Ban on flavoured heated tobacco products comes into force

A ban on the sale of flavoured heated tobacco products came into force in Czechia on Monday, bringing it in line with an EU directive issued last year. EU member states were required to implement the prohibition into national law by July 23, 2023, and apply it with effect from October 23, 2023. The directive does not allow for a transition period to sell off remaining stocks after this date.

The ban is part of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan to “create a Tobacco-Free Generation” where less than 5% of the EU population uses tobacco products by 2040, compared to around 25% today. One of the main reasons for the ban is the growing popularity of these tobacco products, especially among young people. According to lung doctors, the nicotine-containing aerosol produced by heated tobacco products has a very similar composition of demonstrably carcinogenic substances to cigarette smoke.