Category: Legislation

Mariana Islands Fails to Adopt Tobacco Report
Credit: PVL
The Senate of the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth of the United States, has failed to adopt its committee report that recommends the passage of its version of a House of Representatives bill.
That bill aims to increase government revenue by amending the definition of cigarettes to ensure that all tobacco products are properly taxed.
Four senators voted “yes,” and four senators voted “no” to a motion to adopt the report of the Committee on Fiscal Affairs, but Senate president Edith E. DeLeon Guerrero announced that the report would not be adopted and would no longer exist, according to local media.
DeLeon Guerrero, Senate vice president Sen. Donald M. Manglona, Sens. Paul A. Manglona, and Celina R. Babauta voted for the committee report’s adoption.
House Bill No. 23-7 proposes to amend the definition of “cigarette” to include any product that resembles similarities to cigarettes based on its appearance, weight, usage, and packaging, such as “little cigars”, “filtered cigars”, or “roll-your-own.”
April 14, 2024
Uzbekistan Plans to Ban Heated Tobacco, Vapes
Tashkent TV Tower Aerial Shot During Sunset in Uzbekistan (Credit: Lukas)
The Ministry of Health in Uzbekistan has proposed a ban on the circulation of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) products, e-liquids and heated tobacco products, Trend reports.
This is shown in the draft law published on Uzbekistan’s portal to discuss draft normative legal acts.
According to the law, the circulation of ENDS products on the “territory of the country is prohibited.”
The Ministry of Health also proposes to introduce administrative and criminal liability for violation of this ban—a fine in the amount of $1,000 to five years of imprisonment.
According to data from Uzbekistan’s Statistics Agency, the production volume of tobacco products in the country reached 2.1 billion pieces from January through February 2024.
From January through February 2024, the country’s exports of tobacco products reached $7.8 million, while imports amounted to $10.5 million during the same period.
April 14, 2024
HTPs: EU Rulemaking Challenged in Court

Photo: nmann77
The European Commission will face a legal challenge over its attempt to restrict the sale of heated tobacco products (HTPs).
On Nov. 3, 2022, the European Union published a directive banning flavored HTPs throughout the union. The ban, which covers all flavors except tobacco, officially took effect Nov. 23, 2022. EU member states were given until July 23, 2023, to transpose the rule into national legislation.
When the Ireland did so, it was challenged in the Irish High Court by PJ Carroll & Co. and Nicoventures Trading. The nicotine companies argued that the European Commission had exceeded the powers delegated to it under tobacco products legislation approved by the European Council and the European Parliament. According to them, the Commission made its decision based on political grounds rather than legal grounds.
In his judgment, Irish High Court Justice Cian Ferriter noted that the Commission had effectively prohibited “a category of tobacco product which was new on the market, which had not been in existence at the time of the enactment of the Tobacco Products Directive in 2014 and which had not been the subject of separate policy and health assessments…”.
“It is at least arguable that this involved a political choice which was only open to the EU legislature and not to the Commission,” Ferriter said.
According to Eureporter, the Dublin court will now refer the case to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.
The nicotine companies and the Irish High Court are not the first to raise concerns about regulatory overreach. When the Commission adopted its directive in 2022, four EU member states objected that the directive involved “essential elements reserved for the European legislators.”
October 18, 2023
Romania Bans Flavors for Heated-Tobacco Products

Image: Dancing Man
Last month, the Romanian government enacted Governmental Ordinance No. 23/20.07.2023 amending and supplementing the Romanian Tobacco Law (GO 23). The move bans all flavored heated-tobacco products.
The law takes effect on Oct. 23, 2023.
Prior to enacting GO 23 under the framework of Romanian Tobacco Law, only cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco were subject to the prohibition of characterizing flavors and containing flavorings in any of their components, such as filters, papers, packages, capsules or any technical features.
The aim of GO 23 is to extend this prohibition to heated-tobacco products and to impose more restrictive requirements on packaging and labeling of such heated-tobacco products, according to media reports.
For the first time, GO 23 enacts a legal definition of “heated-tobacco products,” which refers to “a novel tobacco product that is heated to produce an emission containing nicotine and other chemicals, which is then inhaled by user(s) and that, depending on its characteristics, is a smokeless tobacco product or a tobacco product for smoking.”
This definition will include any type of vaping devices that entail heating of tobacco in view of obtaining an inhalable emission containing nicotine and other chemicals.
Heated-tobacco products with any type of “characterizing flavor,” such as menthol, fruits, etc., will no longer be allowed in the Romanian market.
Additionally, each unit of and any outside packaging of heated-tobacco products must carry the mandatory message: “Tobacco smoke contains over 70 substances known to cause cancer.”
GO 23 also states that each unit packet and any outside packaging of heated-tobacco products for smoking must carry combined health warnings that observe all the requirements set out in art.
All producers and importers of heated-tobacco products in Romania must notify the Romanian Health Ministry within 90 days after the enactment of GO 23.
August 25, 2023
Smoking Control Bill Poised for First Reading

Credit: Gerey
Malaysia’s Control of Smoking Product for Public Health Bill 2023 will be tabled in Parliament on June 12, reports New Straits Times. The bill includes the generational endgame (GEG) smoking ban, which bans tobacco sales to those born on Jan. 1, 2007, or later.
“We will table the bill for its first reading in Parliament on June 12,” said Health Minister Zaliha Mustafa. Mustafa also noted that the “improved” bill was drafted after numerous engagement sessions with stakeholders.
“I will be meeting with the Parliamentary secretary and the Dewan Rakyat Speaker (on the date for the second reading), and we will see how we can go from there,” said Mustafa.
The bill is reportedly “more comprehensive” than a previous version and also covers “next-generation” smoking products.
Once passed, the bill would prohibit those that fall under the GEG provision from obtaining and using all types of conventional cigarettes, cigars, loose tobacco and rolled cigarettes. Heated products, however, will not be fully banned until after sufficient education and awareness campaigns have been launched by the ministry.
“This is our soft-landing approach to educate the GEG cohort instead of being punitive,” said Mustafa, referring to an earlier, stricter version of the proposal. “For now, we are suggesting that the law be fully implemented (to include all types of smoking products, including electronic cigarettes) in 2030, after conducting further research and studies.
“We think this is a win-win solution. The government is committed to the implementation of the GEG,” she added.
June 6, 2023
Portugal Mulls New Rules for Tobacco

Credit: Sezerozger
New legislation aims to restrict the use and sale of all tobacco products in Portugal, including e-cigarettes and heated tobacco.
A new bill would ban smoking in outdoor spaces next to public buildings such as schools, colleges and hospitals. It will also tighten control over the sale and marketing of cigarettes and other tobacco products in the country.
The aim is that by 2025 tobacco products will only be available for purchase in tobacconists, petrol stations and airports, reports EuroNews.
If enacted, it will no longer be possible to sell tobacco directly or through vending machines in places such as restaurants, bars, concert halls and venues, casinos, fairs and exhibitions. The products will also be prohibited at music festivals.
Portugal is also complying with the European directive of June 29, 2022, which puts heated tobacco products on an equal footing with other tobacco products.
May 15, 2023
Kansas to Raise Purchase Age to 21

Image: FM2 | Adobe Stock
The Kansas Senate passed House Bill 2269, 28-11, which will raise the minimum tobacco purchasing age in the state to 21 from 18, reports ksnt.com. The bill now heads to the governor’s desk.
The bill would bring Kansas into compliance with federal law, making it illegal for a retailer to sell tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes and cigarettes, to anyone under the age of 21.
Representative Tom Kessler, a Republican from Wichita who carried the bill, said the state could lose funding from the federal government if the legislation is not enacted. “We do stand to lose a little bit of funding if we don’t conform with federal law,” Kessler said. “We’re going to lose about $1.2 million of funding if we don’t make this transition within the window that the feds allowed us to.”
Representative John Eplee said that some retailers in the state have moved toward federal compliance but others have not, making federal law harder to enforce. “Most vendors have already complied with this, but are not required to, and it makes enforcement ‘herky jerky’ in our state,” Eplee said. “Forty-six other states have already fallen into compliance … we’re just asking Kansas to do the same thing.”
March 29, 2023
Argentina Bans E-Cigarette Sale, Import

Image: gustavofrazao | Adobe Stock
The Ministry of Health of Argentina has banned the importation, distribution, commercialization and advertising of different types of electronic cigarettes and accessories “throughout the national territory,” reports MercoPress.
Health Minister Carla Vizzotti signed a resolution prohibiting heated-tobacco products (HTPs) “based on the risks involved” in using them. The health department stated that many studies have shown HTPs “produce aerosols with nicotine and other chemicals, such as acetaldehyde, acrolein and formaldehyde, [and] are harmful and potentially harmful to health.”
“Evidence suggests that novel products such as HTPs and similar products are particularly attractive to children and adolescents, and their introduction into the market has the potential to lead to tobacco initiation in young and nonsmoking adults, threatening the achievements already made in tobacco control,” the official document stated.
The National Risk Factors Survey 2018 showed that 1.1 percent of the adult Argentinian population used electronic cigarettes while the 2018 Global Youth Tobacco Survey showed that 7 percent of those aged 13 to 15 consumed electronic cigarettes.
March 28, 2023
Bill Would Reduce Hemp Farmer Burden

Image: MexChriss | Adobe Stock
A bipartisan team of U.S. senators presented a bill in the Senate that would reduce the burden on industrial hemp farmers, according to The Dales Report.
Senator Jon Tester and Senator Mike Braun introduced bipartisan legislation dubbed the Industrial Hemp Act that would exempt farmers who exclusively cultivate industrial hemp from arduous background checks and expensive sampling and testing requirements.
These protocols would, however, remain for farmers growing cannabinoid hemp.
“Montana farmers don’t need government bureaucrats putting unnecessary burdens on their operations,” said Tester. “It’s time we cut red tape and make it easier for industrial hemp farmers to get their product to market. My bipartisan bill builds on Montana’s leadership on hemp policy and creates good-paying jobs for folks across rural America.”
The current U.S. Department of Agriculture rules require all hemp crops to be compliant, and crops are subject to testing while the end-use products made from industrial hemp have always been exempt from the Controlled Substances Act.
The new legislation would still require industrial hemp farmers to meet compliance standards but would not require background checks and testing protocols if their crops are in compliance.
Producers who go against these regulations would be banned from taking part in the hemp program for five years.
March 28, 2023
Philippines Industry Group: Add Tobacco to Anti-Smuggling Act

Image: Tobacco Reporter archive
The National Tobacco Administration (NTA) expressed support for the inclusion of tobacco in the Philippines’ Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016, reports Inquirer.net.
There are two proposals in Congress: House Bill 3917 and Senate Bill 1812. Both bills would amend Sections 3 and 4 of the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act, which outline the crops covered by the law and the penalties for smuggling.
“The NTA is in solidarity with the proponents of the proposed measures as these would [offer] solutions to the curbing of tobacco smuggling and illicit tobacco trading/agricultural smuggling in the country,” the NTA said.
“The proposed measures against illicit tobacco trade and smuggling were meant to protect the local tobacco industry and sustain and increase the sin tax collection for the government coffers,” the NTA said.
According to the NTA, tobacco is a high-value crop that contributes tax revenue to education, health, infrastructure and more.
“The tobacco industry is one of the strongest pillars of the country’s economy and the lifeblood of the North as it provides livelihood and sustenance to at least 2 million people, including the [600,000] tobacco farmers and their families,” the NTA said.
March 27, 2023