Daily news alerts / EGYPT

Spain: The Spanish Society of Family and Community Medicine has issued a warning about a rise in the use of vaping products by teenagers. It says a poll conducted during Smoke-free Week found 90% of participants were in favour of extending the list of places where smoking and vaping are prohibited, while 21% of teenagers between 14 and 18 used e-cigarettes, 14% used hookahs, and 13% smoked.

Latvia: The parliamentary Social and Labour Affairs Committee yesterday partially rejected a proposal to exempt menthol and tobacco flavours from a ban put forward in a bill “amending the law on the circulation of tobacco products, herbal smoking products, electronic smoking devices and their liquids,” press reports. While it was agreed that tobacco flavour should be allowed, the committee decided menthol “could facilitate nicotine consumption”. Another proposal was to ban the sale of tobacco and substitute products, herbal smoking products, e-cigarettes and refill containers to anyone under 20. Those proposals will be discussed in the final debate on the bill, which is expected to take place before July.

UK: Prime minister Rishi Sunak today expressed concern about the prospect of his children taking up vaping after a BBC report that analysis of non-compliant e-cigarettes confiscated from secondary school pupils in Kidderminster, Worcestershire showed high levels of lead, nickel and chromium. The government is currently consulting on vaping rules, and reports of this kind are likely to galvanize policymakers into action – especially with some industry members estimating that the illicit e-cig market exceeds the legal market (a view not shared by ECigIntelligence, which estimates it at 20%).

Australia: The government of Queensland has passed legislation to strengthen the state’s anti-smoking and illicit tobacco laws and their enforcement. The Tobacco and Other Smoking Products Amendment Bill 2023 introduces a licensing scheme for the sale of tobacco, expands the list of non-vaping areas and imposes tougher restrictions on vape sales at licensed venues. A parliamentary inquiry into vaping and e-cigarettes, with a focus on children and teenagers, will also shortly begin, concluding with a Health and Environment Committee report to be made to the Legislative Assembly by 31st August.

Indonesia: Firman Soebagyo, one of 85 Golkar party members in the 575-seat House of Representatives, where they are supportive of president Joko Widodo, has called on the government to immediately enact regulations for e-cigarettes, referring in particular to restrictions on ingredients, press reports.

Switzerland: Following the adoption of the people’s initiative “Children without Tobacco”, which calls for a ban on tobacco and vaping advertising aimed at children and adolescents, the Federal Office of Public Health has presented a fact sheet revealing that the advertising ban set down in the Tobacco Products Act is to be extended to all print media and points-of-sale. Online advertising will remain legal as long as an age-verification system is in place. The initiative is expected to be implemented in 2026.

Czech Republic: The Ministry of Finance has published a bill which would introduce a tax of CZK10 (€0.42) per ml on e-cig refills, regardless of nicotine content, from January 2024.

Lithuania: Bill XIVP-2791, which would ban vaping products containing sugar and/or sweeteners, was registered in the Seimas (parliament) yesterday. If adopted, it will come into force on 1st November. An explanatory letter says that although the Tobacco Control Act already bans the sale of e-cigarettes and e-liquids containing certain additives and non-tobacco flavourings, this has not reduced the popularity of e-cigarettes among young people as expected.

Uzbekistan: A bill to regulate novel tobacco and nicotine products and ban their sale to under-21s has been signed by president Shavkat Mirziyoyev, media reports. It should come into force three months after its official publication, which has not yet taken place.

Switzerland: The National Council Committee for Economic Affairs and Taxation has submitted a motion calling on the Federal Council to draft a report on the taxation of tobacco products and e-cigarettes. It says the report should address issues such as the categorisation of new products, the impact of taxes on the black market, and tax adjustments based on average market prices. Earlier this year, during a debate on amending the Tobacco Tax Act, the Committee for Social Security and Health called for a tax on all e-cigarettes and for e-liquids to be taxed according to their nicotine content. The current bill sets a rate of CHF0.20 (€0.20) rate per ml of nicotine-containing e-liquid for reusable e-cigarettes and CHF1 (€1) per ml for disposable e-cigarettes, regardless of nicotine content.

US - Texas: House Bill 4758 has been passed by the Senate and now heads to the governor’s desk. It would ban e-cigarette containers that depict cartoon-like characters; mimic trademarks or appearance of products primarily marketed to minors; include symbols or celebrity images aimed at minors; or resemble food products, including candy or juice.

Lithuania: The Seimas (parliament) has approved the government’s 12-year agenda on drug, tobacco and alcohol control, which aims to reduce supply and consumption, media reports. The document recommends that controls should be prepared and implemented at municipal level.

US - federal: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) has hired its first senior advisor for health equality. Charlene Le Fauve has 25 years’ experience of federal work related to health equality, dedicating her career to “advancing health equity and the health of under-served and under-represented populations through research and research workforce development”.

Australia: The head of the Border Force, Michael Outram, has warned that government plans to prohibit the import of vaping products and make them subject to prescription, regardless of their nicotine content, will not be enough to combat the black market, press reports. “A border ban by itself may be partly effective, but it won’t be fully effective to solve the problem,” he said.

Slovakia: A draft amendment to the Act on the Production, Labelling and Sale of Tobacco Products that would equate the regulation of nicotine-free e-cigarettes with that of those containing nicotine has moved to its second reading in the National Council, media reports. If adopted, it will come into force on 1st September.

India: The Health Ministry has called for stricter enforcement of the statutory e-cigarette ban, which covers manufacturing, import, export, distribution and advertising of e-cigs, including parts and accessories, press reports.

Ukraine: Bill 9315, prohibiting the sale of e-liquids in duty-free shops, has been registered in the Verkhovna Rada (parliament). If adopted, it will come into force on the first day of the month following its publication and remain in force as a temporary measure until the end of martial law or the state of emergency.

Lithuania: Health minister Arūnas Dulkys has criticised a recent proposal by opposition MP Aurelijas Veryga for a ban on e-cigarettes, media reports. He said a ban would be ineffective since people could still bring in vaping products from other countries.

UK: The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) has backed a call by Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) for tougher regulations on the packaging, promotion and display of vaping products at point-of-sale in order to curb youth uptake.

US - Louisiana: House Bill 179 has been passed by the House and now heads to the Senate. The bill would ban the sale or service of any e-liquid or vapour product with any flavour other than tobacco.

EU: The minutes of a meeting of the Expert Group on Tobacco Policy held on 3rd May 2023 were published yesterday. During the meeting, chaired by DG-Santé and attended by representatives of 26 EU member states plus Iceland and Norway, the ongoing revision of the Council Recommendation on Smoke-free Environments, the upcoming Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in November (COP10), and the evaluation of the legislative framework for tobacco control were discussed. The majority of member states agreed to include new emerging products within the scope of the Council Recommendation on Smoke-free Environments.

Argentina: The government has sent Congress a proposal to adhere to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). Argentina signed the convention in September 2003, but is one of the few countries in the world that has not ratified it. Among other things, the FCTC tackles the advertising, labelling and taxation of tobacco products.

EU: Spanish MEPs Domènec Ruiz and Nicolás González have submitted a parliamentary question asking the European Commission what position it will take on e-cigarettes in the ongoing revision of the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD). The two members of the Socialists and Democrats group say the Commission has been “very lax and unclear in its approach to new e-cigarettes” and also ask what is delaying the TPD revision.

Estonia: The government has introduced a bill to increase e-cigarette excise duty to €0.21 per ml in 2024, €0.22 in 2025 and €0.23 in 2026.

Czech Republic: The Ministry of Health has updated the publicly available list of notified herbal products for smoking, e-cigarettes and refills.

Czech Republic: The e-cigarette retailers group the Chamber of Electronic Vaping has criticised the government’s plan, announced last week, to tax vaping products. The group says it goes against the principle of harm reduction as it might increase the use of traditional cigarettes. Robert Hrdlička, president of the chamber, said that if the tax was really necessary, it should be based on the nicotine content.