The Ministerial Council has decided to adopt the relevant European legislation on flavoured heated tobacco products (HTPs) which would in effect halt the sale in Cyprus, reports in-cyprus.

The government’s aim is “to harmonise national legislation with European directives, as today’s Ministerial Council approved an amendment to regulations regarding the withdrawal of certain exemptions for heated tobacco products.” This means that while the sale of tobacco products with characteristic aroma/flavour or containing aromatic substances in any of their ingredients and on heated tobacco products will be banned there will also be changes to the packaging of HTPs, reports in-cyprus.
“It was also decided to include verbal warnings/notifications about the harmful effects of smoking on the packaging of heated tobacco products. These warnings will be accompanied by deterrent images,” the decision states.
“In the legislation for smoking control, established in 2017, these products were exempted, and the sale of conventional cigarettes and rolling tobacco that contained aromatic substances in their ingredients was prohibited. With these regulatory amendments, the sale of heated tobacco products containing aromatic substances in any of their ingredients is prohibited beyond conventional cigarettes and rolling tobacco,” said Health Minister Popi Kanari. He went on to say that “the amendment does not apply to vaping products that contain liquid but only to the category involving heated tobacco products in which cigarettes with aromatic substances are placed.”