FOCUS ON
EUROPEAN
REGULATION
LONDON . JUNE 5-6 BY PATRICK GRIFFIN
TIM PHILLIPS FROM ECIGINTELLIGENCE DISCUSSES THE TPD , TAXATION , FLAVOUR BANS AND THE EMERGENCE OF HEATED TOBACCO PRODUCTS .
Taxation will become a huge issue for the industry over the coming years as the European Commission considers imposing new excise duties on the vape and heated tobacco markets . Tim Phillips , the Managing Director of ECigIntelligence , described taxation as one of the issues that would most affect the industry in the next few years . He said : “ Clearly tax is a huge issue . Italy has a very high tax which is doubling the price of a 10-millilitre bottle and we are seeing the same pattern emerge in other countries . Tax is one of the issues that is going to most affect the industry in the next few years .” The European Commission has launched a public consultation about excise duties for manufactured tobacco and the possible taxation of vaping and heated tobacco products . Regarding the future for EU regulation , he said : “ The European Commission review of the TPD is due in May 2021 so there will be some tweaking of the TPD rules . It is something for the industry to embrace because that means the sector is being thought about , hopefully in a constructive way .” Mr Phillips said two key aims of the TPD were , “ to improve the functioning of the internal market ” and to “ maintain a high level of health protection .”
He told the conference : “ Those two areas are very questionable . We have not seen a harmonisation of rules concerning e-cigarettes across Europe and it is questionable whether this has had a positive impact on health policy in the region .” On TPD tank size limits he said this restriction was “ the bane of the industry ” with a clear demand from consumers for larger tank sizes , adding : “ There is definitely no harmonised attitude towards tank sizes across Europe .” He said the short-fill “ shake and vape ” sector accounted for more than 50 percent of some European markets . “ Where more than half of the market is no longer part of the regulated environment , this is clearly a problem for regulators as it is effectively a loophole in the legislation .” Mr Phillips said there was “ very little harmonisation ” on labelling requirements across the EU , with the US vape industry in particular failing to understand how such a fragmented approach to labelling could exist in the EU market . On flavouring he told the conference : “ We are also starting to see flavour bans creep in . Flavours are a major issue . The issue of flavours in the e-cig space is absolutely fundamental to the way consumers use the product .” Moving to heated tobacco he said : “ The launch of heated tobacco products in Europe is going to have a big impact on the way that tax is viewed by regulators . The Japanese heated tobacco market this year is going to be bigger than global vape . It is coming and it will be a feature in European markets and around the world and I think it may well be quite positive . I don ’ t think it is going to cannibalise the existing e-cig market and , if anything , I think it will boost it .”
VM18 | 117