To be placed on the European Union market, tobacco and related products must comply with specific requirements and procedures, harmonized at the European level by Directive 2014/40/EU concerning the manufacture, presentation, and sale of tobacco and related products (hereinafter the “Tobacco Products Directive” or the “Directive”).
This article provides a general overview of the requirements and procedures necessary to comply with the Tobacco Products Directive.
This is the first of a series of articles that we will publish on marketing tobacco and related products in the EU. Future articles will address specific insights on (i) ingredients requirements and flavor bans, (ii) notification and reporting obligations under the Directive, (iii) labeling and packaging of tobacco products, and (iv) implementation of the Directive by the European Member States.
I. Scope of the Directive: Heated Tobacco Products Now Included
The Directive applies to electronic cigarettes, herbal products for smoking, and tobacco products. Under the Directive, “tobacco products” include pipe tobacco, roll-your-own tobacco, smokeless tobacco, cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos, waterpipe tobacco, and novel tobacco products. ‘Novel tobacco products’ is a new and open category introduced by the Directive, which encompasses all tobacco products not falling under the one previously mentioned and that are placed on the market after May 19, 2014. Following the Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2022/2100, which became effective on November 23, 2022, novel tobacco products include ‘Heated Tobacco Products,’ which are defined as a product “that is heated to produce an emission containing nicotine and other chemicals, which is then inhaled by user(s), and that, depending on its characteristics, is a smokeless tobacco product or a tobacco product for smoking.”
Keller and Heckman – 2023-02-07.
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