Category: Regulation

  • Only a minor change

    Only a minor change

    In Japan, even some adults might not be allowed to smoke in the future, according to a Kyodo News story relayed by the TMA.

    A bill to amend the country’s Civil Code to lower the legal age of adulthood from 20 to 18 is likely to be submitted to the Diet’s extraordinary session this fall.

    But the National Police Agency said last week that even if the legislation were approved, the legal age for smoking or drinking would remain 20.

    Two laws under the agency’s jurisdiction ban minors, currently those aged below 20, from smoking or drinking.

    The wording of these two laws are likely to be changed because they contain the term ‘minor’, which could be interpreted as meaning people under 18 if the nation’s legal age of adulthood is changed.

    About 200 other laws would be affected by the amendment to the code, and changes to each would have to be debated individually.

  • Flavor ban harmful

    Flavor ban harmful

    If the US city of San Francisco ultimately implements its recently adopted ordinance to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products, it will do more harm than good, according to an op-ed by Dr. Joel Nitzkin published on the R Street website.

    In fact, the ban would increase rates of tobacco-related addiction, illness and death across the city.

    ‘There are two major issues with this ordinance,’ Nitzkin said. ‘The first is the ease with which persons who want these products can simply get them in neighboring communities, or from a thriving black market sure to develop within the city.

    ‘The second, and more important, is the fact that this ban will virtually eliminate local on-site access to less addictive and remarkably low-risk nicotine vapor products.

    ‘While barring access to most e-cigarettes, the ordinance will do nothing to reduce access to non-menthol cigarettes, which remain the deadliest and most addictive tobacco products.’

    The full text of Nitzkin’s piece is at: http://www.rstreet.org/op-ed/flavored-tobacco-ordinance-sure-to-backfire/.

  • No harm-reduction urgency

    No harm-reduction urgency

    The EU Commission has sidestepped – for five years at least – a question on ‘the potential of nicotine delivery devices to reduce the harm linked to smoking tobacco’.

    In July, Carolina Punset, a Spanish member of the EU Parliament, said in a preamble to two questions posed to the Commission that nicotine-delivery devices had been regulated for the first time in the EU in 2014 through Directive 2014/40/EU.

    ‘The directive introduced a series of strict criteria concerning quality, safety, consumer information and sale, and recognised the differences between nicotine delivery devices and conventional tobacco products,’ she said.

    ‘Since the directive was adopted in 2014, a discrepancy in member states’ public policies on those products has been found, particularly with regard to the reduction of harm linked to tobacco consumption amongst smokers and its possible use in policies intended to combat the effects of smoking. Whilst some countries, such as the UK and France, are openly exploring the potential of nicotine delivery devices to complement their tobacco control policies, other countries are still sceptical of them.’

    Punset then asked:

    1. ‘Does the Commission have data, based on member states’ experiences and figures, on the potential of nicotine delivery devices to reduce the harm linked to smoking tobacco?’; and
    2. ‘Have specific monitoring and follow-up mechanisms been introduced for those products to enable the member states to share best practices on the matter?’

    In its answer, the Commission pointed out that the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) 2014/40/EU entered into force on May 20, 2016.

    ‘Article 20 of the TPD contains requirements relating to safety, quality and consumer protection of electronic cigarettes,’ it said.

    ‘The Commission monitors regulatory developments relating to electronic cigarettes. In this respect, it remains in close contact with member states, to enable the exchange of available information and experience, by means of different fora, including Expert Group on Tobacco Policy, its Subgroup on Electronic Cigarettes and the upcoming Joint Action on Tobacco Control.

    ‘The input received will feed into findings that will be presented as a part of the report on the application of the TPD, which is due in 2021, as required under Article 28(1) of the TPD.’

  • Leaf tax to remain

    Leaf tax to remain

    Chinese lawmakers began yesterday a review of a draft law on leaf-tobacco tax, according to a Xinhua Newswire story.

    The law is due to replace a regulation that has been in place since 2006, but it is not expected to alter the rate of tax levied on leaf.

    The draft law was given a first reading at a five-day bimonthly session of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, which opened on Monday.

    The law stipulates that a tax rate of 20 percent will be levied on tobacco leaf buyers, the same rate as was levied under the previous regulation.

    China began collecting tax on leaf tobacco sales in 2006.

    Revenue from the tax was said to have increased by an average of 12 percent between 2006 and 2016 and to have totaled 109.7 billion yuan (US$16.6 billion) during that period.

  • Ban needs clarification

    Ban needs clarification

    The Czech Republic’s Ministry of Health is planning an information campaign this autumn to clarify questions surrounding a ban on tobacco smoking in pubs and restaurants, according to a Radio Prague story quoting a Czech News Agency report.

    The ban came into effect at the end of May and a three-month period in which establishments were given time to adapt to the new legislation was due to end today.

    One problem that remains unresolved concerns the interpretation of the ban as it applies to beer gardens and outdoor covered areas.

    But observers say that the winter months – when going outside to smoke might become unpleasant – will be the real test of the ban.

  • No urgency to health plans

    No urgency to health plans

    The proceeds of a health development surcharge on tobacco companies in Bangladesh, Tk 9 billion, has been unused during the past three fiscal years due to a lack of a specific guidelines for spending the revenue, according to a story in The Financial Express.

    In that time, 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17, the government failed to use the money for campaigning against tobacco consumption.

    This was said to be due to the slow pace of approval and implementation of the Health Ministry’s Health Development Surcharge Management Policy.

    A draft of the policy was approved at an inter-ministerial meeting on February 15 and it is scheduled to go before the cabinet this month.

    An official at the Health Ministry was quoted as saying that the surcharge revenue could be used by the ministry’s National Tobacco Control Cell to execute a national tobacco control program that would ‘rehabilitate’ tobacco-users, create alternative jobs for tobacco farmers and ensure overall health development.

    It has taken a long time to get to this point. The government imposed the surcharge in the budget for the financial year 2014-15.

    But it wasn’t until January 2016, and then only at the South Asian Speakers’ conference, that the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina instructed the authorities to adopt a national tobacco control program with the revenue from the surcharge.

    Following the instruction, the ministry of health framed the draft surcharge policy and sought the opinions of nine relevant ministries including those of finance, agriculture and industries.

    The health ministry published the draft on its website in December 2016 for public opinion.

  • Smoke-free future possible

    Smoke-free future possible

    Philip Morris Singapore (PMS) said recently that about three million smokers had switched to its IQOS device, according to a story on The Online Citizen, which Wikipedia describes, in part, as a community blogging platform involved in political activism in Singapore.

    The company, an affiliate of Philip Morris International said that more than 232,000 smokers converted to IQOS globally in July 2017 alone.

    ‘The number of smokers who switched to IQOS to date is equivalent to about five times the number of people who smoke in Singapore,’ the story said. ‘This proves that a smoke-free future is a concrete possibility.’

    Lawrence Chew, general manager of PMS, was quoted as saying the company’s ambition was that all the people who would otherwise continue smoking switch to scientifically-substantiated smoke-free alternatives as soon as possible.

    “But we cannot achieve this mammoth task alone,” he said. “All stakeholders of the industry have a role to play. We are encouraged by the growing number of experts and governments that are taking steps to support the role that science and innovation can have for public health, and hope Singapore will too.”

    The story said that, recently, the UK, the US and New Zealand had joined a growing number of countries who recognized the need to review the evidence of the potential benefits of smoke-free products for public health, and announced steps to leverage their potential in their plans for a future without smoke.

  • End-game restarted

    End-game restarted

    An independent member of the Legislative Council of Tasmania, Australia, has said he will seek to have banned the sale of cigarettes to anyone born after 2000, according to a Mercury story by Blair Richards, relayed by the TMA.

    Ivan Dean said he would seek to bring about the ban by introducing an amendment to a current bill that seeks to regulate vapor products and require smoking cessation information at point-of-sale.

    Dean previously introduced legislation, called the Tobacco Free Generation Bill, which is still on the Legislative Council’s books.

    Kathryn Barnsley of SmokeFree Tasmania said the new measure “would provide a generational firebreak and protect our children and adolescents from these terrible diseases and death”.

    Meanwhile, Dean said he would seek also an amendment to extend the three-meter non-smoking area around schools and hospitals to 10 meters.

    Tasmania backed away from a proposal last year that would have raised the minimum tobacco-sales age from 21 to 25.

  • FDA urged to ban menthol

    FDA urged to ban menthol

    Eight US senators have urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban sales of menthol cigarettes, according to a MassLive.com story relayed by the TMA.

    In a letter to the FDA, the senators urged the agency to ‘act on the substantial scientific data’ available by exercising its authority under the Tobacco Control Act to prohibit menthol-cigarette sales.

    The lawmakers praised the FDA for its work on discouraging youth smoking and raising public awareness of its harms.

    But they said menthol cigarettes were a ‘starter product for youth’ and that they posed ‘a public health risk above that seen with non-menthol cigarettes’.

    ‘Continued delay on this issue will only further worsen this public health crisis, as a new generation of smokers are initiated and become addicted to menthol cigarettes …,’ the senators said.

    ‘We urge the FDA to use its authority to expediently remove menthol as a flavor additive.’

  • Small-pack claims denied

    Small-pack claims denied

    The Malaysian Health Ministry has dismissed rumors that packs with fewer than 20 cigarettes would be allowed to return to the local market, according to a story by Nora Jaswa for FreeMalaysiaToday.com.

    It was widely reported, including here, yesterday, that Charles Santiago, the member of parliament for Klang, had said there was ‘talk’ that 10-stick cigarette packs – what he referred to as ‘kiddie packs’ – would be allowed to go on sale to combat the sale of illegal tobacco.

    But the Health Minister Dr. S Subramaniam said the ministry would not give approval for the sale of such packs.

    “The rumors of the ‘kiddie packs’ being sold are not true,” he was quoted as saying. “The ministry has not endorsed it.

    “Legislation prohibits the sale of small packs of cigarettes of fewer than 20 sticks. This is also consistent with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) which Malaysia is a part of.”