Spain's E-cigarettes Will Increase Taxes, And The New Health Minister Is Promoting The Reform Of The Anti-smoking Law

Spain's e-cigarettes will increase taxes, and the new health minister is promoting the reform of the "anti-smoking law"

According to the latest news from the Spanish public health media, Spain has begun to solicit public opinions on the revision of the "Anti-Smoking Law", with the purpose of making the current regulations more adaptable to the current new types of new tobacco products, and reducing ordinary people's exposure to and exposure to tobacco products. Consumption.

The Spanish Ministry of Health stated that it hopes to "urgently update" the relevant text, on the one hand to maintain the balance between the health warnings on the packaging of tobacco products and the attractiveness of the product, on the other hand, to address the regulation of zero-nicotine e-cigarettes and herbal products that can be used for smoking Insufficient problem.

It is worth noting that the Spanish Minister of Health is held by José Manuel Miñones, who just took office on March 27. José Manuel Miñones was promoted from mayor to minister of health in just two years, which attracted great attention from relevant Spanish media.

In Spanish media reports, it is said that José Manuel Miñones took over the post of Minister of Health amidst "turbulence" (for example, the front-line medical services in Spain are currently overwhelmed, and there have been successive strikes in various places), and that he faces the biggest challenge as Minister of Health. The challenge comes from three fronts: reshaping the primary care system, legalizing medical marijuana, and strengthening tobacco laws.

In terms of tobacco control, José Manuel Miñones mainly works to promote a comprehensive smoking prevention plan by increasing taxes and adding more smoke-free places. The so-called plan is called "Comprehensive Plan for the Prevention and Control of Smoking 2021-2025", which has been approved by relevant scientific associations for many years and will be completed in 2021, but has been postponed since then.

Highlights of the program include:

1. Add more tobacco-free areas, such as prohibiting smoking in private cars (including electronic cigarettes);

2. Mandatory tobacco products adopt generic packaging to reduce brand influence;

3. Restrict the advertising and marketing of e-cigarettes (whether they contain nicotine or not) as tobacco products, especially the advertising and promotion of online platforms;

4. Review the taxation of tobacco products, and increase the price of tobacco products through consumption taxes and other means;

Spain managed to reduce the number of smokers from 28.1% in 2003 to 19.8% in 2020 by banning smoking in restaurants and bars under the 2005 version of the Anti-Smoking Law (revised in 2010). The goal of the new plan is to reduce the number of smokers to 10% between 2030 and 2040.