Market & regulatory data for the vapour sector in Poland

15th November 2024: Poland: The president of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has warned that the organisation’s trade inspectors do not have enough instruments to effectively control the composition of vaping products, press reports. The government is currently working on an amendment of the vaping product regulations that, if passed, will impose a surveillance duty on the UOKiK over vaping products to guarantee they do not contain prohibited ingredients and comply with the quantity limits established by the law. The amendment intends to extend the restrictions that are currently applicable to nicotine-containing vaping products to nicotine-free vaping products. The draft the government is working on has not yet been published.
31st October 2024: Poland: The minister of health, Izabela Leszczyna, has said in an interview with press that she aims to ban e-cigarettes with flavours. “They attract users with the added flavour, exposing people to addiction and, in the long run, loss of health,” she said. Leszczyna said that the ministry will introduce a proposal in this regard.
31st October 2024: Poland: Yesterday (30th October), the Senate passed the amendment to the Excise Duty Act, increasing the excise rates on e-liquids from 2025. Last week, the Sejm (lower chamber of the parliament) also passed it. The amendment establishes an increase in the e-liquid rate from PLN0.55 (€0.13) per ml to PLN0.96 (€0.22) per ml in 2025, PLN1.44 (€0.33) per ml in 2026 and PLN1.80 (€0.41) per ml in 2027. The current tax will remain applicable until 1st March 2025.
22nd October 2024: Poland: The Sejm (lower chamber of parliament) has passed the amendment to the Excise Duty Act increasing the excise rates on e-liquids from 2025. It establishes an increase from PLN0.55 (€0.13) per ml to PLN0.96 (€0.22) per ml in 2025, PLN1.44 (€0.33) per ml in 2026, and PLN1.8 (€0.42) per ml in 2027. The current tax will remain applicable until 1st March 2025.
15th October 2024: Poland: Health minister Izabela Leszczyna has said the next session of the Council of Ministers will discuss two draft amendments to the Tobacco Act, press reports. The amendments include bans on the advertising of nicotine-free e-cigarettes, their sale to under-18s, their sale in vending machines and online sales, and a ban on heated tobacco flavours. The Ministry of Health is expecting the amendments to enter into force by the end of the year. However, the ban on the sale to minors and advertising of nicotine-free e-cigarettes and the ban on heated tobacco flavours will not be applicable until six and nine months, respectively, after the amendment’s entry into force.
2nd October 2024: Poland: The Council of Ministers has adopted the draft act amending the Excise Duty Act, which increases heated tobacco and e-liquid rates. It establishes an increase in the e-liquid rate from PLN0.55 (€0.13) per ml to PLN0.96 (€0.22) per ml in 2025, PLN1.44 (€0.34) per ml in 2026, and PLN1.8 (€0.42) per ml in 2027. The current tax will remain applicable until 1st March 2025.
26th September 2024: Poland: The Ministry of Finance has decided not to tax vaping devices for now despite initial plans. The ministry has opted to postpone the taxation of these products due to reported technical problems related to taxation and stamping of these devices and the practical impossibility of implementing the tax in such a short period of time: the government aims to pass the amendments to the e-liquids and tobacco substitutes excise duty rates as soon as possible, before 1st January 2025, so the new rates can be applicable from March 2025.
23rd February 2024: Poland: Minister of health Izabela Leszczyna has announced that the ministry will start preparing a bill to ban disposable e-cigarettes, press reports. The minister said she has already received a green light from prime minister Donald Tusk. Leszczyna said the measure is aimed at protecting children from these products, as 64% of those aged 15 to 18 vape. Although the sale of vaping products to under-18s is already banned, she argued that the prohibition is "largely ineffective".
17th October 2023: Poland: Parliamentary elections took place in Poland on Sunday, resulting in a likely change of government. Today (17th October), with 100% of the votes counted, the ruling right-wing party Law and Justice (PiS) has obtained the largest amount of votes, but not the majority of seats in the Sejm (Polish Parliament lower chamber) it would need to govern. The sum of the opposition parties – the centre-right parties Civic Coalition (KO), Third Way (TD) and the left-wing Nowa Lewica (New Left) – makes a coalition government led by Civic Coalition leader Donald Tusk a feasible outcome. This will depend on whether TD decides to join the coalition government and give support to Tusk. This government switch could bring about some changes in the e-cigarettes and tobacco products arena, as Tusk’s party has advocated in the past for limiting excise tax increases. However, it is still uncertain, as none of the opposition parties have made any reference to tobacco policies in their programmes.
8th November 2022: Poland: A bill to amend the Excise Duty Act has been introduced, aimed at amending the definition of e-liquids to guarantee that all those on the market are taxed. This is in response to some retailers selling e-liquids as air fresheners in order to avoid excise duty. E-liquids are taxed in Poland whether or not they contain nicotine.
25th February 2022: Poland: On 2nd March 2022, the Senate health committee will debate the bill that intends to introduce the cultivation and collection of non-industrial hemp, press reports. According to the bill, the cultivation of medical cannabis will be allowed, but only if conducted by research institutes dependent on the Ministry of Agriculture. The bill was approved on 8th February by the Sejm (Polish lower house) and is currently pending parliamentary approval prior to being signed by the president.

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