Heated Tobacco Products Pose New Challenges for European Regulators

The regulatory status of heated non-combustible (HnB) products in Europe remains unclear, despite the increasing number of products on the market.

The latest European tobacco-related regulations, including the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) that came into effect earlier this year, were drafted before the market position of heated non-combustible products was established, so regulators must decide which category is most appropriate for these products.

One of the main differences between heated non-combustible products and e-cigarettes is that the former contains actual tobacco leaves. However, unlike combustible cigarettes, they are not burned, resulting in heated non-combustible products being difficult to classify under either the e-cigarette or combustible cigarette categories for regulation.

In addition to being subject to the TPD, heated non-combustible products are also regulated by the laws of EU member states, primarily regarding advertising and taxation. Therefore, the framework across Europe is not uniform; for example, some countries like Italy, Portugal, Romania, and Slovenia have different tax rules for these products.

This means that the e-cigarette sector is concerned about the regulation of these products, especially regarding the possibility that future rules will treat e-cigarettes and heated non-combustible products in the same manner. This effectively breaks the argument that e-cigarettes are not tobacco products and introduces e-cigarettes into the tobacco taxation system.