The Minister of Health announces a series of very important measures that will have a significant impact on millions of Romanians throughout the country, and this is because a new Emergency Ordinance, which is being prepared for adoption, will target tobacco products, as well as related ones them, such as electronic cigarettes.
The Minister of Health explains below why a regulation through an Emergency Ordinance is necessary, but also what kind of changes it will bring for the millions of Romanians who benefit from this type of product, but it must be adopted officially by the Romanian Government before entering into force.
"The need for regulations that include the legal obligations for placing new heated tobacco products on the market. At the same time, the European Commission notified the appearance on the Union market of these new products and issued, on June 29, 2022, Delegated Directive (EU) 2022/2100 amending Directive 2014/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council regarding the withdrawal of certain exemptions for heated tobacco products, which provides for explicit obligations and deadlines for EU member countries.
At art. 11, the title and paragraph (1) are amended, by including heated tobacco products in the regulation, as follows: they are exempted from the provisions of art. 9 para. (2) and art. 10 tobacco products for smoking, other than cigarettes, rolling tobacco, hookah tobacco and heated tobacco products. In this case and in addition to the general warning specified in art. 9 para. (1), each unit package and any outer packaging of these products bears one of the warnings in text form included in the list in Annex I.
This Government Emergency Ordinance transposes Delegated Directive (EU) 2022/2100 of the Commission of 29 June 2022 amending Directive 2014/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the withdrawal of certain exemptions relating to heated tobacco products, published in the Official Journal of the European Union, series L, no. 283 of November 3, 2022.
The general description of the estimated benefits and costs as a result of the entry into force of the normative act. The benefit of the adoption of this normative act is represented by the creation of the appropriate legal framework for placing all tobacco products on the market, respectively by including heated tobacco products. Also, the draft normative act aims to ensure the protection of the health of the population on the territory of Romania.
The adoption of this draft of the Government's Emergency Ordinance has a social character, by ensuring the correct labeling of heated tobacco products. The draft normative act contributes to protecting the general health of the population, by providing appropriate warning messages for each type of tobacco product on the market."
