Cigarettes, tobacco products and heated tobacco

• Directive 2014/40/EU — Tobacco Products
• Directive 2011/64/EU — excise on manufactured tobacco
• Regulation (EU) 2018/574 — traceability and security features
• National advertising and display laws

Who has to appoint one

Anyone placing tobacco products on the EU market. Products must be notified before sale, carry combined health warnings, be enrolled in the EU traceability system with unique identifiers, and move under excise control.

Thresholds and exemptions

None. Oral tobacco is prohibited outright in the Union except in Sweden, and characterising flavours are banned in cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco.

What must appear on the label

Combined health warnings covering 65% of the front and back, general warning and information message, the unique identifier and the security feature under the traceability Regulation, and excise marks where the member state requires them. Promotional elements and misleading descriptors are prohibited.

Marketplace fields

Distance sales of tobacco to consumers are prohibited in many member states, and marketplaces generally ban the category outright.

Documentation you must hold

Notification through the EU Common Entry Gate before placing on the market, ingredient reporting, emissions data for cigarettes, registration in the traceability system with an economic operator identifier, and excise authorisation with movement documentation.

Standards and testing

Tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide emissions measurement by an approved laboratory for cigarettes, and ingredient reporting for all products.

Language requirements

Health warnings and all label information in the official language of each member state of sale.

When it applies

Notification six months before placing on the market for new or modified products.

How long records are kept

Traceability records for the periods set by the Regulation, and excise records per national law.

What happens if you do not comply

Seizure, prohibition of sale, excise assessments and criminal proceedings. Tobacco is enforced through customs, excise and health authorities simultaneously, and penalties are among the most severe in consumer goods.

Who enforces it

National health ministries, customs and excise authorities, and the traceability system operators.

Where the boundary lies

Nicotine pouches without tobacco fall outside the Tobacco Products Directive and are governed by divergent national rules, ranging from food law to outright prohibition, which makes an EU-wide approach impossible.

Questions we are asked

Can we sell tobacco cross-border to EU consumers?

Distance sales are prohibited in many member states and heavily restricted elsewhere, in addition to the excise requirements of the destination state.

Are nicotine pouches covered by the TPD?

No, because they contain no tobacco. They fall under national rules that differ sharply, and some member states prohibit them entirely.