Portugal's Parliament approves new tobacco law in final vote

Portugal's Parliament has approved a new tobacco law, which will equate electronic cigarettes to conventional tobacco for sales, advertising, product presentation, and consumption rules. 

The law prohibits the sale of heated tobacco products with flavorings in their components, as well as products or accessories sold separately that allow the odor or flavor of these products to be altered or the intensity of their smoke. Heathy tobacco packaging will now display health warnings similar to those on conventional tobacco packaging.

The government's proposal for the new tobacco law included several other changes to the current legislation, but only the measures relating to the equality of electronic cigarettes with conventional tobacco were approved by the deputies of the working group of the Commission on Health responsible for discussing this matter.

Controverse proposals such as the prohibition of tobacco consumption on all terraces and sale in restaurants, bars, and music festivals were eliminated from the text. Measures such as the ban on smoking outdoors within the perimeter of places accessible to the general public or for collective use, and the ban on the sale of tobacco in establishments located less than 300 meters from schools and nurseries were justified.