Tag: ban

France to Ban Nicotine Pouches

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The French government plans to ban nicotine pouches, citing concerns about underage use.
In an interview with Le Parisien published on Oct. 30, Health Minister Genevieve Darrieussecq said that pouches “are dangerous products because they contain high doses of nicotine.”
“The marketing of these products is directly targeted at young people, and I hope that we can protect our young people,” Darrieussecq was quoted as saying. She added that the ban will be announced in the coming weeks.
Nicotine companies have been marketing “modern oral” products as safer alternatives to smoking cigarettes. But according to Darrieussecq, they can be just as dangerous, “especially when they are used not by former smokers but by young people,” she said.
She argued that the pouches risk inducing nicotine addiction and serve as an entry into smoking.
Tobacco harm reduction advocates criticized the move.
“By banning nicotine pouches, Minister Darrieussecq is closing off an effective, far less harmful path for millions who struggle to quit smoking,” said Michael Landl, director of the World Vapers’ Alliance.
“Pouches have proven to help smokers transition away from cigarettes in other countries and are considerably safer. Rather than offering options, France risks pushing people toward smoking or the black market.”
Others questioned whether a ban would be effective. In Germany, where tobacco-free nicotine pouches are officially banned, they remain accessible and popular among young people, according to experts from the Tobacco Outpatient Clinic at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich.
October 30, 2024
UK Disposable Vape Ban Begins in June

TR Archive
The sale of single-use vapes will be banned in England from June next year, the British government said on Thursday, seeking to crack down on the environmental harm and rising usage levels among children.
Vaping has grown rapidly in Britain in the last decade, with nearly one in 10 people buying and using the products, according to the government.
Supporters say vapes can help people give up smoking, but health authorities are concerned that their colorful designs and fruity flavors are designed to attract children, Reuters reports.
It is illegal to sell nicotine-containing e-cigarettes to anyone under the age of 18.
The plan to ban disposable vapes was initially set out by the previous Conservative government in January, alongside a move to ban anyone aged 15 and under from buying cigarettes – some of the strictest anti-smoking rules in the world.
The Labour government also plans to introduce a full smoking bill as part of what it called “the biggest public health intervention in a generation” to protect young people from becoming hooked on nicotine.
“Banning disposable vapes will not only protect the environment but importantly reduce the appeal of vapes to children and keep them out of the hands of vulnerable young people,” said Minister for Public Health and Prevention Andrew Gwynne.
October 24, 2024
Organizations Urge Biden to Ban Menthols

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A total of 123 civil rights, public health, medical, faith, youth-serving and other organizations placed a full-page ad in The Washington Post and issued a joint statement urging the Biden administration to issue final rules this month to prohibit cigarettes and flavored cigars to meet a deadline the administration set in December, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
The ad and joint statement underscore the support across the nation for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s proposed rules to eliminate menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, including from organizations representing populations that have been targeted by the tobacco industry and disproportionately harmed by these products.
“President Biden, we stand united,” the ad reads. “Act now to eliminate menthol cigarettes.”
“These rules are supported by overwhelming scientific evidence, they will have enormous benefits for our nation’s health and they are critical to achieving top priorities of the Biden administration, especially the president’s Cancer Moonshot and the administration’s commitment to promoting health equity,” the joint statement reads.
“We were deeply disappointed in December when the administration delayed issuing these long-overdue rules. As tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, killing nearly half a million Americans every year, any further delay in issuing the final rules will result in needless disease, suffering and deaths. The administration must stand up to the tobacco industry and act now to save lives.”
March 21, 2024
New Zealand to Ban Disposables

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New Zealand will ban the sale of disposable e-cigarettes, increase fines for retailers caught selling to those under the age of 18 and better regulate retailers, reports Reuters.
Following a rollback of the planned generational tobacco ban, the government has stated that it is committed to reducing smoking, though it is taking a different approach, which includes more regulation of vaping.
“While vaping has contributed to a significant fall in our smoking rates, the rapid rise in youth vaping has been a real concern for parents, teachers and health professionals,” said Casey Costello, associate minister of health.
“The coalition government is committed to tackling youth vaping and to continue to drive down smoking rates to achieve the smoke-free goal of less than 5 percent of the population smoking daily by 2025,” said Costello.
The new rules will include higher fines for retailers selling to underage individuals, a review of vape retailer licensing and a ban of all disposable vapes.
March 20, 2024
EU Considering Ban on Tobacco-Free Snus

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In a tweet from Member of Parliament Charlie Weimers, news of a potential ban on snus in the EU has come to light.
“A secret report I shouldn’t have landed on my desk,” the tweet said. “In the report that will be presented to the EU member states this week, there are two notable writings: (1) praise for how successful the snus ban has been and (2) a recommendation that the EU should extend the snus ban to the tobacco-free white snus (nicotine portions).”
“That the EU snus ban is a success is completely wrong,” he wrote. “It is actually snus that makes Sweden the only country in the EU that is on the way to reaching the U.N.’s goal of a smoke-free society (defined as less than 5 percent smokers), which has saved many lives. A ban on nicotine pouches would have been a hard blow to the attempt to eradicate smoking in the EU.
“Unfortunately, the Swedish exception for tobacco snus does not apply to nicotine pouches. If the EU Commission and the member states accept the report’s recommendation, nicotine pouches will also be banned in Sweden. Men have largely opted out of smoking in favor of snus while women looking for less dangerous alternatives choose nicotine pouches more often. Therefore, such a ban would hit women extra hard.
“The report has been written by consultants who work for DG SANTE (the EU’s health bureaucrats), and the writings probably would not have crept into the report if they did not have the support of the bureaucrats. Most likely, this is a test balloon from the bureaucracy. If the proposal falls to the ground at the meeting with the member states, the bureaucrats can blame the consultants, and if the proposal does not meet resistance, the bureaucrats can interpret it as a clear support and work on with a sharp proposal. This is how you often work in the EU’s bureaucracy.
“The government must therefore already make it clear at the meeting this week that our country opposes a ban on white snus and work to ensure that citizens continue to have the opportunity to choose the least harmful way to use nicotine. Our negotiators are also welcome to raise the issue of the risks to public health of having too many do-gooding bureaucrats in DG SANTE.”
The news has left many angry, with calls for “SWEXIT” if the proposal passes—meaning, those against the measure are calling for Sweden to leave the EU if the ban passes.
October 4, 2023
UK Prime Minister Considering Cig Ban

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U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is considering a ban on cigarettes that would effectively ban the next generation from purchasing cigarettes, according to the Guardian.
Sunak has reportedly been looking into measures similar to those put in place in New Zealand, involving steadily increasing the legal smoking age, resulting in those born on or after Jan. 1, 2009, never being able to buy tobacco products.
“At a time when people and businesses are crying out for stability, Rishi Sunak has poured fuel on the Tories’ economic bin fire in a desperate bid to keep Liz Truss and her fellow arsonists happy,” said Keir Starmer, Labour leader, referring to Sunak’s recent backtracking on his net-zero policy and confusion over his education policies.
“Britain has a once-in-a-generation chance to reverse 13 years of decline and get ahead—to bring down people’s bills, create quality jobs and free us from the grip of Putin and over-reliance on China. Rishi Sunak’s weakness now stands between the country and proper national renewal,” Starmer said.
“Smoking is a deadly habit—it kills tens of thousands of people each year and places a huge burden on the NHS and the economy,” said a government spokesperson about the New Zealand-style smoking ban policy. “We want to encourage more people to quit and meet our ambition to be smoke-free by 2030, which is why we have already taken steps to reduce smoking rates. This includes providing 1 million smokers in England with free vape kits via our world-first ‘swap to stop’ scheme, launching a voucher scheme to incentivize pregnant women to quit and consulting on mandatory cigarette pack inserts.”
“Prohibiting the sale of cigarettes to future generations of adults won’t stop people smoking,” said Simon Clark, director of the smokers’ group Forest. “It will simply drive the sale of cigarettes underground and into the hands of criminal gangs.
“Treating adults like children by denying them the right to buy cigarettes legally would take the nanny state to another level.
“Smoking rates have been falling for decades,” Clark said. “The idea that any government would prioritize tackling smoking at a time when the country faces far more important challenges at home and abroad is frankly obscene.
“If it’s true that the prime minister wants to introduce some of the world’s toughest anti-smoking measures, denying millions of adults the freedom to choose, it will be a Conservative government in name only.”
September 25, 2023
Turkiye Expands Ban on Selling Tobacco

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Turkiye has expanded the scope of its ban on serving and selling tobacco and alcohol products, according to Xinhua News Agency.
Sales of tobacco products and alcoholic beverages are banned on all premises of health, education and cultural and sports facilities. The ban does not apply to points of sale in accommodation, recreational and camping areas, however.
September 21, 2023
Cyprus Government to Ban Flavored HTPs

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The Cyprus government is moving to ban the sale of flavored heated-tobacco products (HTPs) following the Ministerial Council’s decision to adopt the relevant European legislation, according to In-Cyprus.
HTPs still allowed on the market will have to apply special warning labels and images to packaging, which will align the packaging with that of conventional cigarettes.
The aim of these changes is to “harmonize national legislation with European directives, as today’s Ministerial Council approved an amendment to regulations regarding the withdrawal of certain exemptions for heated-tobacco products.”
The council decided on the “extension of the ban on the sale of tobacco products with characteristic aroma/flavor or containing aromatic substances in any of their ingredients and on heated-tobacco products.”
“It was also decided to include verbal warnings/notifications about the harmful effects of smoking on the packaging of heated-tobacco products. These warnings will be accompanied by deterrent images.”
“In the legislation for smoking control, established in 2017, these products were exempted, and the sale of conventional cigarettes and rolling tobacco that contained aromatic substances in their ingredients was prohibited,” said Health Minister Popi Kanari. “With these regulatory amendments, the sale of heated-tobacco products containing aromatic substances in any of their ingredients is prohibited beyond conventional cigarettes and rolling tobacco.”
“The amendment does not apply to vaping products that contain liquid but only to the category involving heated-tobacco products in which cigarettes with aromatic substances are placed,” said Kanari.
September 21, 2023
Vaping to be Banned for Those Under 18

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Ireland will ban vaping for those under the age of 18, effective July, reports the Irish Times.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly will bring a memo to the Cabinet this week outlining the full legislation. The new law is expected to be enacted before the lower house of Parliament’s summer recess in mid-July.
The legislation includes restrictions on the types of retailers allowed to sell vapes or nicotine-inhaling products as well as measures to curb advertising of nicotine-inhaling products near schools and other locations frequented by kids and young adults.
Donnelly is expected to tell the Cabinet that there is “clear evidence” that nicotine exposure in young people has long-term effects on brain development, referencing recently published surveys of Irish school-aged kids. The surveys, including the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children survey from 2018 and the European Schools Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs survey from 2019, showed that 9 percent of 12-year-olds to 17-year-olds and 15.5 percent of 15-year-olds and 16-year-olds used electronic cigarettes in the past 30 days. Donnelly is also expected to reference a Health Research Board review that found that kids who vaped were five times more likely to begin smoking.
The government is expected to prioritize passage of the bill through the Oireachtas to allow for full debate and discussion before sending the legislation to President Michael D. Higgins for his signature.
May 30, 2023
Sweden Wants to Prohibit Flavored Vapes

The Swedish government has proposed a ban on nontobacco-flavored vapes, including menthol, according to Vaping360.
The proposed law includes nicotine and non-nicotine e-liquid and regulates all synthetic nicotine products, setting the purchase age to 18. If the law is passed, the sale of flavored vape products will be banned effective Jan. 1, 2023.
The bill is currently being reviewed by the Council on Legislation, which considers the legal validity of proposed bills before they are considered by legislators. Parliament will vote on the bill as early as March 22.
If the bill is passed, Sweden will be the eighth European country to prohibit flavors, following Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ukraine, Denmark, Lithuania and the Netherlands.
March 4, 2022