Notification
Herbal products for smoking are subject to a notification procedure. As a result, the manufacturer or importer of herbal products for smoking must submit to the authorities, before the product is placed on the market, a list of all ingredients, with their quantities, by brand and type, and a label.
In practice, requests for the evaluation of notifications must be made by e-mail (enottab@health.fgov.be) after the data has been entered into EU-CEG as an "Herbal product for smoking".
EU-CEG is a computer system implemented by the European Commission. It allows the notification of tobacco products, e-cigarettes and herbal products for smoking.
In case of technical problems with EU-CEG, please contact the European Commission: SANTE-EUCEG-ITSUPPORT@ec.europa.eu
For any questions about the notification of herbal products for smoking and the status of your file: enottab@health.fgov.be
List of notified products
Within the framework of this notification procedure, the FPS Health provides the public and economic operators with a list of all the products whose notification file has been received and validated.
This means that the products on this list have fulfilled their administrative notification obligations and that this is confirmed by our services: the company has paid the fee of €165 per product and all the data that must legally be transmitted by the producer or importer has been provided to the FPS Health. The presence of a product on this list does not in any way mean that it is safe for health.
If a product is not on this list, then it does not meet the requirements for notification of herbal products for smoking, and therefore cannot be marketed on the Belgian market. Only products on the positive list can be marketed and the label of the marketed product must bear a name identical to that on the positive list. However, this is only a necessary but not sufficient condition for placing the product on the market. Other provisions, such as those concerning excise duties or labelling, are the full responsibility of the producer or importer. Retailers are also responsible for the conformity of the products they place on the market.
The positive list shows, in the top left corner, the date of the last update.
Email contact : enottab@health.fgov.be
Special case: products for smoking containing CBD
Many herbal products for smoking containing cannabis and promoted as "CBD" products have appeared on the market. These products must comply with the general rules set out above. Some specific points of attention:
-
the notification file must contain a THC analysis certificate;
-
the THC content of the product must be less than 0.2%. Otherwise, they are considered as narcotics and their sale is prohibited;
-
their labelling may not include therapeutic indications. Otherwise, they are considered as medicines;
-
they cannot be presented as herbal teas or potpourri.
For more information on CBD-based products, you can consult: https://www.fagg-afmps.be/sites/default/files/downloads/faq_cannabis_en.pdf