A case initiated with respect to restrictions on tobacco substitute products
A case has been initiated before the Constitutional Court regarding the compliance of Section 4 of the law of 11 January 2024 “Amendments to “ Law on the Handling of Tobacco Products, Tobacco Substitute Products, Herbal Products for Smoking, Electronic Smoking Devices and Their Liquids””, insofar Para 8 has been added to Section 3 (1) of “Law on the Handling of Tobacco Products, Tobacco Substitute Products, Herbal Products for Smoking, Electronic Smoking Devices and Their Liquids”, Para 3 of Part 5.1. has been added to Section 3 of this Law, and of Section 19 of this Law with the first sentence of Article 91 and the first three sentences of Article 105 of the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia.
The contested provisions envisage prohibition, as of 1 January 2025, to place on the market tobacco substitute products that contain any flavouring, except flavouring that creates the smell and taste of tobacco, and which has a maximum nicotine concentration in the tobacco substitute exceeding four milligrams per gram.
The applicant is a capital company, the commercial activities of which are importation and distribution in Latvia tobacco substitute products, i.e., tobacco-free nicotine pads. Until now, the applicant had distributed only such tobacco-free nicotine pads that contained various flavouring and had a maximum nicotine concentration exceeding four milligrams per gram.
It follows from the application that the applicant has to act already now to adjust its commercial activities to the requirements defined by the contested provisions. Moreover, it is maintained that the contested provisions create unequal treatment of the applicant vis-à-vis traders who distribute other nicotine-containing products and traders who distribute nicotine-containing medicinal products, included in the Medicinal Product Register of Latvia. Hence, it is alleged that the contested provisions violate the principle of legal equality, included in the first sentence of Article 91 of the Constitution, as well as infringe upon the applicant’s right to property, included in the first three sentences of Article 105 of the Constitution.
The Constitutional Court has requested the institution that has issued the contested act – the Saeima – to submit to the Constitutional Court a reply providing the facts of the case and legal reasoning by 28 October 2024. The deadline for preparing the case is 26 January 2025. The Court will decide on the procedure and date for hearing the case once the case is prepared.
The related Case No. 2024-25-01
Linked case: 2024-25-01