Guide To Submit To The EU Public Consultation

The European Commission recently launched its public consultation on the Evaluation of the Legislative Framework for Tobacco Control. The objective is to collect as many opinions as possible on the current EU legislative framework for Tobacco Control due to the “rapid rise” in emerging products (such as heated tobacco and e-cigarettes) which have entered the EU market since 2014.  

This consultation will define the potential options considered for the upcoming revision of the EU Framework for Tobacco Control planned for 2024! Some of the options under consideration will place harsher restrictions on tobacco products, including on your beloved cigars and cigarillos. It is therefore paramount to make your voice heard so that cigar/cigarillo smoking will not be treated as cigarette smoking in the future! 

ECMA previously made a submission to the previous consultation here. The Public Consultation will run until 16 May 2023. It is open to EU citizens, retailers, companies, academics and scientific experts. Here is how to submit to the consultation.

HOW TO SUBMIT TO THE CONSULTATION

  • The following is meant for an ‘EU Citizen’ questionnaire. 
  • Those answering as trade association, non-EU citizen, … will see a different set of questions
  • For the ‘EU Citizen’ questionnaire, there are 20 questions and it should take you around 30 – 45 minutes to complete it
  • The questionnaire is available in all 24 official EU languages
  • If you do not know how to answer certain (technical) questions, do not hesitate to tick the box ‘Don’t know / Can’t answer’). 

1.   Go to: ‘Evaluation of the legislative framework for tobacco control‘

2.  Scroll down the page until you come to the Public consultation section, and click on ‘Go to consultation.’

3.  After clicking ‘ ‘Go to consultation’’ you will be taken to a page giving information about the consultation. Scroll down this page and click on ‘Respond to the questionnaire’.

4.  After clicking ‘Respond to the questionnaire’ you will have to either sign in or create an account.

5.  Once signed in you will be taken to the questionnaire.

6.  The first section to fill out is your personal information. Please note that if you are taking part as an EU citizen/consumer you must identify yourself as an EU citizen in the ‘I am giving my contribution as’ section. This is important because the questions are tailored to how you answer here.

7.  Before beginning the questionnaire you will have the option to submit your contribution anonymously or publicly. We recommend that submissions are public.

8.  You can then proceed to fill out the questionnaire. There are 20 questions for the ‘EU Citizens’ questionnaire. It should take you around 30 – 45 minutes to complete.

9. The final section of the questionnaire is one of the most important area! Here you can add comments in support of your answers. The text box provided is limited as it only allows for a maximum of 500 characters. However, you can also upload a file. In this section we recommend adding your testimonial, in your own words, on how cigars and cigarillos are different from other mass-consumed tobacco and nicotine products. Some things to consider including:

  1. Cigars/cigarillos are not the same as cigarettes 
  2. The fact that you smoke your cigars/cigarillos on an occasional basis 
  3. The fact that cigars/cigarillos are enjoyment products 
  4. The fact that cigars/cigarillos are not attractive to young people as opposed to new products placed on the market 

10.  Finally, click submit and your contribution will be published.

An email will be sent to you to verify your response.  Don’t forget to click on the link in the email, then your response will be displayed.

The consultation closes on 16 May 2023 but we recommend you respond as soon as possible. Do not hesitate to reach out to us (info@ecma.eu) if you need help.

Help by spreading the word – as many aficionados as possible need to act on this!