Poland to Ban Disposable E-Cigs and Flavored Nicotine Pouches

Key points:

1.The Polish Ministry of Health has submitted a legislative proposal aiming to completely ban the sale of disposable e-cigarettes and flavored nicotine pouches.

2.The same draft also includes a ban on selling all e-cigarette products to individuals under the age of 18.

3.The proposal has been approved by the government legislative planning coordination group and received unanimous support from the parliamentary health committee.

4.To avoid delaying the legislative process, lawmakers did not propose any amendments, and it is expected that the bill will be officially implemented before the summer break.

5.Because once there are suggested revisions, the bill will need to be resubmitted to the European Commission for a three-month technical notification period, causing delays to the schedule.

According to a report from Portalsamorzadowy on May 7th, Wojciech Konieczny, the Deputy Minister of Health in Poland, announced during a meeting of the parliamentary health committee that the government has drafted legislation to ban the sale of disposable e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches with flavoring ingredients. The draft legislation has been approved by the government's programming working group.

According to the deputy minister, the proposal will also clearly prohibit the sale of all types of e-cigarettes to minors under the age of 18 and implement additional restrictions on products currently not covered by existing regulations in the market.

The health committee of the Polish parliament unanimously voted in favor of the draft proposal. All 31 members in attendance supported the proposal, with no one opposing or abstaining. The committee members unanimously decided not to submit any amendments.

According to the EU legislative coordination procedures, if the draft is modified, it will need to be resubmitted to the European Commission for a three-month technical notification (notyfikacja techniczna). According to the Ministry of Health, the regulations prohibiting the sale of all e-cigarettes to individuals under the age of 18 are specifically planned to be implemented before the summer vacation.