EU countries urged to haste with TPD

With the EU’s revised Tobacco Products Directive (TPD2) officially taking effect on May 20, major tobacco manufacturers are urging EU countries to finish transposing the TPD, including packaging and labeling rules, into national law, reports Politico.

In addition, the manufacturers are asking the European Commission to resolve certain practical issues, such as the “mistake” that the date by which EU members need to put the TPD into national law is the same as the date for when new manufacturing must start, with no “buffer time” between the implementation of the national law and production of compliant packs.

The Commission is also late in its own internally-set deadlines to release a list of “priority additives” that it sees as the most harmful and requiring additional reporting obligations, and specific rules about flavored tobacco products, which will be banned in five years.

Production lines have to be adapted for the new packaging rules, and even minor technical details make a large difference, BAT’s vice president for EU affairs Giovanni Carucci said.