Ban on Flavoured Heated Tobacco Products to Come into Force on 23 October

Flavours in heated tobacco products will be banned throughout the EU. President Petr Pavel signed an amendment to the law on public health protection on Monday.

The amendment, which implements a mandatory European Union directive, will take effect on 23 October this year.

There will be no grace period during which retailers can restock their inventories.

The sales of heated tobacco products have exceeded the established limit in the European Union, leading the European Commission to adopt the amendment to the tobacco directive.

The directive, which was adopted last June, introduces a ban on the marketing of tobacco products with distinctive flavors or containing flavorings in any of their components, including filters, papers, packaging, capsules, or any technical elements that alter the smell or taste of the tobacco products or the intensity of the smoke.

The State Agriculture and Food Inspectorate stated in March that the ban, which already applies to cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco, will now also extend to heated tobacco products, and the directive must be approved by July this year.

According to an Ipsos survey earlier this year, 16 percent of users said they would switch back to conventional cigarettes if flavors were banned.

Antonín Berdych, a spokesperson for the Chamber of Electronic Vaping (KEVAP), has previously warned that a ban on flavors could lead to people creating their own refills from freely available products.

The directive also removes member states’ right to grant heated tobacco products an exemption from the requirement to carry a health warning as smoking products.

“Thanks to the ban, our citizens, and in particular young people, will be better protected from the harmful effects of these products. This brings us one step closer to a ‘tobacco-free generation’,” said Stella Kyriakides, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety.