MARCH 2012 -Brazil's National Health Protection Agency (ANVISA) has banned the use of additives in cigarettes and other tobacco products sold in the country, through a decision taken on 13 March 2012.

Additives, including flavourings such as mint, chocolate, cinnamon and fruit, mask the bad taste of tobacco, reduce coughing, facilitate drag and help develop dependence. The board of ANVISA believes that the additives act as a means of luring young people into starting and maintaining use of tobacco products. Until now, flavoured cigarettes have represented 22% of cigarette sales in Brazil.

Manufacturers have 18 months to adapt their products to meet the requirements of the new law, but will have an additional six months to allow for withdrawal of flavoured products from the market. The ban extends to imported products, which can only enter Brazil if they comply with the new regulation.

According to an ANVISA survey, there are currently about 600 additives used in the production of cigarettes. Under the new rule, only eight are still permitted: adhesives, binding agents, combustion agents, technology auxiliaries, pigments, glycerol and propylene glycol, and potassium sorbate. The eighth permitted additive is sugar.

More information is available from: Felipe Mendes, National Commission for FCTC Implementation (CONICQ), National Cancer Institute, Ministry of Health at: fmendes@inca.gov.br.