As retailers struggle with stocks of ‘illegal’ cigarette packets without pictorial warnings, they may face further difficulties come November, when a new EU regulation on “fire-safer” cigarettes comes into force.
Cigarette pack without branding name and pictorial warning
According to a letter sent to retailers by British American Tobacco Malta Ltd, all cigarettes sold to consumers as from 17 November “must comply with Lower Ignition Propensity (LIP) government legislation”.
The most common “fire-safer” technology used by cigarette manufacturers is to wrap cigarettes with two or three thin bands of thickened paper that act as ‘speed bumps’ to slow down a burning cigarette. If a cigarette is left unattended, the burning tobacco will soon hit one of these speed bumps and self-extinguish. “Fire-safer” cigarettes meet an established cigarette fire safety performance standard.
On Thursday, the Chamber of SMEs (GRTU) and three importers and distributors of tobacco products filed judicial protests against the authorities, saying that there is a lot of ‘old’ stock of cigarette packets without pictorial warnings on the market and legal action is being taken against retailers who are found to be selling such packets of cigarettes.
The three importers, Interbrands Ltd, N.M. Arrigo Ltd and Charles Grech & Co. Ltd, are insisting that every packet of cigarettes they have imported or placed on the market from 27 April onwards has been compliant with the legal notice that was published in October 2009. Indeed, there was no legal requirement for cigarette packets to carry pictorial warnings prior to 27 April this year.
But there is still a lot of ‘old’ stock of cigarette packets without the pictorial warnings in retail outlets such as grocers, bars and stationers.
The letter from British American Tobacco (BAT) Malta Ltd, which is dated 1 September, came as a surprise to retailers, who are bracing themselves for another problem with cigarette stocks as new regulations come into force.
According to BAT Malta Ltd, “there will be identification marking on the outers and cases and a tear-off strip on the packs and outers to help you identify compliant BAT products during the transition period of Lower Ignition Propensity (LIP)”.
BAT Malta said it was to start supplying LIP-compliant cigarettes on 1 September.
But retailers said these new cigarette stocks are not yet on the market. If importers take another month or so to provide new stocks, retailers will have just one month to sell existing stocks.
The same thing seems to have happened with pictorial warnings. The three importers that filed a judicial protest said that every packet of cigarettes they imported or placed on the market from 27 April onwards had been compliant with the legal notice that was published in October 2009, but retailers who spoke to this newspaper said certain brands of cigarettes available had no pictorial warnings.
Retailers said that because the importers still had a lot of ‘old’ stock to sell, about 12 to 15 out of 30 brands of cigarettes carried no pictorial warnings on 22 June, when it became illegal to sell cigarette packets without pictorial warnings.
Because certain brands of cigarettes (including those imported by the companies who filed a judicial protest) were not compliant with the legal notice, retailers had no choice but to buy ‘old’ stock, which they are still trying to sell.
