Public Consultation on Revised Tobacco Law Ends in Poland

According to a recent report by Rynekzdrowia, the Polish Ministry of Health announced on July 3 that the public consultation for the draft amendment of the "Health Protection Act" has concluded after 30 days.

On May 15th, the Ministry of Health submitted a draft revision for public consultation. The draft proposes adding a definition of "heated tobacco products" to existing laws, which would categorize them as "innovative tobacco products that release nicotine and other chemicals through heating." These products can be further classified as non-combustible tobacco products or combustible tobacco products.

The revised draft also includes a ban on the sale of tobacco products with "characteristic aromas," which also applies to heated tobacco products. The new regulations require manufacturers and importers of new tobacco products to "immediately submit all new or updated information to the Director of the Chemicals Management Agency, including analysis, research, and other related data," with the Director of the Chemicals Management Agency able to request additional information. These changes aim to implement the EU directive of June 29, 2022.

The draft states that "these products are a new type of tobacco product that has not been tested to the same extent as traditional tobacco products (such as cigarettes)." The Department of Health believes that additional research and information will help the Director of the Chemicals Management Bureau to conduct a more comprehensive assessment of new tobacco products, thereby enhancing the level of public health protection.

In addition, it has been suggested that "the risk of marketing heated tobacco products with distinctive aroma should be reduced," and it has been pointed out that the law will come into effect three months after its publication, providing manufacturers with time to withdraw flavored tobacco products.

According to the impact assessment report of the revised draft, currently 1.5% of the adult population in Poland use heated tobacco products. The report suggests that banning flavored tobacco products may reduce their consumption.

After the ban on the sale of heated tobacco products came into effect, 11.6% of smokers decided to quit. However, 8.8% of users of such products switched to heated tobacco products or e-cigarettes (6.1% of men and 11.2% of women, respectively). Additionally, the most common demographic for this switch was young people (23.7% in the 18-24 age group and 13.9% in the 25-34 age group).

The Ministry of Health estimates that approximately 80% of the new tobacco products market is comprised of products with characteristic flavors. While the Ministry of Health believes that these changes will not significantly affect the sales of tobacco products in Poland, it could still lead to a decrease in government budget revenue, with an expected annual reduction of 68.3 million zloty (approximately 16.4 million USD), under the condition that the law allowing the sale of existing stock products takes effect next year.

However, the Polish Tobacco Growers Association strongly opposes this revision proposal. The association's president, Przemysław Noworyta, pointed out that the future of tobacco growers in Europe, especially in Poland, is closely linked to the development of the heated tobacco products market. As the sales volume of traditional cigarettes decreases in EU countries, the market share of heated tobacco products continues to increase. He emphasized that the association hopes the industry can develop in a way that allows Polish tobacco to be widely used in the production of heated tobacco products.

Novorita said that the Polish government’s proposal to ban flavored heated tobacco products, especially mint flavor, which make up 80% of the market, is being implemented before the final ruling from the EU and is considered flawed by many legal experts who have appealed to the European Court of Justice. He believes that this measure is damaging to the industry's development.