The National Authority for Combating Drugs (NACD) of Cambodia issued a new directive, on 18 March 2021, instructing all relevant ministries and institutions to take immediate action to stop the use and commercialization of heated tobacco products (HTPs), as well as Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS, also known as e-cigarettes).
The report on Examples of current practices on the implementation of Article 12 (Free zones and international transit) of the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products was launched on 18 March 2021 during a technical webinar organized by the Secretariat of the WHO FCTC.
The report focuses on implementation of Article 12 of the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, with a view to showcasing international good practices in the operation and control of free zones.
Tobacco growers in the South of Lebanon have felt in the past years that growing tobacco is no longer a profitable business, compared to the investment in time and effort needed for its cultivation. Farmers have been searching for a suitable alternative crop, and some have found it in saffron, which is a endemic species to the Mediterranean region.
Every year, 2.7 million people in the European Union (EU) are diagnosed with cancer, and 1.3 million die from it. Over 40% of cancer cases are preventable. Without reversing current trends, it could become the leading cause of death in the EU.
Picture warnings are now at arm’s length in Trinidad and Tobago after the Senate has approved new Regulations requiring them on 9 February 2021.
This ends a long history of preparatory work that contained various milestones. The Tobacco Control Act, adopted in 2009 and the Tobacco Control Regulations, 2013 contained requirements for two sets of 12 picture warnings. However, as some of the images were to be taken from the EU library and the matter of permissions has not been sorted out, the 2013 Regulations were not implemented.
On 1 January 2021, new tobacco tax measures entered into force under Law 466-IX “On Amending the Tax Code of Ukraine on Improving Tax Administration, Eliminating Technical and Logical Inconsistencies in Tax Law". These relate to heated tobacco products (HTPs), where heat sticks will no longer be taxed per kilogram of tobacco but per 1000 sticks. This is expected to improve the structure of the excise tax on HTPs and will increase the tax per stick further.
On 17 December 2020 the regulation (EU) 2020/2151 implementing Directive (EU) 2019/904 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment was adopted in the European Union. This regulation establishes the harmonised marking specifications for, inter alia, tobacco products with filters and filters marketed for use in combination with tobacco products, and which contain plastics. It shall apply from 3 July 2021.
On 31 December 2020, the Government of Cabo Verde adopted Law No 109/IX/2020, which incorporates the State Budget for 2021. The specific tax on cigarettes was increased, introducing a fee of 40 $ escudos for each package of cigarettes, both for imported products and national production. This is a tax of 0.2 escudos per cigarette. The Law entered into force on 1 January 2021.
La Presidencia de la República del Paraguay aprobó el 29 de diciembre de 2020 el Decreto 4624, que modifica el Decreto 7606/2017 que regula la Ley 5538 de control del tabaco. El nuevo decreto regula el consumo de productos de tabaco, incluidos los productos calentados de tabaco y los cigarrillos electrónicos, con o sin nicotina; el consumo de estos productos sólo puede producirse en "lugares o zonas al aire libre donde no haya aglomeración o reunión de personas ni constituyan zonas de paso para no fumadores".