Heated tobacco products, HTP, are a new way of using tobacco. Instead of burning the tobacco, as in traditional cigarettes, the tobacco is heated and forms a nicotine-containing vapor. In order to meet the requirements of EU directives, the government has submitted a bill on amendments to the Tobacco Act that would prohibit the characteristic taste of HTP and health warnings on the packages.
The government's bill will next be handled by the Riksdag's Social Affairs Committee. The Green Party has submitted a parliamentary motion calling for more measures against tobacco and nicotine products than the government proposes. The Sweden Democrats, on the other hand, want to slow down the legislation.
The Green Party writes in its motion that it is a difficult bill to read. It is not entirely easy to understand the definitions and how the products actually look and are used. Several consultation bodies have felt the same way.
The government's bill does not contain any definition of what a heated tobacco product is. The county administrative boards in Jönköping and Norrbotten and the municipality of Stockholm, among others, have reacted to this. The government responds that this is in line with how it was done previously when EU directives were transposed into Swedish legislation. There is no need to burden Swedish law with definitions of tobacco and various tobacco products, as the government puts it.
The EU Commission also requires health warnings for HTP. The bill states that packaging for heated tobacco products for smoking should be provided with health warnings. The county administrative boards in Jönköping and Norrbotten have reacted to this. They want it to be clarified what determines whether it is a tobacco product for smoking or not. The government responds that the assessment must be made based on the definitions in the EU directive. It is therefore better to leave it to the Public Health Agency and the municipalities, in their capacity as supervisory authorities, and the courts to develop practice regarding which characteristics determine whether a heated tobacco product should be considered for smoking or not.
The Swedish Cancer Foundation writes in its response to the consultation that all heated tobacco products should be provided with information text and combined health warnings. It should not matter whether they are products for smoking or not. The government responds that this would be going beyond the EU directive and that there are no conditions for this.
This is one of the points where the Green Party does not agree with the government. The Green Party believes that the Cancer Foundation's proposal should be followed. If there are legal obstacles, the government should investigate how to overcome those obstacles.
The Green Party also wants the government to do more than regulate HTP. Measures are needed to stop the increasing use of white snus among young people, MP believes. The party wants the government to quickly investigate what is needed to prevent minors from starting to use tobacco and nicotine products and to present a comprehensive response.
The Green Party therefore wants to see more measures, while the Sweden Democrats want to see fewer. The Sweden Democrats write in their motion, among other things: We believe that the EU directive includes new requirements for heated tobacco products is a step in the wrong direction. We fear that it could lead to negative effects on public health as it directly affects many people's alternatives to smoking.
The Sweden Democrats believe that it is of great importance for public health to preserve the Swedish snus industry and to offer less harmful alternatives to smoking, such as snus, heated products and other nicotine products. SD writes in its motion that the directive will have consequences for Swedish companies, producers and importers that manufacture and sell HTP. Therefore, a follow-up is needed to monitor the consequences and increased economic costs for the companies concerned.
Source:
https://www.riksdagen.se/sv/dokument-och-lagar/dokument/betankande/genomforande-av-nya-krav-pa-upphettade-tobaksvaror_hb01sou9/
