Market & legal data of alternative tobacco products in Europe

Serbia's five-year plan for a gradual increase in heated tobacco taxes

Written by Marija Obradovic | 10th December 2020

The Serbian government is proposing to increase tobacco taxes, including those levied on heat-not-burn (HnB) products ...

Danish health minister seeks to postpone labelling rules for nicotine pouches

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 4th December 2020

The Ministry of Health has proposed that the enforcement of the provisions affecting labelling and health warnings rules should be postponed by six months ...

Swiss Assembly starts debate this month on long-anticipated tobacco bill

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 2nd December 2020

The Swiss National Council is expected to debate the country’s draft Federal Tobacco Act in a few days but a final vote on the bill, which would ban tobacco sales to minors, is unlikely...

Expected increase in HnB tax is dropped from Italy’s proposed budget for 2021

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 24th November 2020

Italy’s draft budget for 2021 does not include any provision – for now – on taxing heated tobacco products, despite calls from health authorities and members of the country’s Senate ...

Netherlands bans the sale of tobacco products in supermarkets from 2024

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 23rd November 2020

Supermarkets in the Netherlands will no longer be allowed to sell tobacco, including heated tobacco products, from 2024, health minister Paul Blokhuis has announced ...

Spain to unveil soon new regulations equating HnB with combustibles

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 18th November 2020

The Spanish Ministry of Health has prepared an amendment to the Tobacco, Act including provisions on tobacco-alternative products, but implementation will depend on the COVID-19 pandemic situation ...

Imperial posts poor next-gen results, aims to expand oral nicotine in Europe

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 17th November 2020

Imperial Brands has revealed that net revenue from its next-generation portfolio declined by 27% in the year to September and announced that it will take a “more prudent approach” from now on ...

EU Parliament endorses Commission’s new health programme

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 13th November 2020

The European Parliament approved by an overwhelming majority the EU health policy programme for the period 2021-2017 aimed at tackling some of the main health issues in Europe, including tobacco policy ...

Hungary set to increase tax on tobacco alternatives after EU call on cigarettes

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 6th November 2020

The Hungarian government is proposing to increase taxes on tobacco-alternative products after Brussels called on the country to apply the minimum EU threshold for excise duty on cigarettes ...

Norway seeks political support to increase snus excise duties in 2021

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 2nd November 2020

The Norwegian government is proposing an increase of 3.7% in the tax applied to snus from 2021 with the aim to “limit health problems”, but the minority government must find an ally in the national...

Swedish Match’s nicotine pouches drive positive company numbers in the quarter

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 27th October 2020

Swedish Match’s sales of smoke-free products jumped 23% in the third quarter of 2020, with the good performance of nicotine pouches in both US and Scandinavia as the main driver ...

Brussels planning ahead for harmonised EU taxation of HnB late next year

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 21st October 2020

The tax authorities in Brussels are to give a final decision on introducing a new harmonised tax scheme for heated tobacco products in a year’s time, amid calls for action from top EU institutions ...

Imperial's tobacco-alternative revenues collapse by 30% in 2020

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 9th October 2020

Imperial Brands has revealed that the company’s net revenue for its next-generation portfolio is around 30% lower than 2019, while the overall company revenue looks set to remain flat this year ...

French Assembly rejects call to reduce tax on heated tobacco from 2021

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 9th October 2020

The Finance Committee of the French National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) has rejected a proposal to cut the taxes on heated tobacco to make tobacco-alternative products more attractive to smokers ...

Ukraine proposes to include HnB by definition in its national tax code

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 8th October 2020

The Ukrainian government has proposed an amendment to the country’s tax code that would add heat-not-burn (HnB) products to the definition of traditional tobacco in a bid to build “fair tax rules” ...

Denmark holds back on planned flavour ban after European Commission says no

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 5th October 2020

Denmark has put on hold a proposal to extend the ban on flavours in tobacco products to hookah and chewing tobacco after the European Commission issued a negative opinion on the plan ...

Slovakia justifies 50% HnB tax increase proposal amid broad opposition

Written by Lenka Hajnovicova | 2nd October 2020

Concern within the industry and other areas of government could lead the Slovak Ministry of Finance to water down a proposal to increase excise duties on heated tobacco by 50% ...

New products behind near nine-fold increase in Swedish nicotine tax revenue

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 29th September 2020

Taxes collected on “e-liquids and other nicotine products” in Sweden in 2019 amounted to SEK79.5m (€7.55m) – a figure believed to come mainly from products newly introduced into the market ...

UK to set new post-Brexit limit on HnB duty-free purchases from January

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 24th September 2020

The UK government is to impose a cap from next year on the number of heated tobacco consumables that air passengers can import into the country – including from countries within the European Union...

German Bundesrat passes outdoor and cinema ads ban without further ado

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 21st September 2020

After years of discussions within the governing coalition and campaigning by health bodies, Germany is to further restrict tobacco advertising after the Bundesrat approved the new rules without further debate ...

Heated tobacco yields 1% of tobacco tax revenue in Italy as smoking declines

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 16th September 2020

Demand for tobacco products in Italy has fallen steadily over the past four years, while heated tobacco products have hugely increased their share of both total tobacco sales and tax revenues ...

Netherlands set to brings HnB under its restrictions on tobacco

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 10th September 2020

The Dutch government has announced that it is planning to amend the Tobacco Act to include heat-not-burn (HnB) product under the definition of “smokeless tobacco products and related products” ...

PMI starts roll-out of KT&G heated tobacco products in Russia

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 19th August 2020

KT&G heated tobacco products are available outside South Korea for the first time after Philip Morris International (PMI) began marketing them in Russia ...

Latvia moves to limit tobacco alternatives and ban tobacco-free nicotine

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 18th August 2020

Lawmakers in the Latvian parliament (Saeima) want a ban on tobacco-alternative products and have submitted a draft law that would crack down on nicotine pouches and heated tobacco devices ...

PHE questions whether new UK cigarette brands violate EU menthol ban

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 13th August 2020

Public health authorities in England have launched an investigation into a number of cigarette products for possible violation of the menthol ban that came into force in May ...

Belarus implements “necessary” sale restrictions for tobacco-free snus

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 6th August 2020

The Belarus government has made a first firm step towards restricting the sale of tobacco-free nicotine-containing products, including tobacco-free snus (sometimes known as "white pouch"), to minors and in some retailing spaces ...

BAT’s modern oral portfolio increases 74% in a year

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 31st July 2020

BAT’s revenue from its smokeless portfolio increased by 5.7% to £9.4bn ($12.3bn) in the first six months of the year, helped by higher revenue in the modern oral segment ...

Russian Duma passes bill banning tobacco-free white pouches

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 24th July 2020

The Russian State Duma, the lower house of the Federal Assembly, has passed a bill prohibiting the sales of tobacco-free nicotine products for oral use ...

IQOS saves PMI’s numbers in Q2 2020 as lockdown hits overall earnings

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 21st July 2020

PMI’s earnings fell in the second quarter of 2020 due to retail and travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, but this was partially offset by higher heated tobacco unit volumes ...

Sweden proposes snus tax rise and new rules on distance sales

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 20th July 2020

Sweden is proposing amendments to increase the tax of snus and create a new tax on raw tobacco from 1st July 2021 to close a tax loophole on this kind of tobacco-alternative...

Post-Brexit Britain may be prepared to scrap the prohibition of snus

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 15th July 2020

The UK government will assess the possibility of allowing the sale of snus in the country once the Brexit transitional period ends and the European Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) no longer applies ...

'Level playing-field' for tobacco taxation on EU Council agenda

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 13th July 2020

The upcoming presidencies of the Council of the European Union have agreed to include the revision of the Directive 2011/64 on the structure and rates of excise duties applied to manufactured tobacco in their strategic...

Germany votes on outdoor ad ban that will cost estimated €2.27m a year

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 2nd July 2020

Germany’s anticipated decision to ban outdoor advertising of tobacco, including heat-not-burn (HnB) and vapour products, could cost the public finances an estimated €2.27m a year ...

Podcast: the future of the Tobacco Products Directive and EU taxation

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 1st July 2020

TobaccoIntelligence managing news editor David Palacios joins Jon Bruford to discuss the implications and impact of the looming Tobacco Products Directive version 3 on the industry. To obtain more data and analysis for the industry,...

Netherlands aims to bring heated tobacco under smoking regulations

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 25th June 2020

The Dutch government intends to regulate heated tobacco further by expanding the current tobacco restrictions to heat-not-burn (HnB) products ...

Italian lawmakers propose HnB tax increase to help out health service

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 22nd June 2020

Representatives from different political parties in Italy have put forward various proposals to increase tax on tobacco-alternative products as the government seeks urgent financial responses to the COVID-19 crisis ...

BAT predicts 7% shrinkage of HnB, pushes back next-gen revenue goal

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 10th June 2020

British American Tobacco (BAT) is pushing back to 2025 its goal of £5bn in revenues from its next-generation portfolio amid the COVID-19 pandemic and a decrease in heat-not-burn (HnB) business ...

Italian health ministry says IQOS ‘reduced-risk’ claim is unproven

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 9th June 2020

The reduced-risk potential of IQOS compared with combustible cigarettes cannot be ascertained, according to Italy’s Ministry of Health ...

Council of Europe stamps tobacco product tax harmonisation 'Urgent'

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 3rd June 2020

The Council of the European Union considers it “urgent and necessary” to harmonise the definitions and tax treatment of novel tobacco products such as heated tobacco and vaping products ...

Bundestag debate brings Germany’s outdoor tobacco ads ban closer

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 2nd June 2020

Germany has moved a step closer to a comprehensive ban on outdoor advertising of tobacco products, with a first debate in the Bundestag of a proposal put forward by the ruling coalition parties ...

World No Tobacco Day 2020: opposing views on tobacco alternatives

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 31st May 2020

World No Tobacco Day provides a good opportunity to consider the approach that public health authorities, policymakers, and advocates around the world have towards the role of tobacco-alternative products ...

Nations urge European Commission to include HnB in revised EU tax directive

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 28th May 2020

EU nations are to recommend to the European Commission that heat-not-burn products should be included in the forthcoming revised structure and rates of tax applied to manufactured tobacco products ...

Estonia establishes new packaging warnings and excise stamps for HnB

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 14th May 2020

The Estonian Parliament has approved a bill that relaxes one of the toughest regulatory regimes for tobacco-alternative products such as e-cigarettes, and imposes a new health warning for heated tobacco packaging ...

Retailers face puzzle of what to stock as EU menthol cigarette ban looms

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 12th May 2020

Retailers in Europe are playing a guessing game as they plan how to fill the gap on the shelves with new tobacco-alternative products in preparation for the fast-approaching ban on menthol cigarettes ...

Users in Finland strive to change law that stops them accessing snus

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 6th May 2020

Finnish snus users have expressed concern that restrictions related to the current COVID-19 pandemic are limiting their access to snus, mainly because of the closure of borders between Finland and Sweden ...

Bid to raise funds for Italian health system by reducing HnB tax discount

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 4th May 2020

A number of patients’ and doctors’ associations, as well as political parties, are proposing an increase in tax on heated tobacco products to help finance Italy’s hard-pressed public health system ...

Altria expects a hit from COVID-19, BAT set for heated tobacco decline

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 30th April 2020

Big Tobacco manufacturers are expecting the effects of COVID-19 to hit hard in the second half of the year, despite a strong performance in the first quarter ...

TobaccoIntelligence
COVID-19 news round-up

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 30th April 2020

All TobaccoIntelligence's COVID-19-related news briefings can now be found in one place here ...

Swedish Match enjoys 35% smoke-free sales boom but predicts downturn

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 29th April 2020

Swedish Match’s sales of smoke-free products boomed in the first quarter of 2020, with the segment recording a 35% year-on-year increase to SEK2.508bn (€234m) ...

France limits sale of nicotine patches as study hints at COVID-19 treatment

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 28th April 2020

The French government is temporarily restricting sales of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products following research suggesting nicotine patches could be used in treatment for COVID-19 ...

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