ETHRA’s monthly round up of news. The main event is the publication of the long awaited SCHEER Final Opinion. A close second is the urgent need for consumers to respond to the tax consultation, which is still open. Read on for more about those and other news too.
The next phase of the review of the Tobacco Taxation Directive has started. A public consultation is now open, ending on 22 June. The Roadmap consultation earlier this year only received 134 submissions. It is really important for consumers to give their views now.
Tobacco harm reduction news from Europe
The tax directive consultation is out - time for you to give your views on taxation for safer alternatives to smoking. The Swedish government is proposing a flavour ban for e-liquids. Germany is advancing with their tax plans, which will make vaping more expensive than smoking. Customs seizures of smuggled snus reached a record high in Finland. Read on for more on that and lots of other news.
On 3 February 2021, the long-awaited Eurobarometer report was published. Titled “Attitudes of Europeans towards tobacco and electronic cigarettes,” the survey examined European citizen's relationship with tobacco and related products. Fieldwork was conducted between August 2020 and September 2020 and involved interviews with 28,228 people from 27 EU member states and the UK. Data from the previous Eurobarometer report in 2017 is also made available for comparison. It is an extensive report, 334 pages long, with separate factsheets available for each member state plus the UK. A 54-page summary of the main points is also available. The importance of the Eurobarometer cannot be overstated as it will feed into the TPD review due latest 20 May. See our article “What do we know about the TPD application report” for more details.
Read more: Eurobarometer: Attitudes of Europeans towards tobacco and electronic cigarettes