Spain bans flavorings in heated tobacco

A decree has just banned the presence of flavorings in heated tobacco products, as well as in smoking tobacco accessories (filters, leaves, packaging, or capsules) in Spain. One of the main attractions of these products for young non-smokers is disappearing.

With the goal of achieving a tobacco-free generation by 2030, Spain has adopted more restrictive measures regarding tobacco products. A ban on flavorings has just been enacted for heated tobacco products.[2] but also for smoked tobacco accessories. The ban on flavorings in heated tobacco products corresponds to the transposition of a European directive from 2022. The measure will take effect within three months, after validation by the Council of Ministers and publication in the official journal.

Heated tobacco products treated as other tobacco products

Among the accompanying measures of this decree, flavorings are also prohibited in smoked tobacco accessories (filters, leaves, packaging, capsules). By including these smoked tobacco accessories, the Spanish government is seeking in particular to counter the circumvention attempts of the legislation by the tobacco industry.

Heated tobacco products will also have to carry the health warnings for tobacco products, indicating that they are harmful products for health. A Spanish study published in 2022 highlighted the growth in sales of IQOS heated tobacco sticks from the manufacturer Philip Morris, while a decrease in sales of conventional cigarettes was recorded in Spain.[3]This study suggested that tobacco manufacturers' messages that heated tobacco would be less harmful than conventional cigarettes should be better controlled.

Comparing their heated tobacco devices to e-cigarettes, manufacturers claim that the aerosol produced by heated tobacco is not as toxic as traditional cigarette smoke. Pyrolysis of heated tobacco, however, produces incomplete combustion, making this aerosol similar to cigarette smoke. A study has shown that the aerosol emitted by this device can be also harmful than cigarettes on the respiratory and cardiovascular levels[4].

Some countries are going further and considering banning flavors for vaping products. Bans have already been implemented in Canada, the Netherlands, and Denmark, and are planned for Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In France, the National Committee Against Smoking (CNCT) is also calling for restricting flavors for vaping products to tobacco flavor only. The tobacco and vaping industry, for its part, is lobbying intensively to prevent this restriction.[5].

Keywords: Spain, flavors, heated tobacco, health warnings

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[1] Spain bans flavored e-cigarettes, Murcia Today, published November 14, 2023, accessed January 17, 2024

[2] Spain bans flavored heated tobacco products, Catalan News, published January 16, 2024, accessed January 17, 2024.

[3] Golpea A, Martín-Álvarezb J, Galianob A, Asensio E, Effect of IQOS introduction on Philip Morris International cigarette sales in Spain: a Logarithmic Mean Divisa Index decomposition approach, Gaceta Sanitaria, 2022;36(4):293–300.

[4] Goebel I, Mohr T, Axt PN, Watz H, Trinkmann F, Weckmann M, Drömann D, Franzen KF, Impact of Heated Tobacco Products, E-Cigarettes, and Combustible Cigarettes on Small Airways and Arterial Stiffness. Toxics 2023,11,758.

[5] Ban on flavors in vaping products: the vaping federation is "in shock" by this request, France Info, published February 13, 2023, consulted January 17, 2024.