Publication date: December 12, 2025
Previous amendments to the Tobacco Act
The Polish Act on the Protection of Health against the Consequences of Using Tobacco and Tobacco Products (Journal of Laws 1996, No. 10, item 55, as amended) has undergone several significant changes in recent years.
On March 31, 2025, a law introducing a ban on the sale of heated tobacco products with a characteristic aroma was signed. It is worth mentioning that Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2022/2100 of 29 June 2022 amending Directive 2014/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the abolition of certain exemptions for heated tobacco products (OJ L 283, 2022, p. 4), which required EU Member States to introduce such a ban, waited almost 3 years for implementation.
At the time of the act’s signing, work was underway on two further draft bills. The first of these had already been submitted and adopted as the Act of 21 May 2025 amending the Act on the Protection of Health against the Effects of Using Tobacco and Tobacco Products (Journal of Laws of 2025, item 799).
It introduces new definitions, among others:
A ban on the sale of nicotine and nicotine-free electronic cigarettes to children and adolescents under 18 years of age, a ban on the sale of nicotine pouches in vending machines and remotely, and an extension of the advertising and promotion ban to include nicotine-free e-cigarette liquids and the maximum nicotine content in nicotine pouches were also introduced.
In addition to fulfilling the law’s goal of protecting public health and combating addiction, it was intended to close loopholes in the current legal framework, which allowed nicotine-free products (e.g., e-cigarette liquids) to be purchased even by minors. Furthermore, the ban on remote sales of nicotine pouches is intended to limit their availability and, consequently, reduce consumption.
Work is currently underway on the second of the announced bills.
Another amendment to the anti-smoking law
Another bill is currently being planned to introduce a ban on the sale of disposable electronic cigarettes, a ban on the sale of flavored nicotine pouches, greater control over e-cigarettes and new rules for the sale of other nicotine products (e.g. tablets).
The draft bill has been posted on the Government Legislation Center website and is currently in public consultation. Numerous entities have already expressed their views on the bill, including the American Chamber of Commerce in Poland, the Polish Chamber of Commerce, and several private individuals.
The draft amendment to the Anti-Smoking Act, designated as UD213 in the RPL list, provides for a ban on the sale of disposable electronic cigarettes and any products containing nicotine that are not tobacco products or related products – i.e. electronic cigarettes, refill containers, herbal products for smoking and nicotine pouches, with exemptions resulting from pharmaceutical law, the EU regulation on medical devices and EU food law (the latter exclusion is justified by the fact that some plants of the nightshade family (e.g. potato, tomato, pepper, eggplant) contain nicotine or its derivatives. Therefore, it was necessary to exclude from the aforementioned ban the placing on the market of food and foodstuffs in which the nicotine content results from its natural occurrence in the above-mentioned plants.
It also grants the State Sanitary Inspection and the Trade Inspection the authority to verify compliance with technical requirements by electronic cigarettes or refill containers on the market.
The President of the Bureau for Chemical Substances will have the right to request laboratory testing of the composition or emissions of electronic cigarettes or refill containers at the expense of the entity from which the sample was collected. Samples will be collected by the appropriate State Sanitary Inspectorate or, at the request of the President of the Bureau for Chemical Substances, by the manufacturer, importer, or distributor of electronic cigarettes.
The bill also includes a ban on the sale of nicotine pouches with a scent and taste other than tobacco.
As well as the requirement to inform about all ingredients used on the packaging of nicotine pouches and the prohibition of including elements relating to taste, smell or flavourings on them.
Justification
According to the bill’s authors, the bill aims to limit the availability of electronic cigarettes and nicotine pouches. This is intended to reduce their consumption and, consequently, reduce the health and safety risks they pose. This stems from research by the World Health Organization (WHO), which has shown that attractive scents and flavors increase the risk of addiction and attract young people to these products. For many, e-cigarettes are their first exposure to smoking. Even those who smoke e-cigarettes without nicotine are at risk, as they are more likely to later switch to nicotine-based products.
According to data from the Chemicals Bureau, in the period from 2018 to 2023 there was a significant increase in the number of notifications of electronic cigarettes and refill containers to the EU- CEG system from 2,575 in 2018 to as many as 12,772 in 2023. This is an increase of almost 400%.
The law is in line with European trends. Regulations banning disposable cigarettes are being introduced in countries such as France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
The justification also highlighted the existence of a large number of nicotine-containing products on the market. In the bill’s opinion, only those specified in the act (such as cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, and novel products) should be allowed to be placed on the market. Other nicotine-containing products (such as gum, tablets, nasal and oral sprays, and nicotine-containing beverages) should be available only as a means of reducing the physiological and psychological effects of smoking cessation. Their removal from certain markets is also justified by their particularly addictive nature for certain groups, such as children, adolescents, non-smokers, and pregnant and breastfeeding women.
The possibility introduced into the Act for the Trade Inspection and the State Sanitary Inspection to verify the compliance of electronic cigarettes and refill containers with technical requirements is intended to enable these bodies to effectively supervise the composition of the liquid used in these products.
The improvement of supervision is also aimed at granting the President of the Bureau for Chemical Substances the right to commission tests on the composition of liquids for electronic cigarettes and tests on emissions from electronic cigarettes at the expense of the entity providing the samples.