Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/1541387
Tobacco Asia 23 That growth faces a patchwork of regulations. Boboi said IEVA continues to argue for differentiation and harm reduction as core principles. "Vaping is harm reduction… and can help over 100 million smokers" across Europe "switch to less harm- ful alternatives and eventually… quit nicotine." The alliance's "mantra," he said, is simple: "the solution is differentiation— very clear, through regulations [and] taxation." The practical challenge, he added, is that "messages are mixed," with "the scientific world or medical world" not yet providing "enough support" to change policy on a large scale. Retailers, meanwhile, are already in the middle of the transition. Schweinschwaller—who stressed he is "a retailer my- self"—described stores juggling shrinking cigarette sales, diver- gent national rules for new categories, and frequent rule changes that make planning difficult. What do shops need most? "Stabil- ity… so we can adapt… and do our jobs, to bring [choice] to the customer." Compliance, excise harmonization could help On compliance, Schweinschwaller reiterated the retailer's re- quest: "stability and dignity." Frequent changes in rules—"six months later, oh, no, you cannot sell it anymore, or it's too ex- pensive"—hinder sensible investment in fixtures and training. Sidebottom agreed that clear, lasting rules are essential for ef- fective compliance systems. Phillips addressed the issue of taxes directly. He doesn't see excise taxes as the main threat. "One of the biggest threats… is the illicit trade and the lack of … regulation," he explained. A unified EU approach "is probably a good thing," he argued— but levels matter. Minimum rates for pouches proposed in the draft Tobacco Excise Directive (TED) appear "pretty much higher than nearly every country that currently applies tax," which could backfire. Still, if excise leads finance ministries in enforcement, "en- forcement really tightens up quite fast," he said, noting Tama- rind's new global enforcement tracker shows actions "going upwards." Boboi welcomed harmonization but warned that the de- sign of a tax is as important as the rate. His red flag is ad va- lorem proposals that he explained are "for a mature market… not when you have 10,000 small" firms and a dynamic category. "Don't [impose] something you can't control." He point- ed to Italy's experience. After a punitive liquid tax produced far less revenue than forecast, successive reductions to €0.10/ ml "actually" increased collections—"the red line example," he said. The lesson, said Boboi, is that excessive taxes and tight restrictions push markets underground, while calibrated differ- entiation supports both revenue and harm-reduction aims. When rules diverge, the market adapts around them Schweinschwaller outlined the cross-border situation from the perspective of enforcement. With pouches or vapes outright banned in some EU countries and strictly limited in others, consumers often travel or order online. Austria benefits when neighboring bans backfire ("you can imagine how happy the re- tailers are on the Hungarian [border]"), but he said it's "not very good for the market." Sidebottom said that the main risk is that consumers "will find a way to access" the product. The market will likely move towards illicit products.