Parliament passed in the second reading the law providing for the introduction of a system of tobacco products and similar products traceability.
In particular, the matter concerns amendments to the Law on Tobacco Control, the Contravention Code, the Law on State Supervision of Public Health, the Law on Domestic Trade, the Law on Regulation of Business Activity by Permit, the Criminal Code, which are aimed at combating illicit trafficking in tobacco products, in particular the harmonization of anti-tobacco legislation with the Framework Convention of the World Health Organization on Tobacco Control. The bill also regulates the rights and obligations, as well as bans on the import of tobacco and similar products (smoking herb products and nicotine-containing products, including e-cigarettes). The law on Tobacco Control will be supplemented by a special article on the State Register of Equipment for the Production of Tobacco Products, which will be maintained by the National Agency for Public Health. It introduces requirements for the notification of new tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, as well as requirements for similar products, indicating the amount of nicotine, the maximum volume of e-cigarette cartridges, etc. One of the important provisions of the draft law is to ensure the safety of the supply chain and prevent illicit trade in tobacco and similar products through introduction of a product traceability system: all packages of tobacco and similar products placed on the market must have a unique identification code/mark with information about the product, its purpose, date, time, place of manufacture, equipment where it was produced, country for which it is intended, etc. Also the bill suggests addition of new notions to the anti-tobacco legislation and specification of existing ones: "illicit trade in tobacco products"; "manufacturing equipment or any part thereof"; "nicotine"; "tar"; "pipe tobacco"; "supply chain"; "controlled delivery"; "unique secure non-removable identification labels"; "due diligence procedure"; "retail outlet"; "toxicity"; "traceability"; etc. According to the bill, the requirements for tobacco products will apply to all similar products; requirements for health warnings on the packaging of tobacco and similar products will be tightened; manufacturers will be required to provide more detailed information on the composition of products, including the substances used to process raw materials, etc. Criminal responsibility for production, circulation and use of false excise stamps will be stipulated, and the sanctions may reach 125,000-250,000 lei. In addition, there will be a ban on the consumption of tobacco and related products in common areas of apartment buildings and hostels, on the balconies of houses (apartments, hostels), as well as adjacent to public stops within a radius of 10 meters. According to the Ministry of Health, Moldova is the only state in the WHO European region where the trend of tobacco consumption has been increasing in recent years, especially due to the consumption of new products, including e-cigarettes and flavored cigarettes. The Ministry of Health believes that legislation should apply to all types of tobacco products so that it is possible to reduce their consumption to protect the health of the population, especially young people. // 16.02.2023 - InfoMarket.
