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Year: 2023

  • Holland and Belgium Tighten Vaping Rules

    Holland and Belgium Tighten Vaping Rules

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    The Netherlands banned flavored e-cigarettes effective Jan. 1, reports The Brussels Times. Companies have until Oct. 1 to remove the flavored products from shelves; retailers can sell their current stock until that date, but new flavors may not be marketed.

    Belgium plans to tighten vaping regulation as well, according to Federal Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke.

    “E-cigarettes contain some 1,800 different products of which we are far from knowing all the health consequences,” he said. “Maybe some people will switch from regular cigarettes to e-cigarettes, but maybe by using e-cigarettes, people will just end up smoking regular cigarettes.”

    A ban on flavors is not currently planned in Belgium, but a royal decree will soon be published imposing more restrictions on the sale of flavored e-cigarettes. “No more trendy names will be allowed to be given to those flavors, and lights will no longer be allowed on e-cigarettes either,” said Vandenbroucke.

    There will be a six-month transition period for the industry to adapt to the new rules and another six-month period to sell current stock.

  • Vaporesso Authorized to Sell in the UAE

    Vaporesso Authorized to Sell in the UAE

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    The United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT) has authorized Vaporesso, a subsidiary of Smoore International, to sell its products in the country, according to PR Newswire.

    The move makes Smoore the first vaping device manufacturer licensed to sell in the UAE.

    “We are thrilled by the MoIAT’s decision to grant our flagship products the marketing and sales authorization; this has boosted our confidence in obtaining the approval for [our] other seven premium products, including Luxe X and Gen PT Series, that are in the process of application,” said a spokesperson for Vaporesso’s Middle East team.

    Vapor companies operating in the UAE must meet Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology standards, which set out strict quality and safety requirements for e-cigarettes and related products, before placing them on the market.

    “The initial approval by the MoIAT, which allows the company to establish legal sales channels, both online and offline, for Vaporesso’s Xros Nano, Xros Mini, Xros 2 and Zero S across the UAE, is the testimony to the company’s commitment to offering market-leading vaping products with unmatched quality and functionality, allowing the global vapers to enjoy the fun and flavors unique in Vaporesso’s products,” Vaporesso wrote in a press release. “The market authorization also marks a significant step forward in its effort to further expand its presence in the Middle East.”

  • Montenegro Raises Cigarette Duty

    Montenegro Raises Cigarette Duty

    Image: sasel77 | Adobe Stock

    Montenegro increased the excise duty on cigarettes, tobacco and e-cigarettes effective Jan. 1, according to SeeNews.

    Duty increased from €44 ($46.71) per 1,000 cigarettes to €47.50 per 1,000 cigarettes. Cut tobacco duty increased to €55 from €50, and smokeless tobacco duty increased to €145 from €100.

  • Sri Lanka Increases Tobacco Duty

    Sri Lanka Increases Tobacco Duty

    Image: MaciejBledowski | Adobe Stock

    The government of Sri Lanka increased the excise duty on alcohol and cigarettes by 20 percent, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

    State Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said the duty was raised to increase state revenue and discourage alcohol and cigarette consumption. In 2021, Sri Lanka collected LKR249.6 billion ($687 million) in taxes from alcohol and tobacco products, according to Siyambalapitiya.

  • Smokers on Miami Beach Could Face Jail

    Smokers on Miami Beach Could Face Jail

    Credit: Marina_Larina

    Cigarette smokers in Miami Beach could face up to 60 days in jail if caught repeatedly smoking on the city’s beaches and public parks. The new law went into effect on Jan. 1.

    Vaping products, cigars and unfiltered cigarettes are still permitted.

    Police officers will be issuing $100 civil fines to first offenders and $200 fines to second offenders within a 12-month period.

    Police officers will be able to arrest repeat offenders at their discretion. The maximum punishment is a $500 fine and 60 days in jail, according to Local10News.

    Governor Ron DeSantis made the ban possible when he signed a law in June that allowed local officials to regulate cigarette smoking at public beaches and parks.

    The only Miami Beach commissioner who voted against the measure was Ricky Arriola, who said it will distract police officers from public safety.

    “We shouldn’t be enforcing a law like this,” Arriola said.

  • New Smoking Rules in Portugal

    New Smoking Rules in Portugal

    Image: dennisvdwater | Adobe Stock

    New smoking rules come into effect Jan. 1 in Portugal, dictating that “In catering or drinking establishments, including those with rooms or spaces intended for dancing, places where smoking is allowed in areas intended for customers may be set up, provided that these establishments have an area for customers equal to or greater than 100 square meters and a minimum ceiling height of 3 meters,” reports The Portugal News.

    Spaces intended for smokers “can be constituted up to a maximum of 20 percent of the area intended for customers,” according to the law. There must be posted signs relaying maximum capacity for the spaces and “no entry for persons under 18 years of age.”

  • Serbia: Cigarette Prices Increasing

    Serbia: Cigarette Prices Increasing

    Image: adaptice | Adobe Stock

    The price of all types of cigarettes in Serbia will increase by RSD10 ($0.09) per pack, effective Jan. 1, according to Serbianmonitor.com.

    Cigarette prices have increased twice a year since the excise duty schedule was adopted in 2020. Prices will continue to increase until 2025 with the goal to align Serbia with EU standards.

    Excise duty for e-liquid is increasing by RSD1 per milliliter, and the price of nonburning tobacco will also increase.

  • Morocco: Tobacco Tax to Increase

    Morocco: Tobacco Tax to Increase

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    The price of tobacco-based products, including cigarettes, will increase effective January 2023 in Morocco, according to the Administration of Customs and Indirect Taxation, reports Morocco World News.

    The increase is part of Morocco’s five-year strategy to decrease smoking rates by raising tariffs. Cigarettes sold in the country will see a MAD1 ($0.09) to MAD2 per pack increase.

    Taxes on tobacco-based products will be gradually increased annually for five years under the new strategy.

    Shisha and electronic cigarette prices are also set to increase. Now, for every kilo of shisha smoking material, consumers will pay MAD675.

    Tax revenues from tobacco products are expected to reach MAD12.5 billion, about a 6 percent increase.

  • Ireland: Tobacco Companies Pay for Cleanup

    Ireland: Tobacco Companies Pay for Cleanup

    Image: miklyxa | Adobe Stock

    Effective Jan. 1, tobacco companies will have to pay part of Ireland’s multimillion-euro street cleaning bills under new legislation driven by EU moves to cut plastic waste, reports The Irish Times.

    Cigarette butts account for half of all litter and are “the biggest litter scourge,” according to the National Litter Pollution Monitoring System.

    Beginning this year, tobacco companies will be liable in arrears for part of the costs. The full liability amount will not be set until data is collected on the contribution of cigarette butts to the 2023 litter toll.

    A statutory company overseen by the Department of the Environment will be established to ensure that producers are contributing to the cost or redesigning their products to abide by the Brussels directive.

    The legislation will later focus on fishing gear, balloons and wet wipes. The change makes producers responsible for the entire life cycle of products, including end-of-use costs.

    “It forces companies to rethink what they’re putting on the market and the costs involved—if they have to pay for litter clean-ups, if they have to pay for recycling,” said Bernie Kiely, a senior environment official in circular economy materials management. “What you are doing is putting that whole-of-life cost back on the producers who put it on the market in the first place.”

  • Cambodia Burns E-Cigarettes

    Cambodia Burns E-Cigarettes

    Image: Jag_cz | Adobe Stock

    Cambodia’s Consumer Protection and Fraud Repression General Department of Ministry of Commerce, in cooperation with the National Authority for Combating Drugs, burned 288 boxes of UOLO e-cigarettes, equivalent to 7,200 packs, at a landfill in Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district, reports the Khmer Times.

    Heng Maly, director of the Consumer Protection and Fraud Repression General Department, said, “The e-cigarettes were confiscated on Nov. 3, 2022, from a warehouse, pursuant to the order to seize and destroy by the prosecutor of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court.”

    The e-cigarettes were discovered after an investigation by the General Department of CCF, which confiscated 3,600 packs of UOLO e-cigarettes, 1,800 e-cigarette machines and 1,800 e-cigarette mouthpieces.