Legislation in Europe and the rest of the world
How tobacco and nicotine are regulated varies between countries. Here is some information about why legislation can vary around the world, and some examples of variations.
Within the EU, countries must follow EU legislation in the tobacco sector, based on the Tobacco Directive. In addition to EU regulations, each country has the freedom to determine certain legislation, for example on tax levels and age limits, and therefore there are some differences between member states.
There are large variations in legislation around the world. This is despite the fact that around 180 countries have ratified the Convention on Tobacco Control , which covers around 90 percent of the world's population. Below are some examples that show the large variation in legislation in different parts of the world. The examples are from 2023:
Belgium
In Belgium, it has been prohibited to sell white snus since October 2023.
Read more here
Netherlands
In the Netherlands, flavors in e-cigarettes have been banned since 2023. Retailers are only allowed to sell e-cigarettes with traditional tobacco flavors.
Read more here
Norway
In Norway, school hours have been tobacco-free since 2014. This means that students are not allowed to use any products containing tobacco while they are at school, regardless of where they are. Norway also has a high tax rate on tobacco and nicotine products, xxx percent.
USA
In the US, you cannot call a product tobacco-free if the nicotine is extracted from the tobacco plant. You also cannot call products with synthetic nicotine tobacco-free.
Australia
Australia – ban on smoking in cars with children as passengers
Singapore
Ban on bringing e-cigarettes and e-cigarette refills into the country. Minimum age for purchase, possession, sale and delivery of all tobacco products is 21 years.
(Page updated every two years)
