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Non-food Consumer Goods
EU TOBACCO PRODUCTS DIRECTIVE: TRACK AND TRACE FOR TOBACCO PRODUCTS
2021-11-12
The first phase of the revised EU Directive on the traceability of tobacco products comes into effect on 20 May 2019. From then on cigarette packs etc. will have to be labelled with an individual ID code.
SERIALISATION FOR TOBACCO PRODUCTS
According to a study by the professional services company KPMG, trading of counterfeit and smuggled cigarettes accounted for 8.7 percent of overall consumption within the EU, Norway and Switzerland in 2018. This corresponds to an estimated figure of approx. 8.5 percent or around 44.7 billion cigarettes worldwide. Along with warnings on the health risks associated with smoking, in future tobacco products will also have to carry a unique serial number in order to combat illegal sales. For packaging manufacturers this involves the mandatory application of an individual code to packaging and tobacco products.
FIRST PHASE OF THE EU TOBACCO PRODUCTS DIRECTIVE
Every day around 750 million packs of cigarettes are sold over the counter around the world. The first phase of the revised EU Directive on the traceability of tobacco products within the European market relates to cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco. The plan is to roll it out gradually to all other tobacco products by 2024. The standard requires scanning and recording of every movement of the tobacco products throughout the entire supply chain. Every single tobacco product pack must be marked with an individual ID code and incorporate features which help protect against counterfeiting.
LARGE AMOUNTS OF DATA ON PACKAGING
At present around 75 percent of packing codes within the European packaging market are applied using high-quality laser codes. The advantages of this are the low maintenance requirements and good reliability. However, the new regulation for the tobacco industry means increased demands on the barcode. In future it will be required to have the capacity to store information enabling uninterrupted tracking in real time from start to finish of the process and transmission of this data to a central EU database. This will entail coding of up to fifty characters per data carrier – a number that is much too high for most classic data matrix codes. At the same time, increased storage of information means longer labelling processes for manufacturers. The performance of existing coding equipment will need to be improved or additional features added. Integration of the new labelling systems into production lines is not always possible.
Philipp Morris is the first company in the world to use a smart tagging system with Sigfox IoT connectivity to locate packaging. Photo: Pixabay
DATA MATRIX, DOTCODE OR QR?
The choice of which 2-D code type each Member State uses, whether a data matrix, a dotcode or QR, is left to each country. At present either the 2D dotcode or a data matrix code is used for labelling, and these will additionally be applied to cigarettes and the packaging of hand-rolling tobacco. In their quest to record a wealth of information in a small space, the tobacco industry is turning to the pharmaceutical and electronics industries for models. Here they generally use so-called dotcodes, comprising up to 144 black and white fields, which can record comparable large amounts of data in a small space.
USE OF STICKY LABELS POSSIBLE
In order to comply with the track & trace system, stickers with a serial number can be applied to the affected tobacco products. Data storage will ensure that each step throughout the entire supply chain can be traced. Individualisation will be built in during manufacturing. For this, manufacturers will have to have access to the necessary label printer and enter into a partnership with an external company to provide suitable software.
PHILIPP MORRIS IS USING THE SMART TAGGING SYSTEM
France has seen a continuous increase in levels of criminal activity in connection with the tobacco trade in recent years. Between 2017 and 2018 the number of break-ins at tobacconists rose by a good seven percent, and in January 2018 alone cigarettes to a value of €407,400 were stolen. In January 2019, Philipp Morris France, in collaboration with the market leader for connectivity, Sigfox, and with Follower Product (FP), introduced the world’s first smart tagging system to combat cigarette theft and the smuggling of tobacco products. Following a successful six-month testing phase, the so-called calumet tag devised by FP was approved by the French Ministry of the Interior and is initially being introduced regionally, with introduction at national level planned for a later date. It is based on use of the Internet of Things (IoT), is designed to be bi-modal and is connected to the Sigfox network as standard. In the event of a theft it is thus possible to locate the goods immediately. Provided that Sigfox network coverage is available, the technology can also be used in other sectors and across borders.
Australia launched so-called plain packaging for cigarettes in 2012. Following on from Great Britain, the Netherlands also wishes to follow this example. Alongside health warnings and photographs, the only thing to be seen will be the name of the manufacturer. Photo: © blende11.photo / fotolia.com
PLAIN PACKAGING ABROAD
In addition to security in respect of counterfeiting there are always issues relating to healthcare and disease prevention where cigarette packaging is concerned. The Dutch Ministry of Health would like to prescribe a standard form and colour for all cigarette packaging in the near future. This would mean that alongside health warnings and photographs, the only individualised printing allowed on the packaging would be the name of the manufacturer. The Ministry would like to roll this out to hand-rolling tobacco and e-cigarettes by 2022 and to increase the price of a pack of 20 cigarettes to ten Euros a pack within the next four years. According to the latest figures, at present around 22 percent of the population of the Netherlands smokes.
Australia was the first country in the world to introduce the so-called plain packaging in 2012, followed by Great Britain years later. The Saudi Arabian Food and Drug Authority has also already taken steps towards the use of standardised packaging for all types of tobacco products. According to these, the brand and product name must be printed on the packaging in the prescribed colour and font; no other logos, colours, images or advertising information are permitted either on or in the packaging. This must be implemented by 1 May 2019.
WEITERFÜHRENDE LINKS
ash.org.uk
Standardised Plain Packaging
(Englischer Inhalt)
www.etikett-aufkleber.de
Tabak Richtlinie -zusätzliche Etiketten notwendig
www.dutchnews.nl
Dutch get tougher on tobacco, bring in plain packaging next year
(Englischer Inhalt)
www.emro.who.int
Tobacco Free initiative
(Englischer Inhalt)
www.pressebox.de
Sigfox, Follower Product und Philip Morris France führen Tagging-System zur Bekämpfung des Zigarettendiebstahls ein
www.neue-verpackung.de
Wissenswertes zur Tabakproduktrichtlinie
ec.europa.eu
Regulierung von Tabakerzeugnissen
www.neue-verpackung.de
Philip Morris France führt Tagging-System ein
www.neue-verpackung.de
Kennzeichnungsanforderungen innerhalb der Tabakindustrie
opal-solutions.de
Dotcode – Serialisierung in der Tabakindustrie
www.sigfox.com
Sigfox, Follower Product and Philip Morris France launch the first tag to fight cigarette theft
(Englischer Inhalt)
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