministry of Environment has notified a decree extending producer responsibility for single-use plastic products, including filters for tobacco products. The decree establishes a registration system for producers of single-use plastic products, the obligation to report the quantity of products and the payment of a quarterly fee to the Danish Environmental Protection Agency to cover costs of municipal and state clean-up, transport and treatment of littered waste. The fee will be published on the Environmental Protection Agency's website. The standstill period ends on 25th June 2024.14th February 2024
- Global: The tenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) has recently concluded with a decision to protect the environment and people's health from the harmful effects of tobacco. Parties have been asked to consider the environmental impacts of tobacco products and to improve the implementation of related policies for environmental protection. This includes the problem of cigarette (and presumably heated tobacco) filters, which can release plastic and harmful chemicals. In addition, COP10 has made more robust guidelines for tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship.
25th January 2024
- Italy: Philip Morris Italy presented a project to the minister of the environment focused on the collection and recycling of its heated tobacco devices, Iqos and Lil. The objective of the project is to collect up to 500,000 devices by the end of 2024 and recycle up to 80% of the raw materials found in these devices.
19th January 2024
- EU: The European Commission (EC) has answered the parliamentary question E-003360/2023 about the future of tobacco filters. The EC said that in order to prevent adverse impact from filters, the EU Directive on Single-Use Plastics (SUP) provides measures for tobacco products with filters in terms of marking requirements and extended producer responsibility. Currently, the SUP Directive does not ban these filters. A revision of the directive is planned for July 2027, including a reassessment of the list of SUP products.
11th December 2023
- EU: Answering a parliamentary question on the forthcoming revision of the recommendation on smoke-free environments, the European Commission has said that the revised recommendation will be adopted in early 2024. The Commission has confirmed again that "it is considering extending the coverage of the current recommendation to emerging products, including electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products, and extending the scope to explicitly include certain outdoor spaces".
24th November 2023
- EU: On Wednesday (22nd November), the European Parliament adopted its position on the proposal to revise the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive. The directive aims to prevent the generation of packaging waste, reduce it in quantity, ensure that all packaging is recyclable, and increase the use of recycled plastics in packaging. Once the Council has adopted its position, the Parliament is ready to start talks with national governments on the law’s final form.
23rd November 2023
- EU: Christel Schaldemose, a Danish member of European Parliament (MEP) from the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, has asked the European Commission (EC) a set of questions regarding cigarette filters. She has asked if the Commission will make efforts to introduce a ban on the sale of cigarettes with filters in the EU, and whether, alternatively, the Commission will make efforts to introduce legislation enabling individual member states to introduce bans on the sale of cigarettes with filters in order to protect the public and the environment at the national level. We understand that the answers and possible efforts from the Commission would also be applicable to heated tobacco filters.
8th November 2023
- EU: The European Commission (EC) has published an initiative to adopt a delegated decision on the targeted amendment of the European List of Waste relating to waste batteries and waste from their treatment. The list provides common terminology for classifying waste across the EU, including hazardous waste. The Commission seeks to revise this list to take into account new battery chemistries and rapidly evolving manufacturing and recycling processes. The Commission adoption is planned for the third quarter of 2024.
7th November 2023
- EU: The European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR) takes place this year during the week of 18th to 26th November. The EWWR is the biggest campaign to raise awareness about waste prevention in Europe. Individuals, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), organisations, public authorities, businesses and other bodies can take part in different activities during the week. Those who want to take action may register until 12th November. In 2023, the main topic is packaging, encouraging everyone to be aware of packaging waste and to contribute to its reduction.
25th October 2023
- EU: Yesterday (24th October), the European Parliament's Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety voted to adopt the proposal for a regulation on packaging and packaging waste, which aims to make packaging easier to reuse and recycle, to reduce unnecessary packaging and waste, and to promote the use of recycled content. Parliament’s vote on the proposal is expected in November. The proposal is expected to affect packaging requirements for tobacco/vaping products.
13th October 2023
- Global: International E-waste Day is celebrated tomorrow (14th October). The yearly awareness-raising day initiated by the WEEE Forum, an international association of organisations of electronics manufacturers and importers, aims to highlight the growing issue of e-waste and promote responsible e-waste management. Products with electrical or electronic components, including vaping or heated tobacco devices with batteries, should be part of the recycling stream.
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Detailed legal reports outlining industry regulation, analysis of the laws, and compliance requirements
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Up-to-date information about current regulations around the world
