The new ban is very close. The Senate supported it unanimously. Now the president's move

• The Senate unanimously supported on Wednesday, June 11, without amendments, a bill banning the sale of all types of e-cigarettes to minors.
• The sale of nicotine-free e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches at a distance, including via the Internet, is also to be prohibited.
• It will also not be possible to advertise them.
• The act is to enter into force before the summer holidays.
• Now it will go to the President of the Republic of Poland for signature.

After the Senate Health Committee took up the amendment to the act on health protection against the effects of using tobacco and tobacco products on Wednesday morning, the act was unanimously adopted by the Senate in a vote in the afternoon. 90 senators voted in favor of its adoption, no one was against and no one abstained from voting.

The so-called Tobacco Act introduces a ban on the sale of all types of electronic cigarettes and refill containers to persons under 18 years of age, regardless of whether the product contains nicotine.

The sale of nicotine pouches to persons under 18 years of age will also be banned.

These types of products will not be available for purchase on the premises of entities performing medical activities, schools and educational facilities, sports and recreation facilities, in vending machines and self-service systems.

In addition, the amendment introduces a ban on the sale of nicotine-free e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches at a distance, including via the Internet, and prevents their advertising.

It also assumes that the use of electronic cigarettes with nicotine-free liquid (emitting vapour that does not contain nicotine) will be banned in public places where the use of electronic cigarettes with liquid containing nicotine is currently banned.

These include schools and kindergartens, public transport stops, restaurants and playgrounds for children.

- The current amendment to the act is necessary due to the urgent need to limit the use of electronic cigarettes by young people - explained Deputy Minister of Health Wojciech Konieczny during a Senate committee hearing.

As he said, the proposed regulations will also cover nicotine-free liquids and nicotine-free e-cigarettes.

- It should be noted that the threat posed by these products is not significantly lower than the threat posed by products containing nicotine - he noted.

Also on Wednesday, another draft of the anti-smoking bill was submitted for public consultation. It assumes, among other things, a total ban on the sale of disposable e-cigarettes and further regulations concerning, among others, nicotine pouches - a ban on flavoring.

This project - as Wojciech Konieczny explained - will require a longer notification. In the case of Belgium, such notification lasted 2 years, but it can be expected that it will now last shorter, "but it is definitely a period of a year".

The Deputy Minister of Health also added that the European Commission is planning to revise the tobacco directive and develop a new document in this area. As he said, it can be expected that it will include EU regulations regarding nicotine pouches, which are a "circumvention" of the ban on the sale of tobacco pouches.

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