New law bans flavored heated tobacco products in Czechia

President Petr Pavel yesterday signed an amendment on the protection of public health that will end the sale of heated tobacco products with flavors. The law, which is based on a mandatory EU directive, will take effect on Oct. 23. Retailers will not have a transition period to sell off remaining stocks.

The EU directive from last June banned placing on the market tobacco products with a characteristic flavor or containing aromas in any of their components, such as filters, papers, packaging, capsules, or any technical elements that allow changing the smell or taste of the tobacco products in question or changing the intensity of the smoke.

The ban, which already exists for cigarettes and hand-rolled tobacco with flavoring, will now also apply to heated tobacco products, the Czech Agricultural and Food Inspection Agency (SZPI) announced in March, adding that the directive must be approved by July this year.

EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides last year said that removing flavored heated tobacco from the market is another step towards the EU’s vision to reduce cancer by creating a “tobacco-free generation” with less than 5 percent of the population using tobacco by 2040. “With nine out of 10 lung cancers caused by tobacco, we want to make smoking as unattractive as possible to protect the health of our citizens and save lives,” she said.

An Ipsos survey this year reported that 16 percent of users would return to traditional cigarettes if flavors were banned. Antonín Berdych, the spokesman of the Chamber of Electronic Vaping (KEVAP), Antonín Berdych, in the past, warned that a ban on flavors may lead to people creating their own vaping refills. “Unprofessional handling or uncontrolled products also bring health risks,” he said, according to the news site Novinky.cz.

The amendment to the Act on the Protection of Public Health also adjusts the age range for insurance coverage for voluntary vaccination of girls and boys against the human papillomavirus (HPV) to 11 to 15 years of age. In the case of the meningococcal vaccine, children between the ages of 14 and 16 will be able to be vaccinated for free. The amendment also cancels the requirement for people working in the food industry to have a special license.