Heavyweight | EU Tobacco Products Directive 2014/40/EU Revision

On June 29, 2022, the European Commission (EC) revised Directive 2014/40/EU of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of the European Union (EU) on the manufacturing, display, and sale of tobacco and related products in the European Union, in the form of Delegated Directive 2022/2100, This revision is mainly aimed at revoking certain exemptions for heated tobacco products.
According to regulations, member states must adopt or issue domestic requirements in the form of laws, regulations, and administrative provisions to comply with this authorization directive by July 23, 2023 at the latest. These member states' requirements' will be enforced in the European Union or European Economic Area (EEA) along with the authorization directive on October 23, 2023 (including Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway, three non EU member states that must take effect in specific ways and conditions in accordance with the agreement reached between the EFTA and the European Union).
This revision involves two parts,
1、 Article 7, Paragraph 12 originally exempted all tobacco products except cigarettes and self rolling cigarettes from the requirements of Article 7, Paragraph 1 and Paragraph 7, namely
① Member States should prohibit the placing on the market of tobacco products with distinctive flavors;
② Member States should prohibit any component of tobacco products - such as filters, rolls, packaging, capsules, or any component that can change the technical characteristics of odor, taste, or smoke intensity - containing seasoning from being placed on the EU market. Filters, rolls, and capsules must not contain tobacco or nicotine.
After this revision, heated tobacco products no longer belong to the exemption type of this clause, that is, heated tobacco products must also meet the requirements of ① and ②. The committee can still modify its original exemption for specific product types of tobacco products through authorization bills in the future.
Supplementary note: Heated tobacco products refer to new types of tobacco products (electronic cigarette products are among them) that are produced by heating to release substances containing nicotine or other chemical substances, and then inhaled by users. Depending on the characteristics of the products, they can be smokeless or aspirated tobacco products.
2、 The requirement for labeling in Article 11 excludes heated tobacco products. Especially in the first paragraph (paragraph 1), the first paragraph has been replaced. Especially excluding heated tobacco products from specific clauses can exempt the tobacco product list, which means that heated tobacco products are also obligated to carry
① Article 9, Paragraph 2: Each unit packaging and any outer packaging of tobacco products should carry the following information - Tobacco smoke contains over 70 substances known to cause cancer.
② Article 10: Combined health warnings.
a) General warning information in Article 9, Paragraph 1. Each unit packaging and any outer packaging of aspirated tobacco products
There should be one of the following general warning phrases:
(1) Smoking kills – quit now
(2) Smoking kills
The information provided along with this warning should also include the smoking cessation service reference information mentioned in Article 10, Paragraph 1, point (b) - such as phone number, email address, or internet address - with the aim of informing consumers of easily available programs to help those who want to quit smoking.
b) Each unit packaging and any outer packaging should have one of the warning messages in Annex I:
(1) Smoking causes 9 out of 10 lung cancer (90% of lung cancer is caused by smoking);
(2) Smoking causes more and throat cancer;
(3) Smoking damages your lungs;
(4) Smoking causes heart attacks;
(5) Smoking causes strokes and disability;
(6) Smoking clogs your arteries;
(7) Smoking increases the risk of blindness;
(8) Smoking damages your teeth and gums;
(9) Smoking can kill your unborn child;
(10) Your smoke harms your children, family, and friends;
(11) Smokers' children are more likely to start smoking;
(12) Quit smoking - stay alive for those close to you;
(13) Smoking reduces fertility;
(14) Smoking increases the risk of impotence.