Details
- Status
- Closed
- Opening date
- Deadline
- Department
- Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety
Target audience
Public health community
Why we are consulting
Independent Advisory Panel on characterising flavours in tobacco products
The call for expression of interest is closed.
From 15 July to 20 October 2016, the European Commission held a call for experts in sensory analysis, chemical analysis and statistics to join a newly established independent advisory panel assisting Member States and the Commission in determining whether tobacco products have a characterising flavour.
Members of the panel were appointed by the Commission on the basis of their expertise in one or several areas, as described in Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2016/786 and in the official text for this call for applications.
Members are appointed for a renewable term of five years.
More information:
- Independent Advisory Panel on characterising flavours in tobacco products
- Determination of characterising flavours in tobacco products
The Tobacco Products Directive (2014/40/EU) prohibits the placing on the market of cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco with a characterising flavour. In order to facilitate the implementation of this provision, set out in Article 7 of the Directive, the Commission has adopted two implementing acts establishing the rules and mechanism for determining products with characterising flavours:
- Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/779 of 18 May 2016 laying down uniform rules as regards the procedures for determining whether a tobacco product has a characterising flavour
- Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2016/786 of 18 May 2016 laying down the procedure for the establishment and operation of an independent advisory panel assisting Member States and the Commission in determining whether tobacco products have a characterising flavour.
In developing the implementing legislation, the Commission has been supported by an external contractor, the Health Effects Tobacco Composition (HETOC) consortium in the context of a specific service contract. The task of HETOC was to assess existing approaches potentially suitable to determine characterising flavours in tobacco products and to develop and test a methodology for the identification of such flavours. The final report of the project can be found here.
Process
In line with the Tobacco Products Directive (2014/40/EU) and Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2016/786, an Independent Advisory Panel has been established assisting Member States and the Commission in determining whether or not a tobacco product has a characterising flavour. This Panel may request input from a technical group of sensory and chemical assessors established via a public procurement procedure.
More information:
- Independent Advisory Panel on characterising flavours in tobacco products
- Technical Group of sensory and chemical assessors
The Tobacco Products Directive (2014/40/EU) entered into force on 19 May 2014 and became applicable in EU countries on 20 May 2016. The Directive lays down rules governing the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco and related products. These include cigarettes, roll your own tobacco, pipe tobacco, cigars, cigarillos, smokeless tobacco, electronic cigarettes and herbal products for smoking.
In particular, the Directive:
- prohibits cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco with characterising flavours
- requires tobacco industry to report to EU countries on the ingredients used in tobacco products
- requires health warnings on tobacco and related products: combined health warnings (picture, text and information on how to stop) must cover 65% of the front and back of cigarette and roll-your-own tobacco packages
- sets minimum dimensions for warnings and prohibits small packages for certain tobacco products
- bans promotional and misleading elements on tobacco products, e-cigarettes and herbal products for smoking
- introduces EU-wide tracking and tracing to combat the illicit trade of tobacco products
- allows EU countries to prohibit internet sales of tobacco and related products
- sets out safety, quality and notification requirements for electronic cigarettes
- obliges manufacturers and importers to notify EU countries about novel tobacco products before placing them on the EU market
General
- The Tobacco Products Directive: Key developments and press materials
- Implementing the Tobacco Products Directive
- Notifications under Article 24(3) of the Tobacco Products Directive
Ingredients and emissions
- EU-CEG: Reporting for tobacco products, e-cigarettes and refill containers
- Priority list of additives
- Determination of characterising flavours in tobacco products
- List of approved laboratories [Article 4(2) of the TPD]