Following the latest publication of a Delegated Directive in the Official Journal, flavors in heated tobacco products will be banned across the entire European Union.

The Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2022/2100 was published after the examination period ended on October 29th, during which neither the European Parliament nor the Council of the European Union voiced any opposition to the restriction.

The Expert Group on Tobacco Policy confirmed the ban, which applies to all flavors other than tobacco, is now official.

A member state's ability to exempt heated tobacco products from having to carry a health warning as required by all smoking products, has also been also eliminated by the directive.

The directive will officially take full effect on November 23. EU Member states will then have until July 23rd 2023, to implement it into their national legislation.

The flavor ban itself will begin to take effect on October 23rd 2023, although some member states might not be able to implement the Delegated Act in time, as previously shown with the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD).

How did the European Commission take the decision?

The decision to ban flavors was not made without some debate.

Back to February, at a meeting of the Expert Group on Tobacco Policy, questions were raised about whether the European Commission was violating its authority by creating a new legal category of heated tobacco products.

Some member states expressed doubts about the Commission's authority to define a new category of tobacco products in a Delegated Act.

Acording to a joint statement issued by Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, and Italy, the introduction of a definition for heated tobacco products “goes beyond the delegated power under Directive 2014/40/EU, and involves essential elements reserved for the European legislators and, as such, should be submitted to the ordinary legislative review process."

The EU future of novel tobacco products HTP:

The European Commission's intention to impose an EU-wide minimum excise tax on novel products such electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco, and nicotine pouches will have the desired impact.

Some claim that high taxes would prevent smokers from converting to alternative products, which some studies show are less harmful than conventional cigarettes. Others argue that taking this action is necessary because harm committed is still harm and that taxes is a tool for preventing people from using these things at all, particularly young people.

Keep in mind the EU wide excise framework is only for tobacco products at this moment and still needs to be implemented for low-risk / smokeless products -> this is expected to be addressed in TPD 2023.

Conclusion Statement

In light of the emergence of novel tobacco products, the EU is forced to reconsider its approach to tobacco control policies, especially when taking into account the ongoing revision of both the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) and the Tobacco Excise Directive (TED).

This flavour ban on heated tobacco products means a move towards more concise and equal treatment amongst all types of tobacco products, which will be broadly welcomed by harm-reduction advocates.