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9th January 2025
Environment & Sustainability
News analysisMore News analysis
Global business and regulatory news and updates from the vape industry
Daily regulatory tracking of the e-cigarette sector. It includes weekly podcasts and monthly compilations
17th December 2024
- EU: Yesterday (16th December), the European Council formally adopted the proposal for a regulation on Packaging and Packaging Waste (a revision of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive). The proposal aims to make packaging easier to reuse and recycle, to reduce unnecessary packaging and waste, and to promote the use of recycled content. The regulation is expected to affect packaging requirements for tobacco and vaping products and will next be published in the EU’s official journal. The regulation will be applied 18 months after the date of entry into force.
14th November 2024
- UK: Yesterday, 13th November, the House of Commons (lower chamber of Parliament) debated and approved the Environmental Protection (Single-use Vapes) (England) Regulations 2024, which seek to ban disposable vaping products in England from June 2025. The regulations now need to be approved by the House of Lords (upper chamber Parliament) before they lapse into law. During the debate, concerns were raised over the fact that, as outlined in the impact assessment of the regulations, a portion of single-use vape users may return to smoking.
6th November 2024
- Thailand: Today, Panumas Yanwetsakul, director-general of the Department of Disease Control, has highlighted the health risks of e-cigarettes and their increasing popularity among youth in Thailand and abroad. He also raised the environmental issues seen in the UK, where single-use e-cigarettes contribute significantly to plastic and electronic waste, releasing toxic substances like lead and mercury into the environment. With the UK set to ban single-use vapes starting 1st June 2025, due to similar concerns, Chayanan Sittibut, director of the Tobacco Product Control Board, emphasised that Thailand’s existing ban on the import, production and sale of e-cigarettes is a measure to prevent youth vaping and protect the country’s environment.
14th October 2024
- EU: Today, the Council has adopted a new regulation on the classification, labelling, and packaging of chemical substances (CLP), updating the existing 2008 EU legislation. The revised regulation clarifies labelling issues, such as readability and digital labelling, and increases compliance with CLP for online sales of chemicals. The amendment seeks, among other things, to improve the harmonised classification of chemicals and clarify rules on hazard labelling, etc. This may impose additional obligations on the producers of vaping or tobacco products in relation to chemicals that may be contained in them.
14th October 2024
- Global: International E-waste Day is celebrated today (14th October). The yearly awareness-raising day initiated by the WEEE Forum – an international association of organisations of electronics manufacturers and importers – aims to highlight the growing issue of e-waste and promote responsible e-waste management. Products with electrical or electronic components, including vaping or heated tobacco devices with batteries, should be part of the recycling stream. This year’s slogan, “Join the e-waste hunt – retrieve, recycle, and revive!” highlights the importance of addressing the unused electronics stored in homes, which often contain valuable materials that can be recycled and given a new purpose.
10th October 2024
- Germany: The Federal Cabinet has approved an amendment to the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act that would make it obligatory for retailers of disposable e-cigarettes, including kiosks and fuel stations, to have collection points. Information about the return policy would have to be provided in order to increase awareness of proper disposal of products. The amendment needs to be approved by the Bundestag (parliament). If approved, the obligation to set up collection points needs to be fulfilled by 30th June 2026.
1st October 2024
- New Zealand: As of today, retailers, distributors, local manufacturers and importers must only sell reusable vaping products that contain removable batteries and are compliant with child-safety mechanisms.
20th September 2024
- Denmark: The Ministry of Health has notified a bill to the European Commission’s TRIS database to amend an order on requirements concerning packaging, extended producer responsibility for packaging, and other waste collected with packaging waste. The order implements the existing and expected legal bases of the Environmental Protection Act to lay down rules on extended producer responsibility for packaging. The standstill period ends on 17th December.
7th August 2024
- Germany: The Environment Ministry of Baden-Württemberg is calling on the federal government to ban disposable e-cigarettes because they are often disposed of incorrectly and lead to fires, press reports. It also wants the government to look into the possibility of introducing a deposit on lithium batteries. The idea is that consumers would either return their used e-cigarettes to the shop where they bought them or take them to a collection point for electronic waste.
5th August 2024
- Lithuania: Kasparas Adomaitis, a member of the Environmental Protection Committee of the Seimas (parliament), plans to submit a proposal for the amendments to the Law on Waste Management, which will be considered in the autumn session, to address the environmental impact of e-cigarette waste, media reports. Adomaitis has suggested that sellers should be responsible for collecting and disposing of used products to mitigate environmental damage.
9th July 2024
- France: The Regional Health Agency (ARS) of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, which includes Lyon, France’s third-largest city, has unveiled a new regional action plan that aims to reduce tobacco use. This initiative specifically targets young people and aligns with the National Tobacco Control Programme (PNLT). The plan supports the goal of achieving the first tobacco-free generation by 2032. It sets out three axes for action: preventing entry into smoking, supporting smokers – especially vulnerable ones – to quit smoking, and preserving the environment from tobacco-related pollution.
9th July 2024
- EU: The regulation on ecodesign for sustainable products has recently been published. With the new regulation, we expect the emergence of a digital product passport (a tool that can significantly enhance the end-to-end traceability of a product, complementing the information provided in labels) for devices and other ecodesign requirements and requirements for the measure of energy consumption or performance of devices. The regulation will take effect on 18th July and apply 24 months after it enters into force.
Market reportsMore Market reports
Detailed full-length reports including data and analysis of numerous vaping markets around the world
Regulatory reportsMore Regulatory reports
Thorough reports providing legal and regulatory analysis of different countries and sections of the e-cigarette industry
Regulatory trackersMore Regulatory trackers
Regular tracking of regulation and legislation around the vaping industry
Regulatory databasesMore Regulatory databases
Up-to-date information about current regulations around the world, presented in excel spreadsheets
