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TOBACCO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015
What does the EC’s new Tobacco Products
Directive mean for manufacturers?
O
n April 3, 2014, the European
Commission published an
updated version of the
Tobacco Products Directive (2014/40/
EU), effectively repealing 2001/37/
EC.The newly adopted directive covers
ingredients, labeling and packaging,
including traceability and security
features, cross-border distance sales,
e-cigarettes, and herbal products for
smoking. The overall purpose of the
revision is to standardize the appearance
of all tobacco packs in order to reduce
the number of youth smokers, improve
public health and curb or eliminate the
trade of fake cigarettes.
To that end, the directive introduces
a number of technical specifications for
the “layout, design and shape of tobacco
packaging.” These provisions require
that each unit packet and any outside
packaging carry a specific healthwarning
combined with a color photograph,
which must cover 65 percent of both
front and back sides of the packaging.
In addition, tobacco packaging can no
longer include elements or features
that promote tobacco products or their
consumption. Lastly, each packet must
be made of carton or other soft material
and have a cuboid shape.
For traceability purposes, the directive
furthermore mandates that Member
States add a “unique identifier” to each
unit packet. This marking will allow
Member States, manufacturers, and any
person involved in the supply chain of
tobacco products to track and accurately
record the current and past locations
of the tobacco products sold on the
European Union market.
Finally, to combat the trade of illicit
tobacco the directive requires that
all unit packets of tobacco products
carry a “tamper-proof security feature,
composed of visible and invisible
elements.” The purpose of the security
feature is to “facilitate the verification
of whether or not tobacco products are
authentic.”
While the European Union hopes
that these requirements will improve
overall public health and reduce the
number of fake cigarettes, it is fair
to say that manufacturers of tobacco
products are left with very little leeway
in terms of packaging design and
branding (e.g. colors, imagery, corporate
logos and trademarks). In addition,
they have extremely limited packaging
surface to include the unique identifier
and security feature imposed by the
directive, or any other element required
by national legislation (e.g. tax stamps,
national identification marks, price
marks).
While design specifications and
traceability measures would be
difficult to change or manipulate, the
choice of security feature is broader.
Indeed, because the security feature
may include both visible and invisible
elements, it would therefore seem to
be in the manufacturers’ best interest
to select an invisible one that would
not only comply with the directive but
also increase the amount of design and
branding surface.
Very few large-scale, covert security
features are deployed in the tobacco
industry today. Some use microscopic
particles (taggants), some invisible inks
(digital tax stamps), and others the
varnish coating (Cryptoglyph).This last
process adds a pseudo-random pattern
of invisible micro-holes (60 microns)
into the standard varnish layer. Non-
intrusive and totally invisible, these
micro-holes cover the entire surface
of the packaging without changing
its design. Unlike most covert anti-
counterfeit technologies available
on the market today, this invisible
security feature can be detected by a
smartphone. This solution is therefore
an encouraging first step in achieving
compliance with the Tobacco Products
Directive.
Dr. Fred Jordan is CEO
of AlpVision, a leading
product authentication
and brand protection
company headquartered
in Switzerland.
Cigarette Packaging:
Plain as Day
By Dr. Fred Jordan