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Category: Global Regulation

  • Dutch Urge EU to Get Tough on Vapes

    Dutch Urge EU to Get Tough on Vapes

    Dutch junior health minister Vincent Karremans told the European Commission that the decision to delay legislation on new nicotine products is “harmful” in a letter sent to EU health chief Olivér Várhelyi after the commission decided to exclude tobacco-related legislation from its 2025 work program. Karremans urged him to take “decisive” action to protect young people’s health.

    The Dutch also want the EU to establish a legal framework for cross-border distance sales of new tobacco products, arguing that these allow consumers to bypass national restrictions. According to European news website Euractiv, the Dutch health ministry is urging Brussels to impose “comprehensive restrictions on flavors, maximum nicotine levels, and plain packaging” on e-cigarettes and other nicotine products

    In 2023, Dutch MPs voted in favor of a motion by the Democrats 66 party to introduce a tax on e-cigarettes and vapes, although officials say this is unlikely to happen before 2029. Flavored vaping liquids have already been banned in the Netherlands, yet the country is still struggling with a surge in vaping among teenagers, who, health ministers say, are attracted to the flavors.

  • N.C. Task Force Wants to Raise Tobacco Age to 21

    N.C. Task Force Wants to Raise Tobacco Age to 21

    North Carolina’s Child Fatality Task Force submitted a report to the governor and the legislature for 2025 suggesting the state raise the legal age for tobacco purchases from 18 to 21 to align with federal laws, and make licenses required for tobacco retailers. The report notes that North Carolina is one of seven states to not have raised the age for purchases to 21 and is one of nine states to not require a license or permit for tobacco retailers. 

    The task force also recommended prohibiting the sale of intoxicating cannabis or hemp products to people younger than 21, requiring child-resistant packaging and package warnings, and requiring retailers to obtain permits.

    “Last year, the legislature was close to passing a law that would have set a minimum age of 21 for buying edibles containing hemp CBD,” Lynn Bonner wrote on NC Newsline. “The bill was derailed when the Senate added legalization of medical marijuana to it.  While the Senate passed the measure, it stalled in the House.”

  • Taiwan Bill to Strengthen E-Cig Regs

    Taiwan Bill to Strengthen E-Cig Regs

    Today, Taiwan’s  Health Promotion Administration (HPA) proposed an amendment to the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act (THP) to strengthen regulations against e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products. The proposal allows the direct confiscation and destruction of these products and enhances online supervision, Tobacco Control Division head Lo Su-ying said.

    The THP was amended in 2023 to prohibit the manufacture, import, sale, display, advertisement, and use of e-cigarettes and unapproved heated tobacco products. Since then, more than 600,000 fines totaling $11.2 million have been issued, however, currently, the contraband items cannot be confiscated but are instead returned to the owner. The proposed amendment would fill in this loophole, facilitating the accelerated confiscation and destruction of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, Lo said.

    The new proposal would also stipulate that internet service providers must remove illegal tobacco advertisements and restrict access to related content. 

  • Judge: Calif. Tribe Didn’t Comply with Tobacco Laws

    Judge: Calif. Tribe Didn’t Comply with Tobacco Laws

    A U.S. District Judge said the U.S. Department of Justice did nothing arbitrary or capricious when the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) blocked the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians from shipping cigarettes. Judge Sunshine S. Sykes said Twenty-Nine Palms was fine to sell untaxed cigarettes to other Native nation tribes, but when those cigarettes were then resold to “non-Native nation customers” without collecting California taxes it was a violation of the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act.

    The tribe did not dispute that the cigarettes were resold without being taxed but instead argued that when the ATF initially put it on the non-compliance list it incorrectly listed the sale to Native-nation customers as the reason before changing it to non-Native nation customers.

    “Even if the court were to hold that ATF’s argument that the tribe’s Native nation customers violate the [California Licensing Act] were improper post-hoc legal justifications, ATF’s decision remains on solid ground,” the judge said.

    In its opposition to summary judgment, the tribe said ATF’s logic undercuts tribal sovereignty, forcing tribal nations to be subject to state laws.

    “Subjecting Indian tribes to a state-licensing scheme as a condition of doing business with their own tribal members is simply unconscionable and would violate the most basic inherent sovereign right of tribes to make their own laws and be ruled by them,” the tribe said. “ATF’s failure to consider whether the application of California law as adopted in the decision allows for tribes to conduct on reservation business with their members free of state taxation and regulation was arbitrary and capricious.”

  • FCTC Slammed for Self-Congratulatory Approach

    FCTC Slammed for Self-Congratulatory Approach

    Last week, the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) – one of the biggest United Nations treaties in history – celebrated its 20th anniversary with WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus calling tobacco a plague on humanity.

    “Over the past two decades … global tobacco use prevalence has dropped by one-third,” he said. “The WHO FCTC has helped to save millions of lives through strengthened tobacco control measures around the world.”

    Not everyone was impressed, however, as today the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) condemned the FCTC for “celebrating institutional achievements whilst millions across the Asia Pacific region continue to die from preventable smoking-related diseases.”  

    “The FCTC’s self-congratulatory approach is deeply offensive to communities devastated by preventable tobacco deaths,” said Nancy Loucas, Executive Coordinator of CAPHRA. “While they celebrate incremental victories, over one billion people globally continue smoking, with the majority in low and middle-income countries across our region. Their refusal to acknowledge harm reduction alternatives is costing countless lives.” 

    CAPHRA said that despite mounting evidence supporting tobacco harm reduction, the FCTC continues to marginalize consumer advocates while maintaining policies that deny smokers access to potentially life-saving alternatives. The FCTC systematically excludes these voices from policy deliberations, dismissing their lived experiences and denying others who smoke in Asia the opportunity to access reduced harm alternatives.  

     “The FCTC’s unwillingness to evolve in the face of overwhelming evidence amounts to a human rights issue,” Loucas said. “By reducing tobacco harm reduction to an industry construct, the FCTC effectively sentences millions to preventable suffering.” 

    CAPHRA is calling on delegates of the upcoming COP11 meeting to “adopt risk-proportionate regulations that distinguish safer alternatives from deadly combustible products, subject FCTC policies to UN human rights oversight, and acknowledge the successes of countries who have embraced tobacco harm reduction in their public health policies that confirms the scientific consensus on safer nicotine products as critical harm reduction tools.” 

  • France Extends Ban to Nicotine Pouches

    France Extends Ban to Nicotine Pouches

    Two weeks after banning disposable e-cigarettes, France notified the European Commission it would ban the sale of nicotine pouches as well, joining countries that include Austria, Belgium, Germany, and Luxembourg.

    “The French decree follows in the footsteps of the decision on 13 February to ban disposable e-cigarettes,” a tobacco industry source told Euractiv. “French regulators have been monitoring developments in the new tobacco products sector. Health authorities became alarmed, and the government decided to activate the legislative levers available to it.”

    With an expected annual growth rate of 6.2%, the European nicotine pouch market could reach €1.06 billion by 2030. Europe’s 2014 Tobacco Products Directive covered all traditional tobacco-containing products and included provisions for new tobacco products, however, nicotine pouches contain no tobacco, and thus remain unregulated at the EU level.

    Tobacco and nicotine products are not on the EU’s agenda for 2025, however, the Polish Presidency Council (which sits atop the Commission along with Denmark and Cyprus until June) is looking to move forward with discussions for taxing alternative tobacco products and possibly revising the Tobacco Products Directive.

  • EU Commission to Talk Alternative Tobacco Taxes

    EU Commission to Talk Alternative Tobacco Taxes

    Tobacco tax reform is not on the EU’s agenda for 2025, however, the Polish Presidency Council (which sits atop the Commission along with Denmark and Cyprus until June) is looking to move forward with discussions for taxing alternative tobacco products, according to a non-paper seen by Euractiv.

    Unlike cigarettes, alternative products do not fall under the EU-wide excise framework. The non-paper notes that the tobacco market has undergone “dramatic changes” in recent years, with novel products like e-cigarettes, heated tobacco, and nicotine pouches rapidly gaining popularity.

    EU diplomats are scheduled to discuss the matter today as part of the working party on Indirect Taxation. Euractiv reported that sources close to the discussion confirmed that some industry players are mounting pressure on the Commission to tax new products to avoid an outright ban as their regulatory limbo drags on.

    Each country is free to make its own rules in terms of handling tobacco products. For example, France recently banned disposable e-cigarettes and this week reportedly will do the same for nicotine pouches, joining countries such as Germany, Austria, Belgium, and Luxembourg that have already done so. Other countries are looking to take it even further.

    “We don’t just need a smoke-free generation, we need a nicotine-free generation,” Estonian Health Minister Riina Sikkut said. “Many health ministers support this idea. After the pharmaceutical package, tobacco legislation should be next.”

  • Croatian Authorities Targeting Terraces

    Croatian Authorities Targeting Terraces

    Croatia allows for small hospitality venues (under 50 square meters) to designate themselves as smoking areas, while larger ones can set up ventilated smoking zones. However, authorities are suddenly waging war on smoking on enclosed terraces. Since the start of this year, Croatian authorities have carried out 389 inspections in hospitality venues and leveled 181 violations for smoking on terraces.

    For such an offense, businesses can be fined €19,908, putting extra pressure on an industry struggling to stay afloat.

    “Why all these checks now, and why such steep fines?” said Željko Pojer, president of the Požega Craftsmen’s Association and a nightclub owner. “The nightlife in Croatia has been dying for a while. A total smoking ban would bring hospitality to its knees. If a full ban comes in, most of us will have to shut down and let our staff go.”

    Last year, the European Commission floated the idea of banning smoking in outdoor spaces too, but hospitality and hotel sectors pushed back hard, and the proposal fizzled out. Pojer argues that the industry’s survival hinges on flexibility, not stricter rules.

    “When we brought in our smoking ban years ago, everyone saw it wouldn’t work,” he said. “Businesses collapsed. That’s why we got these exceptions for smoking areas.” 

  • Vape Group Files to Halt KY E-Cigarette Law

    Vape Group Files to Halt KY E-Cigarette Law

    Three vapor groups filed an injunction Friday (Feb. 21) urging the Sixth Circuit to halt enforcement of Kentucky’s new H.B. 11 law regulating vaping products while their appeal plays out. The Vapor Technology Association, E-Town Marketing & Distributing LLC and Legendary Vapes Inc. brought an action in Kentucky federal court in December alleging that H.B. 11 was preempted by the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and that Kentucky was attempting to usurp regulatory authority that belonged to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, wrote Sam Reisman for Law360.

    The plaintiffs said that a lower district court judge erred in dismissing their suit challenging Kentucky’s law and renewed at the appellate level their effort to block the policy’s implementation, claiming it will cause them irreparable damage.

    “HB 11 continues to wreak havoc on vapor-product wholesalers and retailers in the Commonwealth,” the motion said. “Compliance with HB 11 requires removal of most (and nearly all of the most popular) products from the shelf on threat of ever-mounting penalties imposed illegally by the Commonwealth under a preempted State law.

    “HB 11 interferes with FDA’s exclusive enforcement authority and discretion by allowing the Commonwealth of Kentucky to exercise that authority,” Friday’s motion said. “This is the epitome of conflict preemption.”

    U.S. District Judge Karen K. Caldwell dismissed the action for lack of standing in January, without ruling on the plaintiffs’ bid for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, according to Reisman. The plaintiffs told the Sixth Circuit on Friday that it would be “impracticable” to seek an injunction from the district court, given that the court had already tossed the suit.

    The vaping interests alleged that they were likely to succeed on the merits of their preemption challenge to H.B. 11, which bans the sale of “unauthorized” e-cigarettes in Kentucky but pegs its definition of what is “authorized” to the FDA standards.

  • France Bans Disposable E-Cigarettes 

    France Bans Disposable E-Cigarettes 

    Today (Feb25), France officially banned the sale, distribution, and free provision of pre-filled and non-refillable vaping devices. It does not apply to refillable cartridges. Previously passed unanimously by France’s Parliament on Feb. 13, the law aims to curb youth nicotine use and reduce waste, Le Parisien reported.

    Proposed by former Green Party Deputy Francesca Pasquini, the ban follows two years of legislative work, including consultations with the European Commission. Lawmakers criticized the disposable devices for targeting young consumers with sweet flavors, colorful packaging, and low prices.

    The ban comes as global concerns grow over the popularity of e-cigarettes and similar devices, which are often marketed as safer alternatives to traditional smoking.