LONDON – European governments are considering tougher rules on cigarette makers’ new zero-tobacco heating sticks, seeking to close loopholes designed to be exploited just months after they were launched.
Major tobacco companies, including Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco, announced late last year the launch of sticks made from nicotine-containing substances such as rooibos tea as a way to counter the European Union’s upcoming ban on flavored heat-to-smoke tobacco products.
The European Commission said it is currently evaluating EU tobacco laws and any changes will be subject to the results of that effort, public consultation, and an impact assessment.
But authorities in Latvia, Lithuania, and Croatia are already looking to introduce stricter regulations to govern the products, officials in the three countries told Reuters.
In Latvia, the bill would classify zero-tobacco sticks as tobacco substitutes and be subject to related controls, as well as banning all flavors except tobacco from 2025, a health ministry spokesman said.
“We plan to regulate them in the future,” agreed a spokesman for the Croatian Ministry of Health, adding that they are addictive and have potential health risks. The person did not respond to requests for additional information.
Regulation of these products is also being discussed internally in Lithuania, but it was too early to say what was on the table, a health ministry spokesman said.
Meanwhile, German authorities are in dispute with some manufacturers over whether existing tobacco tax laws apply to the new products, according to a spokesman for the Federal Customs Office.
BAT said it supports the introduction of evidence-based regulation and appropriate excise duties for its zero tobacco sticks, adding that 15 EU member states have already introduced excise duties.
PMI also believes that any alternative to cigarettes containing nicotine should be regulated and properly taxed, the spokesman said, adding that flavors do, however, play an important role in encouraging adult smokers to quit.
REGULATION RISKS
Zero-tobacco sticks contribute only marginally to tobacco companies’ revenues, which still come overwhelmingly from cigarettes.
But they marked significant strategic developments that the companies trumpeted to investors as examples of innovations that can help them operate within increasingly tight regulations aimed at their other products.
In some markets, the bars grew rapidly. In the Czech Republic and Romania, they already accounted for half of all sticks sold to the BAT heating tobacco device in December, while this figure is 30 percent in Germany and 19 percent in Greece.
BAT, which launched its product in 11 European markets in February, plans to roll out the bars globally.
The PMI product is available in the Czech Republic. It plans more launches this year and is also set to launch more flavors, according to market research firm NGP Trends, citing the company’s trademark filings.
A spokesperson for the Czech Ministry of Health stated that it is not currently preparing any regulations for sticks with zero tobacco content.
Romania’s Ministry of Health did not respond to requests for comment.
But countries including Belgium, Slovenia, Switzerland and Poland are also working on regulations or taxes for such products, according to analysts at market and regulatory research firm ECigIntelligence.
The European Commission, meanwhile, is likely to close loopholes across the bloc when it next updates EU tobacco legislation, said Malcolm Saxton, senior chemistry consultant at regulatory consultancy Broughton, adding that it is likely to consider controls on flavors, marketing and more.
To fend off regulations that could limit the appeal of their products, tobacco companies would have to provide evidence that the products play a role in reducing the harms of smoking and change perceptions only to circumvent regulation, he continued.
BAT says data so far suggests its product is potentially lower in risk compared to cigarettes, but researchers have warned that the health effects of such products are unknown.
