SMOKE FREE PARTNERSHIP UPDATES

The  Smoke Free Partnership (SFP) is participating in the Second Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-2) to advocate for a ban on cigarette filters.

Summary: In April 2023, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released its options paper that summarizes a set of objectives, substantive provisions, including core obligations, control measures, voluntary approaches, implementation measures, and means of implementation for the upcoming plastics treaty talks.

The Smoke Free Partnership (SFP)  will be participating in the Second Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-2) to advocate for a ban on cigarette filters.

SFP is in Paris from 29 May to 2 June, to join forces with the Stop Tobacco Pollution Alliance (STPA) and push for key messages to ensure that the currently negotiated UN plastic treaty talks align with EU and global legal tobacco control commitments.

The Smoke Free Partnership (SFP) will be participating in the Second Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-2) to advocate for a ban on cigarette filters.

Summary: UNEA Resolution 5/14 calls for the development of a global plastics treaty. Formal negotiations start at the end of November 2022. The treaty is expected to address the issue of Single Use Plastics (SUPs), under which cigarette filters have been classified.

The Smoke Free Partnership (SFP)  is participating in the Second Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-2) to advocate for a ban on cigarette filters.

Summary: Measures to address plastics, especially single-use plastics, should align with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Cigarette filters are plastic fibres that have been linked to a more aggressive form of cancer. The filter is a design feature that, if removed, could reduce consumer appeal.

The Smoke Free Partnership (SFP) is participating in the Second Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-2) to advocate for a ban on cigarette filters.

Summary: The tobacco industry is facing a potential ban on plastic filters. Filters are toxic waste, as they release harmful chemicals, including heavy metals and radioactive substances, as they decompose. There is no viable treatment or recycling solution for these products. Such a ban poses a threat to the industry's profitability, and as a result, manufacturers are seeking to circumvent such a ban by creating “biodegradable filters.”

In resonance with WHO’s World No Tobacco Day 2023 theme of “We need food, not tobacco”, SFP calls for transitioning away from tobacco farming.

Key facts:

1. EU continues to subsidise tobacco farming through its Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to a tune of between €100 and €270 million over 5 years

2. Migrants including minors in Italy were forced to work 12-hour days without contracts or protective equipment, being paid as little as €3 an hour.

3. Tobacco cultivation contaminates food crops with toxic nicotine, posing a public health threat.

The Smoke Free Partnership (SFP), a coalition of more than 50 NGOs working in tobacco control, expresses concern over the event “Recipe for a Smoke-Free Europe: Learnings from the Swedish Experience” that will be hosted in the European Parliament on 31 May, which is the World No Tobacco Day. The focus of the event is the use of alternative nicotine products in Sweden.

SFP urges the European Parliament to not host any events that could be linked to an industry that is responsible for 700,000 deaths within the EU annually.

On April 18, 2023, the EU Ombudsman released a preliminary opinion following its own-initiative inquiry on the transparency of meetings between the European Commission with tobacco interest representatives which originated in 2020 and 2021.

SFP Policy Actions & Communications

Tobacco Taxation and Products Regulation:

- The Tobacco Tax Directive which was planned for December 7, 2022 according to the agenda of Commissioners, has been postponed. SFP held meetings with Commission representatives: Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union and with the Cabinet of Commissioner Gentiloni. 

- A public consultation on the evaluation of the General Framework for Tobacco Control (TPD and TAD) was launched by DG SANTE. The deadline for submission is May 16, 2023. SFP will share a draft with you by the end of April.

- On March 1, 2023 the Commission adopted an IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU), amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/574 on technical standards for the establishment and operation of a traceability system for tobacco products.

The Communications Intern supports the implementation of the SFP multi-annual strategy and annual work plans. S/he will work closely with the SFP Director within a small team and will have cross-cutting responsibilities to support the communication of SFP’s work towards its stakeholders. S/he will assist SFP’s communications strategy and will represent SFP and its positions externally. In addition, the Communications intern will ensure the two-way communication with SFP Coalition members and the timely reaction to network and partner requests.

Brussels, 21 December: the latest 2022 edition, of the SFP infographic on the declared tobacco industry presence in the EU policy-making environment is out.

Brussels, 15 December 2022: The Smoke Free Partnership (SFP) welcomes the Commission’s initiative to revise the 2009 Recommendation on smoke-free environments. SFP agrees that such a revision is much needed, given the latest market developments, the latest findings of studies regarding the impact of tobacco smoke and emerging products’ aerosols on health and the environment, the specific vulnerability of children to second-hand and third-hand tobacco smoke, and the wide divergence of smoke-free laws across Member States.

The presentation of the Council Directive 2011/64/EU on excise rules for tobacco (the Tobacco Tax Directive - TTD) was planned for 7 December 2022 in line with the European Commission published work programme for 2022. The release has been postponed. This cannot be a surprise given the tobacco industry’s omnipresence, lobbying and interference at the EU level.

Brussels, 2 December 2022 - The 2021 Tobacco Control Scale was presented today at the ICO-WHO Symposium on Tobacco Control in Barcelona. The new ranking describes the tobacco control actions (price increase, smoking bans in public places, etc) implemented in 37 European countries in 2021 (EU 27 countries + Bosnia & Herzegovina, Iceland, Israel, Norway, Russia, Serbia, Switzerland, Ukraine, UK and Turkey). The scale shows Ireland, UK and France leading the ranking while Serbia, Switzerland and Bosnia & Herzegovina show poor results.

Brussels, 1 December 2022: Smoke Free Partnership (SFP) welcome the solicitation for feedback to review the 2017 rules that set out EU standards on tracking and tracing of tobacco products. The amendments seek to tailor the tracing system to reflect the data sets that are generated during its real world functioning.

The sale of cigarettes is incredibly profitable for tobacco giants. In 2018, the six biggest tobacco producers made a tidy sum of 55 billion dollars in profit. That's more than Coca-Cola, Pepsico, Nestlé, Mondelez, Fedex, General Mills (including Häagen-Dazs), Starbucks, Heineken and Carlsberg put together.

The Policy Officer supports the implementation of the SFP strategy and annual work plans. S/he will work closely with the SFP Director within a small team and will have policy campaign responsibilities. S/he will have a responsibility to execute SFP’s policy strategy and allocated deliverables and will represent SFP and its positions externally. 

Brussels, 7 November - SFP welcomes the Delegated Directive (EU) 2022/2100 that was published in the Official Journal on November 3, 2022. This Directive imposes a ban on heated tobacco flavours, and mandatory labelling requirements for heated tobacco products, as for cigarettes, in accordance with Art. 11 of the EU Tobacco Products Directive (TPD).