Germany

Philip Morris brought an action against the Federal Republic of Germany alleging that their novel tobacco product “Heat Stick”, under the brand name “HEETS”, was incorrectly classified as a “tobacco product for smoking.”  Plaintiff claimed that HEETS is a “smokeless tobacco product” on the basis that a combustion process does not occur during consumption as it generates steam rather than smoke. The court explained that the distinction between a “smoking tobacco product” and a “smokeless tobacco product” is based solely on whether a tobacco product is consumed with or without a combustion process; and it is irrelevant whether smoke occurs when the tobacco product is consumed. The court found that the plaintiff’s tobacco product was heated in a controlled manner without the tobacco igniting and thus there was no combustion process. The court ruled that a tobacco product consumed in this way is then to be classified as a “smokeless tobacco product.”