G/TBT/N/LTU/40  
6 July 2020  
(20-4624) Page: 1/4 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original:  English  
 
  NOTIFICATION  
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6  
 
1. Notifying Member:  LITHUANIA   
If applicable, name of local government involved (Article 3.2 and 7.2):   
2. Agency responsible:   
Ministry of Health of the Republic of Lithuania, Vilniaus str. 33, LT -01506 Vilnius, Lithuania  
tel. +370 5 2661402, e -mail ministerija@sam.lt , http://sam.lrv.lt/   
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers , email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above:   
EC TBT Enquiry Point: ec-tbt@cec.eu.int   
National TBT Enquiry Point: enquiry@lsd.lt  
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X], 2.10.1 [   ], 5.6.2 [   ], 5.7.1 [   ], other :  
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff 
heading. ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):  Tobacco, 
tobacco products and related equipment (ICS 65.160)  
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:  Draft Law on 
control of tobacco, tobacco products and related products of the Republic of Lithuania on 
amendment of Articles 1, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16(1), 17(1), 21, 22, 25, 26 and repeal of 
Article 16 (2) No. XIIIP -3903(2) (15 page(s), in Lithuanian)  
6. Description of content:  The Draft Law aim s: 
1. to license the production, wholesale and retail sale of tobacco related products*;  
2. to establish restrictions on the places and kinds of retail sale of tobacco related 
products, such as ban the sale of tobacco related products through vending 
machines, in shops, kiosks and other retail outlets where children's goods account 
for 50% or more of retail sales turnover, pharmaceutical companies, healthcare, 
education, cultural institutions, Internet cafes -clubs, etc.);  
3. to increase the fines for viol ating the ban on distance sale of tobacco related 
products and for violating the ban on sale to minors.  
These measures are expected to contribute to reduction of availability of tobacco related 
products (especially for minors).  
* A product related to tobac co products means an electronic cigarette, a refill container for 
electronic cigarettes or a herbal product for smoking.  
7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where 
applicable:  The main objective of the Draft Law is to reduce  the availability of tobacco -
related products (especially for minors) by streamlining the implementation of the ban on 
distance sale of tobacco related products and enabling state institutions to control G/TBT/N/LTU/40  
 
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  production, wholesale and retail trade in tobacco re lated products by licensing these 
activities. The Draft Law suggests to establish the regulation that is very important for 
Lithuania in order to reduce the prevalence of use of electronic cigarettes (especially 
among minors). According to the results of t he latest international survey on Health 
Behaviour in School -aged Children (HBSC) conducted in Lithuania, the prevalence of use of 
electronic cigarettes among school -aged children in Lithuania is increasing: 26% of 
respondents in 2014 claimed that they "tr ied to use electronic cigarettes during lifetime" 
and in 2018 even 38.6% of the respondents claimed that they "tried to use electronic 
cigarettes during lifetime", 11.7% of respondents in 2014 claimed that they "used 
electronic cigarettes in the last 30 da ys" and in 2018 even 17.9% of the respondents 
claimed that they "used electronic cigarettes in the last 30 days". The latest HBSC survey 
revealed a particularly worrying trend - the prevalence of smoking habits of Lithuanian 
school -aged children is one of the highest among the countries participating in the HBSC 
survey [1]. According to the study "Assessment of effectiveness and public opinion about 
tobacco and alcohol control measures", commissioned by the Drugs, Tobacco and Alcohol 
Control Department in 2 020 among persons aged 18 -74 (n = 1007), young people in 
Lithuania choose more and more often electronic cigarettes and novel heated smokeless 
tobacco products instead of conventional tobacco products [2]. According to the Smoking -
attributable social and e conomic harm assessment in Lithuania [3], smoking in 2003 –2013 
might have caused 14.8% of all deaths in Lithuania, taking away more than 6 thousand of 
human lives. This assessment showed that in 2013 the smoking -attributable economic 
harm in Lithuania migh t have reached almost 953 million Eur (or 2.7 percent of Lithuanian 
GDP). According to the data of the Institute of Hygiene, in 2016 –2019 there is an 
increasing trend in mortality due to smoking -related malignants (trachea, bronchi, lungs, 
lips, oral cavit y, pharynx, larynx) and also increasing trend in morbidity due to smoking -
related chronic diseases of the lower respiratory tract, cardio -vascular diseases and the 
mentioned malignants. Electronic cigarettes have recently been the subject of big debate 
not only in Lithuania but also around the world. Health officials in the United States have 
provided data on the incredibly high incidence of severe lung disease among people who 
have used electronic cigarettes. Statistics on reported cases of severe lung dis ease and 
deaths in individuals who have used electronic cigarettes are of great concern - most of 
affected people were younger than 25 years old. Although by the Law electronic cigarettes 
like tobacco products are allowed only for the use by people over th e age of 18 years, 
unfortunately prevalence of use of electronic cigarettes among minors has become a major 
problem in Lithuania. According to the Drugs, Tobacco and Alcohol Control Department, 
the biggest contribution to this negative phenomenon is made b y the distance sale of these 
products, although under the current provisions of the Law, distance sale of such products 
is prohibited. Therefore, this Draft Law suggests to increase the fines for violation of the 
distance sale ban (from the current fine in  amount EUR 289 - EUR 868 to EUR 1448 – 
EUR 8688), for repeated violation - revocation of licenses on retail sale in tobacco related 
products, for violation of ban on sales to minors (up to EUR 1448 - EUR 2896, and 
respectively EUR 2896 - EUR 5792 for repe ated violation) and also to limit the possibility 
for such legal entities to obtain license in retail sale, as in most cases the same retailers 
also perform distance sale. Thus, linking the loss/inability to obtain a license with made 
violations on ban of distance sale is likely to be an effective mean of control and for 
avoiding of repeated intended violations. It is proposed to license the activities of tobacco 
related products at all levels - production, wholesale and retail. This measure to reduce 
acces sibility is also being identified by researchers of the Institute of Hygiene, who have 
carried out a study "Electronic Cigarettes: Health Impacts and Regulation in Europe". The 
study emphasizes that, although the Tobacco Products Directive does not require  activities 
related to the production or sale of electronic cigarettes and their refills to be licensed, 
some countries do so, e.g. Hungary for the production and retail of electronic cigarettes, 
Latvia for the production, Finland for the wholesale and ret ail sale, Slovenia for the retail 
sale. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the regulation of electronic 
cigarettes is necessary due to the unknown long -term health effects of electronic cigarettes 
and their growing prevalence of usage. In or der to avoid situations where effective controls 
are not ensured due to loopholes, the WHO recommends that electronic cigarettes to be 
regulated in appropriate manner as tobacco products or medical devices. Therefore, 
measures to reduce the supply of elect ronic cigarettes should be subject to the same 
measures as to reduce the supply of tobacco products. One of such measures is licensing. 
In the absence of a licensing mechanism, i. e. without knowing the places where activities 
with tobacco related products  are allowed, it is difficult to control and identify the entities G/TBT/N/LTU/40  
 
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  involved in these activities. The state, which will issue (or not) licenses, will be able to 
make sure and ensure that these products will be produced and sold only by reliable 
entities, as  the immaculate reputation of the entities will be checked before issuing 
licenses, i. e. compliance of the entity with set  conditions. The enforcement authority 
(Drugs, Tobacco and Alcohol Control Department) notes that in the absence of licensing, 
there  is no real legal possibility to control activities of the entities, leading to a chaotic and 
unregulated market situation that will be tackled when licensing will be introduced. This 
statement is supported by the following numbers: according to the EU -CEG data on 2018, 
274 manufacturers from 27 countries and 40 importers from 14 countries have submitted 
notifications on intention to place electronic cigarettes and their refills into the Lithuanian 
market. According to the EU -CEG data on 09/2019, the system  contains 29385 records on 
electronic cigarettes and their refills intended to be placed into the Lithuanian market. 
Meanwhile, the State Tax Inspectorate data on 09/2019 show that only 8 entities have 
registered as excise payers for electronic liquids. It  should be noted that according to the 
Law on Excise Duties of the Republic of Lithuania, the obligation to pay excise duty is not 
related to the places of production or trade. The obligation to pay excise duty arises when 
the entities themselves register as excise payers. The Draft Law will contribute to more 
effective control of tobacco related products: - in order to protect important public 
interests - personal and public health, which is especially relevant in the context of 
unfavorable prevalence of u se of electronic cigarettes of the Lithuanian population 
(especially among young people), unfavorable smoking -related morbidity and mortality as 
well significant smoking -attributable social and economic harm to Lithuanian economy; - in 
order to protect the  interests of consumers by ensuring that only tobacco related products 
that meet all the established quality and safety requirements are placed on the market and 
that are marketed in accordance with the established conditions of the licensed activity; - 
as it will lead to fair and objective business conditions for all economic operators on the 
market of tobacco related products, will contribute to more effective management of the 
criminogenic situation, preventing the illegal production and trade of tobacco  related 
products; - in order tackle the shadow economy and achieve more efficient collection of 
excise duties on e -liquids.  
[1] https://www.euro.who.int/en/health -topics/Life -stages/child -and-adolescent -
health/health -behaviour -in-school -aged-children -hbsc/publications/2020/spotlight -on-
adolescent -health -and-well-being. -findings -from-the-20172018 -health -behaviour -in-
school -aged-children -hbsc-survey -in-europe -and-canada. -international -report. -volum e-2.-
key-data  
[2] http://ntakd.lrv.lt/lt/naujienos/lietuvoje -kinta-rukymo -iprociai -jauni-zmones -vis-
dazniau -renkasi-elektronines -cigaretes -bei-naujoviskus -bedumius -tabako -produktus -
vietoje -iprastu -tabako -gaminiu   
[3] https://www.lsmuni.lt/media/dynamic/files/18418/disertacijaliutkute -gumarov.pdf ;  
8. Relevant documents:   
• Draft Law: https://e -
seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAP/8288eca0abc511ea8aadde924aa85003  
• Draft Law (comparative version): https://e -
seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAK/a98823c0abc511ea8aadde924aa8500 3?jfwid= -
k57xb0o33  
• Law on control of tobacco, tobacco products and related products of the Republic of 
Lithuania: https://www.e -tar.lt/portal/lt/legalAct/TAR.F8090E375DA0/asr  
9. Proposed date of adoption:  Adoption will be made by the Parliament after notification of 
the Draft Law to the European Commission and to the WTO.  
Proposed date of entry into force:  1 November 2020  
10. Final date for comments:  60 days from notification  G/TBT/N/LTU/40  
 
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  11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [X] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers and email and website addresses, if available , of other body:   
https://e -seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAP/8288eca0abc511ea8aa dde924aa85003