Schools forced to amend internal regulations with measures for pupils who use, possess or sell cigarettes and e-cigarettes

A new law prohibiting the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors has been promulgated, reports Agerpres. The new normative act published in the Official Gazette, Law 64 of 2024, states that smoking is prohibited in schools and that schools must impose sanctions through internal regulations for students who use, possess or sell cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

The object of the law is to amend and supplement Law no. 201/2016 as well as Law no. 349/2002. In order to reduce the exposure of children and young people to tobacco products, the proposed normative act extends the prohibition of sales through vending machines as well as the prohibition of sales to young people under the age of 18 for electronic cigarettes, cigarette refill bottles, electronic devices for heating tobacco, according to the cited source .

The law prohibits for students in all educational institutions smoking, as well as the use of all categories of products containing tobacco, electronic cigarettes, refill bottles for electronic cigarettes, electronic devices for heating tobacco and products intended for inhalation without burning from substitutes tobacco, of sachets (pouches).

“(1^3) Smoking, as well as the use of all categories of products containing tobacco, electronic cigarettes, refill bottles for electronic cigarettes, electronic devices for heating tobacco and products intended for smokeless inhalation of tobacco substitutes, (pouches) of nicotine sachets for oral use and products intended for smokeless inhalation of tobacco substitutes’.

At the same time, it is established that educational institutions are obliged to introduce in their own regulations coercive measures applied to students for non-compliance with the provisions related to the sale/possession and use of all categories of products containing tobacco, electronic cigarettes and electronic devices for heating tobacco in the premises them.

More precisely, Article 5 of Law 201/2016 will be amended and will have the following content:

“(1) The responsible persons from the institutions and units that administer the premises referred to in art. 2 lit. m), n), n1) and n2) will develop and implement internal regulations for the application of art. 3 paragraph (1), (11) and (13), including by stipulating as a serious disciplinary offense the violation of those provisions and marking the mentioned spaces with indicators to indicate “No Smoking” and the use of the international symbol, namely the cigarette barred by a transverse line.

(2) The Ministry of Education establishes, through the Framework Regulation for the organization and operation of pre-university education units, the sanctions applicable to students for non-compliance with the provisions relating to the sale/possession and use of all categories of products containing tobacco, electronic cigarettes, refill bottles for electronic cigarettes and electronic devices for heating tobacco in the premises of educational institutions”, states the new law, published in the Monitorul Official (MO) Thursday, March 28.

Also, the law ensures the adoption of the definition of the electronic cigarette and the refill bottle of the electronic cigarette, as provided for in the European legislation, according to the cited source.

The draft law, adopted with several amendments that had initially been rejected

The draft law for the amendment and completion of some normative acts in the field of tobacco products, which prohibits the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors, was adopted on February 27, with a majority of votes, by the plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making body, and more amendments that were initially rejected.

The deputies adopted several amendments that had been initially rejected. One of the amendments defines the electronic device for heating tobacco and smokeless inhalation products from tobacco substitutes, electronic cigarette, refill bottle, nicotine sachet for oral use, as well as smokeless inhalation products from tobacco substitutes.

According to another amendment, the introduction to the market of nicotine sachets (pouches) for oral use that do not comply with the provisions of this law is prohibited. The level of nicotine contained in each pouch cannot exceed the value of 20 mg/pouch.

According to another adopted amendment, it is prohibited for students in all educational institutions to smoke, as well as the use of all categories of products containing tobacco, electronic cigarettes, refill bottles for electronic cigarettes, electronic devices for heating tobacco and products intended for inhalation without combustion of tobacco substitutes, of (pouches) of nicotine sachets for oral use and of products intended for inhalation without combustion of tobacco substitutes, Agerpres also reports.

It is also prohibited to sell through vending machines all categories of products containing tobacco, electronic cigarettes, refill bottles for electronic cigarettes, electronic devices for heating tobacco and products intended for inhalation without burning from tobacco substitutes, (pouch -s) nicotine sachets for oral use and products intended for inhalation without burning from tobacco substitutes, provides another adopted amendment.

At the same time, the sale of all categories of products containing tobacco, electronic cigarettes, refill bottles for electronic cigarettes, electronic devices for heating tobacco and products intended for inhalation without burning from tobacco substitutes, sachets (pouches) is prohibited with nicotine for oral use and products intended for inhalation without burning from tobacco substitutes for people who have not reached the age of 18. In order to verify the age of people who buy these types of products, sellers can request the presentation of an identity document, according to another amendment adopted on Monday.

The sale through easybox/locker type devices of all categories of products containing tobacco, electronic cigarettes, refill bottles for electronic cigarettes, electronic tobacco heating devices and products intended for smokeless inhalation of tobacco substitutes, is prohibited nicotine containers for oral use and products for smokeless inhalation of tobacco substitutes. These products that are sold through courier services must have the message printed on the package, as legibly as possible: “Caution! This package contains tobacco products and/or products containing nicotine. Check the client’s age”.

In the sanitary permit for the operation of establishments selling tobacco products, electronic cigarettes, refill bottles for electronic cigarettes, electronic devices for heating tobacco and products intended for inhalation without burning from tobacco substitutes, (pouches) nicotine sachets for use oral and smokeless inhalation products from tobacco substitutes, a special clause prohibiting the sale of tobacco products, electronic cigarettes, refill bottles for electronic cigarettes, electronic devices for heating tobacco and smokeless inhalation products from tobacco substitutes is introduced , (pouches) nicotine sachets for oral use and products intended for inhalation without burning from tobacco substitutes for young people under 18 years of age, another amendment provides.

The project introduces sanctions of up to 100,000 lei, depending on the gravity of the act, the cited source also conveys.

Finding contraventions and applying sanctions are done by persons empowered in this sense by the Ministry of Health and the National Authority for Consumer Protection, by representatives of the local police or the Ministry of Internal Affairs.