Poland's Ministry Of Health Announces E-cigarette Ban Will Be Postponed Until 2025 Due To EU Regulations

Poland's Ministry of Health announces e-cigarette ban will be postponed until 2025 due to EU regulations

The Polish Ministry of Health plans to completely ban the sale of e-cigarettes, but the implementation of the ban will be postponed until 2025 due to the need to follow EU regulations and procedures. The postponement of this policy is to ensure compliance with EU directives, especially the definition of heated tobacco products and the ban on specific flavors.

According to Telepolis on June 17, according to the announcement of the Polish Ministry of Health, e-cigarettes (the original text should refer to "disposable e-cigarettes", the same below) will be banned from sale, but this policy will not be implemented until 2025. The relevant laws are currently being drafted, but the progress has been delayed due to necessary consultations.

At a press conference on Monday (17th), Polish Minister of Health Izabela Leszczyna said that a bill banning e-cigarettes is being drafted, but it must wait until early 2025 to take effect. The bill was originally planned to be implemented at the beginning of the summer vacation, but the work on the bill was extended due to the need to implement EU directives. These directives include defining heated tobacco products and prohibiting the use of specific flavors in new heated tobacco products.

"I really hope that this bill will come into force before the summer vacation. But it turns out that this bill must go through a notification procedure. We don't know how long this procedure will take, so the actual entry into force of the bill may be postponed until the beginning of next year."

Currently, there are three bills on the minister's desk, one of which is implementing the EU directive and has entered the consultation stage, and the other two are bills that stipulate sales rules. The minister mentioned that one of these two projects will enter the consultation stage by the end of this weekend.

Leskina warned in May that achieving a ban through legal means is a legislative process that requires EU approval and lasts for several months, and Poland cannot implement a ban immediately, as in the UK.

The results of a survey called "Smoking and Use of E-cigarettes by School Teenagers" conducted by the Szczecin branch of the Lung Cancer Prevention Association in December 2023 and January 2024 showed that 6 out of 10 primary and secondary school students smoke or use nicotine-containing products every day or occasionally.

"The surveys we collected show that e-cigarettes have permanently replaced traditional cigarettes in Polish schools. Increasingly, these are disposable e-cigarettes with sweet or fruity flavors that smell nice and taste good. Seven out of ten students who use e-cigarettes cite taste and smell as the two main reasons for their popularity."

Although Poland has long since introduced restrictions on the sale of tobacco products to minors, this has not brought the desired effect, and the upcoming e-cigarette ban may improve this situation.