EU
The European Commission has hit back against questions about the effectiveness of a recent commission consultant’s proposal on the future track and trace system of tobacco products, saying that the proposal is fully in line with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) provisions, as it gives control over the system to the member states and not the tobacco industry
A commission spokesperson has said that the draft acts ensure full compliance with the FCTC provisions. “Full compliance with the requirements of the protocol – in particular the requirement for control of the system to be in the hands of the authorities (and not the tobacco industry) – has from the outset been a top priority for the commission, and we are fully confident that the draft proposals achieve this,” the EU official said. “The involvement of tobacco industry-affiliated solution providers/companies in any of the key functions of the system will be strictly excluded via the clear criteria on independence set out”.
“The tobacco traceability [is] an efficient and cost-effective tool in limiting the illicit trade,” said the EU official.
The same official also noted that critics of the proposed draft acts seem to regard the system purely in terms of its costs, while its benefits are for the entire society and mainly consist of better protection of human health (e.g. by limiting access to artificially cheap tobacco) and improved tax collection.
According to the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD), which took effect on May 20, legal cigarette sales in EU will be tracked and traced from May 2019 and member states must specifically ensure that all unit packets of tobacco products are marked with a unique identifier.
Under the commission proposal, unique identifiers (the code on each pack and sleeve) should be attributed to an independent third party appointed by the member states, a so-called “ID issuer”, within six months from the date of entry into force of the implementing act.
Several member states, including France, Germany, and Italy have been openly critical of the proposal, citing its complexity and administrative burden. A large concern of critics is that the specific criteria around the issuing of the unique identifier are not based on open standards, meaning there will be limited interoperability with third countries. Since around 86% of illegal cigarettes come from third countries (such as Belarus, Ukraine, and Turkey), industry insiders say these products will still enter the European market under the radar of the track and trace system.