Category: Regulation

EU Push to Tax Novel Products Like Tobacco

Photo: Horst Winkler from Pixabay
EU member states will ask the European Commission this week to place electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products and other novel tobacco products under the EU Tobacco Excise Directive, meaning these products would be taxed just like traditional tobacco products, according to a report by Euractiv.
Although novel tobacco products are regulated under the Tobacco Product Directive from a health perspective, there is currently no EU-wide excise framework.
Some member states tax e-liquids and heated tobacco products at different rates while others do not tax them at all.
In January 2018, the European Commission refrained from proposing harmonized taxation for novel tobacco products, citing a lack of data.
However, in February 2020, the executive published a report expressing concern about the lack of harmonization’s impact on the functioning of the EU internal market.
“The current lack of harmonization of the tax regulatory framework for these products is also restricting the possibility to monitor their market development and control their movements,” the report stated.
The tobacco industry argues that novel tobacco products and electronic cigarettes have significantly reduced health risks compared to traditional smoking and should therefore be taxed at lower levels.
May 27, 2020
WHO Launches Reports on New Products

Photo: WHO
The World Health Organization (WHO) has published three reports to inform countries on the current state of scientific knowledge and policy options available for novel tobacco products such as electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), electronic non-nicotine delivery systems (ENNDS) and heated tobacco products (HTPs).
ENDS and ENNDS, commonly known as e-cigarettes, are available in more than 100 countries while HTPs can be bought in about 40 countries.
The WHO insists that many of the new products are harmful to health.
“HTPs expose users to toxic emissions similar to those found in cigarette smoke, many of which can cause cancer, while ENDS on their own are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases and lung disorders and adverse effects on the development of the fetus during pregnancy,” the WHO stated in a press release.
Because of the damaging and addictive nature of these products, the WHO says regulation is crucial to protect populations, particularly youth.
The publication of the briefs coincides with World No Tobacco Day 2020 on May 31. This year’s theme is “protecting youth from industry manipulation and preventing them from nicotine and tobacco use.”
May 27, 2020
Longtime Holdout Germany Plans Ad Ban

Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive
The German government on May 22 announced plans to impose a complete tobacco product advertising ban that would go into effect from January 2022.
Although it is banned for the media, tobacco product advertising is still allowed at point-of-sale and in cinemas.
The proposed new law, which will be discussed in parliament next week, would also prohibit cigarette sampling and ban vapor product advertising beginning in 2024.
Consumer protection minister Julia Klockner said, “Limiting tobacco advertising on the street and in cinemas is long overdue.
Above all, we have to protect young people so that ideally they don’t even start smoking.”
May 26, 2020
Firms Offer Alternatives After Menthol Ban

Photo: Imperial Brands
Tobacco companies are taking advantage of the U.K.’s ban on menthol cigarettes to promote alternative products, according to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.
Philip Morris reportedly described the ban, which began on May 20, as a “huge opportunity” for its business as the 1.3 million menthol smokers in the U.K. consider their options.
According to the bureau, Philip Morris in the runup to the ban hired sales reps to promote its menthol heated tobacco products directly to newsagents, one of the only legal ways it can advertise in the U.K. where almost all tobacco advertising is banned. It also offered promotional menthol kits and trials for new customers, with half-price tobacco sticks in any of its four menthol flavors.
Philip Morris’ competitors have also tried to turn the menthol ban into a sales opportunity. Japan Tobacco has launched a menthol cigarillo, Imperial Brands has designed a mint-infused card that flavors cigarettes with menthol, and British American Tobacco is marketing its mint-flavored vapes.

“The menthol ban is going to be bad news for a lot of smokers, who are going to find smoking less appealing, so it is a big opportunity for smokers to quit,” said John Britton, professor of epidemiology and director at the U.K. Centre for Tobacco & Alcohol Studies at the University of Nottingham.
He said that tobacco companies will “want to minimize the numbers who quit and maximize the numbers who continue to buy products from them.”
May 26, 2020
Bangladesh Health Ministry Requests Halt on Tobacco Production

Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive
The Bangladesh health ministry has requested that the industries ministry rescind the permission granted to tobacco companies to continue production during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The health ministry cited a World Health Organization study stating that smokers are more likely to suffer severe infections from Covid-19. The ministry also cited Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s target to make Bangladesh tobacco-free by 2040.
May 20, 2020
Forest: Banning Menthol Will Not Stop Children Smoking

Simon Clark | Photo: Taco Tuinstra
The EU ban on the sale of menthol cigarettes will needlessly restrict adult smokers’ choices while doing little to prevent underage smoking, according to smokers’ rights group Forest.
Responding to claims by the anti-smoking group Action on Smoking and Health that the ban on “child-friendly” menthol cigarettes is long overdue, Forest said there is no evidence that banning menthol cigarettes will stop children smoking.
“The ban on menthol cigarettes is a gross restriction on consumer choice that will do nothing to stop children smoking, said Simon Clark, director of Forest.
“Evidence from Canada, where menthol cigarettes were first banned in 2015, suggests that the ban had no overall impact on youth smoking rates because younger smokers simply switched to non-menthol cigarettes,” said Clark.
“Many adults have smoked menthol-flavored cigarettes for decades,” he added. “This week that small pleasure will be taken away from them and the only people who will benefit are the criminals who supply the black market with illegal and counterfeit goods.”
Menthol cigarettes will be banned in the European Union starting tomorrow.
The ban will also outlaw flavored cigarettes, skinny cigarettes and flavored rolling tobacco. The measure is part of the EU Tobacco Products Directive and aims to stop younger people from smoking as well as curb smoking rates among current smokers.
May 19, 2020
Altria Requests Marketing Authorization for Nicotine Pouches

Image by Jana Schneider from Pixabay
Altria Client Services submitted premarket tobacco product applications to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for 35 On! products on behalf of Helix Innovations LLC, an Altria joint venture responsible for manufacturing and selling On! nicotine pouches globally.
On! products are offered in seven flavors and five nicotine levels for adult tobacco consumers seeking alternatives to traditional tobacco products.
“On! nicotine pouches are a key part of our vision to responsibly lead the transition of adult smokers to a noncombustible future,” said Paige Magness, senior vice president of regulatory affairs for Altria Client Services. “We believe the supporting science is strong and are committed to working with the agency on these important product submissions.”
May 18, 2020
India: Health Minister Urges Ban on Tobacco Sales

Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive
India’s Union Health Minister Harsh Vardam on May 15 asked health ministers for all Indian states and union territories (UTs) to prohibit tobacco product sales and spitting in public to reduce the spread of Covid-19.
Vardam noted that smokeless tobacco users tend to spit in public places, increasing health risks, especially those of spreading contagious diseases like Covid-19, tuberculosis, swine flu and encephalitis.
“Use of smokeless tobacco also creates an unhygienic environment which further spreads the diseases,” he added.
“Large gatherings at the retail outlets where smokeless tobacco products are sold also pose the risk of spread of Covid. By banning spitting in public places, states and UTs can help in achieving not only Swachh Bharat [clean India] but also Swasth Bharat [healthy India],” said Vardam, referring to a 2014-2019 campaign from to improve solid waste management in India.
May 15, 2020
Dutch Considering Tougher Stance on Vaping

Health officials in the Netherlands are considering a stricter approach to electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). Junior health minister Paul Blokhuis has told MPs he is considering extra legislation to limit the use of e-cigarettes following research which shows they are widely used by teenagers.
Electronic cigarettes are more dangerous to health than first thought and are seen by teenagers as a first step to smoking real cigarettes, according to a new fact sheet produced by the Trimbos addiction clinic on behalf of the health ministry, according to a story on dutchnews.nl.
Fifteen years after they first came on the market, some 3.1 percent of Dutch adults now use an e-cigarette on occasion, Trimbos said. Their use is largely seen as a way to stop smoking cigarettes, although almost three quarters of users still smoke in the traditional way, according to the story.
However, the organisation also stated that the health of the Dutch would be best served if the use of e-cigarettes is restricted to hardened smokers who cannot stop using other tried methods. “The new Trimbos insights raise questions about introducing additional legislation,” Blokhuis said in his briefing to MPs. The minister will now study the research in more detail and, according to the Telegraaf, a ban on flavourings is one of the options being considered.
May 15, 2020
Menthol Ban Is “at Odds With People’s Freedom” Say European Smokers

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
In testimonials collected by smoker advocacy group Forest EU, smokers from across Europe described the imminent ban on menthol cigarettes, which comes into force in every EU member state from May 20 May, as “useless” and “at odds with people’s freedom.”
Patricia from Denmark asked: “Why can’t I decide for myself whether or not to smoke cigarettes with menthol?”
Angelika from the Netherlands shared: “I don’t smoke menthols. But nowadays you are not allowed to determine anything yourself.”
Victoria from Poland said: “Of course, it is good that the EU is concerned about our health, but banning menthol cigarettes is at odds with people’s freedom. Also, it is likely that this measure will create an illegal trade, bringing menthol cigarettes from neighboring countries such as Ukraine.”
Other testimonials can be read on Forest EU’s website.
“This isn’t another restriction. Banning an entire category of cigarette is prohibition,” said Guillaume Périgois, director of Forest EU.
“Banning menthol cigarettes will do little to deter children from smoking and will almost certainly fuel an uncontrolled black market in menthol tobacco products.”
The enactment of the ban on May 20 follows the completion of a four-year phasing-out period under the EU-level Tobacco Products Directive which became applicable in 2016.
Menthol cigarettes are consumed by approximately 7 million EU adults. In 2017, 8 percent of EU monthly smokers said they used menthol flavored tobacco. Menthol tobacco users represented 24 percent of monthly smokers in Finland, 20 percent in Denmark, 16 percent in the Netherlands and Lithuania, 15 percent in Estonia and Latvia, and 14 percent in Belgium, according to Eurobarometer.
Menthol tobacco generates an estimate of €10 billion ($10.84 billion) in sales across the continent, according to Euromonitor.
May 15, 2020