Electronic Cigarettes and Tobacco: Labelling

Department of Health and Social Care written question – answered at on 26 July 2019.

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Photo of Chuka Umunna Chuka Umunna Liberal Democrat, Streatham

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Guidance on how to prepare for Brexit if there's no deal, published by the Department for Exiting the European Union, what parts of the plan for labelling tobacco products and e-cigarettes in the event of a no deal Brexit have been implemented.

Photo of Seema Kennedy Seema Kennedy The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care

The Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 Statutory instrument (SI) was laid on 1 November 2018. The primary purpose of the SI is to ensure tobacco control legislation continues to function effectively after exit day, in the event that the United Kingdom leaves the European Union without a deal. In particular, the amendments contained in this instrument allow for necessary changes to the picture warnings on tobacco products and the process by which tobacco products and e-cigarettes are notified to Public Health England and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, respectively.

The European Commission holds the copyright to the library of picture warnings used on tobacco packaging, therefore in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal we would no longer be able to access the library. An agreement was reached with the Australian Government for a licence to use their tobacco picture warnings in a ‘no deal’ scenario. The above SI repeals the requirement to use the EU set of picture warnings and introduces the new set of picture warnings as Schedule A1.

The Department has developed a new domestic notification system which would allow producers to notify tobacco products and e-cigarettes in accordance with the legislation, in the event of a ‘no deal’ scenario.

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