The European Commission has collected feedback from almost 25,000 organizations, experts and citizens about its legislative framework for tobacco control. Its initial call for evidence feedback period ended June 17.
The Commission will use the feedback to evaluate to what extent the legislative framework has fulfilled its goals and whether it is able to support a “tobacco-free generation” by 2040, as announced in Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan.
Participants included organization such as the Independent European Vaping Alliance (IEVA), which identified several opportunities for improvement.
“The European e-cigarette market is one of the most regulated and safest worldwide. IEVA supports the tobacco product directive which has allowed for safe products to be made available to EU consumers. These rules have prevented irresponsible business—as we unfortunately have witnessed in the U.S., where the vaping market was not regulated—and whose behaviors we most vehemently condemn,” the IEVA wrote in a statement.
“We would like to use this submission to present areas that merit further consideration through the process of evaluating the Tobacco Products Directive which we believe have not been addressed through the process thus far. We will focus on three core areas which we believe need to be further explored in any discussion about a legislative review: the impact on smokers, the impact on SMEs [small and medium-sized enterprises] and employment, and the impact on illicit trade.”
The IEVA’s full contribution can be viewed here.
The European Commission will hold a public consultation in the fourth quarter of 2022 and anticipates adoption in the second quarter of 2023.