Concerns over TPD requirements

The packaging industry is concerned about what it sees as the continuing uncertainty over the requirements of the new EU Tobacco Products Directive (TPD).

In a preamble to a question to the Commission, the British member of the European Parliament, Julie Girling, said that in answer to a previous question, the Commission had said that a ‘timely adoption’ of implementing acts relating to the TPD would take place. But to date, only three implementing acts had been completed, with little transposition by member states, causing concern to the packaging industry, which had to commit to major pre-production investments in printing cylinders and other items of expensive tooling.

Girling asked whether it could be confirmed how many member states had transposed the implementing acts into national law.

And she further asked whether any member states had raised issues of timing as a result of the delay resulting from the adoption of secondary legislation.

In reply, the Commission said that the two Implementing Acts related to labelling and packaging were adopted in September and October of last year. These concerned the precise position of the general warning and the information message on roll-your-own tobacco marketed in pouches, and the technical specifications for the layout design and shape of the combined health warnings for tobacco products for smoking.

In addition to this, the required technical files had been sent to all member states in October 2015 to allow them to add their national cessation information and to give industry adequate time to adjust the design of their packaging in accordance with the applicable requirements.

Regarding the transposition of the new TPD, the Commission said, some member states had already informally indicated that their transposition process had been completed; many others were in an advanced stage of transposition.

‘The Commission expects formal notifications that the transposition process is completed following expiry of the transposition deadline of 20 May 2016,’ it added.