The first legally approved heated tobacco products were on Friday removed from shelves shortly after they were released on the same day, as inspectors found that product packages did not mark their nicotine content.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Health Promotion Administration (HPA) in late July announced that it conditionally approved 14 heated tobacco products from two tobacco companies.
Eight types of products from one company went on sale on Friday, but inspectors on the same day found that those on shelf failed to meet the requirements, and they ordered products to be removed from shelves.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Department of Health
Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) oversaw unannounced inspections in convenient stores in Taipei.
Shih yesterday said that many inspections took place across the country on Friday.
Shih said that the first convenience store he checked was out of such products, so the inspectors could only checked whether the products’ display and advertisement followed to the standards.
However, inspectors in other administrative regions reported that some products did not specify nicotine content on their package, so the ministry ordered the removal of all products from shelves until their packages are reviewed again and meet the standards, he said.
The company manufacturing mislabeled products had sent package samples for review when applying for approval, and those specified the amount of nicotine, he said, adding that the problem might have occurred during the mass production or shipment processes, but the company would be held accountable.
“We have first ordered it to remove all its products from shelves, because they do not comply with the standards, and then, we would clarify its responsibilities,” he said.
At the same time, the ministry would also examine the nicotine content of the products to see if they meet the regulations, Shih said.
Heated tobacco products, unlike cigarettes, do not produce tar when burned, so the main health risk is nicotine-related, and the legal standard is no more than 1mg of nicotine per stick, he said.
If the lab examination shows that the nicotine content complied with the standard, then the company would only be at fault for mislabeling, he said.
The results are expected to be available next week, Shih added.
The HPA said that the mandatory labeling of tar and nicotine on containers of tobacco products is based on Regulations for the Testing Nicotine and Tar Content in Tobacco Products and the Labeling of Tobacco Product Containers (菸品尼古丁焦油含量檢測及容器標示辦法).
If heated tobacco products fail to specify their nicotine content on the package, the manufacturer or importer faces a fine up to NT$5 million (US$162,941), it said.
The Taipei Department of Health said that as of 7pm on Friday, the joint inspection by the ministry, the HPA and the department had inspected 115 retailers and found five heated tobacco products that failed to mark their nicotine content, so the importer would be fined NT$1 million to NT$5 million, and the retailers NT$10,000 to NT$50,000 each.
The HPA and the Taipei department also said that heated tobacco products cannot be sold to people younger than 20 years and pregnant women, adding that the government holds a “zero tolerance” stance on such products’ sale to adolescents.
The city government said it banned retailers within 50m from high schools and elementary schools from selling such products.
Additional reporting by Sun Wei-jung
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