Denmark's Folketing passed Bill L 12 B at its third reading on August 27, 2026, amending three core statutes on tobacco, e-cigarettes and underage sales to strengthen age-verification controls. The amending Act was published in Lovtidende on August 28, 2026 and enters into force the day after publication, August 29, 2026, with the timing of one penalty-list provision (§ 2 nr. 3) set separately by the Health Minister. Retailers, importers and online sellers of tobacco, nicotine and alcohol products in Denmark must now update compliance procedures for a new competent authority, a longer mystery-shopping inspection window and widened penalty coverage.
The subtitle of the Act frames its scope directly: Styrket alderskontrol ved salg af tobak, nikotin og alkohol (Strengthened age control for sale of tobacco, nicotine and alcohol). It amends the Act on the prohibition of sale of tobacco and alcohol to persons under 18 (consolidation LBK nr. 1088 of October 10, 2024), the Tobacco Products Act (LBK nr. 1161 of November 4, 2024) and the E-cigarettes Act (LBK nr. 1166 of November 4, 2024), and it corrects the 2024 prevention-plan implementation Act (Lov nr. 1669 of December 30, 2024). The full text is published on Retsinformation.
Which authority now oversees tobacco and e-cigarette age-verification?
Supervisory authority transfers from Sikkerhedsstyrelsen (the Danish Safety Authority) to Erhvervsstyrelsen (the Danish Business Authority) across all three amended statutes. Every reference to "Sikkerhedsstyrelsen" and "Sikkerhedsstyrelsens" in the under-18 sales Act, the Tobacco Products Act and the E-cigarettes Act is replaced with "Erhvervsstyrelsen" or "Erhvervsstyrelsens".
For compliance leads the practical consequence is operational: notifications, registrations, enforcement correspondence and inspection interfaces for age-verification and tobacco or nicotine product rules now route to Erhvervsstyrelsen rather than Sikkerhedsstyrelsen. Update internal regulator-of-record references, vendor-management records, supplier-facing compliance documents and any documented control mappings that name the competent authority.
How long does the mystery-shopping inspection scheme run?
The mystery-shopping inspection scheme, previously capped at the period "from July 1, 2024 to and including June 30, 2026", is extended to and including June 30, 2028. The extension is made in parallel: § 2b stk. 4 of the under-18 sales Act and § 19 stk. 3 of the E-cigarettes Act both carry the new end date, and the cross-reference to rules issued under § 2a stk. 8 in the under-18 Act is removed.
Retailers should expect continued test-purchase inspections of age-verification compliance for tobacco, nicotine and alcohol sales through mid-2028. Keep point-of-sale age-verification procedures, staff training records and online age-gate controls current across that horizon, because the extended window means inspection exposure persists rather than expiring in 2026.
What penalty exposure changed under the Tobacco Products Act and E-cigarettes Act?
The Act widens and clarifies the penalty provisions. § 45 stk. 1 of the Tobacco Products Act and § 33 stk. 1 of the E-cigarettes Act are re-affirmed with an expanded enumeration of the provisions whose infringement triggers a fine (bøde); § 45 stk. 2 and § 33 stk. 2 likewise extend the fine sanction to delegated rules issued under the listed empowerments. A broader set of product-requirement, notification, labelling and sales-protocol violations now carries direct fine exposure under primary law, and delegated rules under those empowerments carry fine penalties too.
Review internal compliance checklists against the amended penalty lists to confirm which operational gaps now carry direct fines, and align staff training with the widened scope so that frontline and online sales teams understand the expanded exposure.
Summary of the changes and their effective dates
| Area | Before | After L 12 B |
|---|---|---|
| Competent authority | Sikkerhedsstyrelsen | Erhvervsstyrelsen |
| Mystery-shopping window | To June 30, 2026 | To June 30, 2028 |
| Penalty scope (Tobacco Products Act § 45, E-cig Act § 33) | Enumerated list | Widened list, plus fines for delegated rules |
| Entry into force | n/a | August 29, 2026 (§ 2 nr. 3 timing set by the Health Minister) |
Continuous per-jurisdiction monitoring surfaces amendments like L 12 B the moment Lovtidende publishes them, so the authority transfer and inspection extension reach compliance teams before the first inspection under the new regime.
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Next steps: update regulator-of-record references from Sikkerhedsstyrelsen to Erhvervsstyrelsen across compliance documentation and supplier communications; brief retail and online-sales teams on the extended mystery-shopping window through June 30, 2028 and verify age-verification procedures; and map operational controls against the widened § 45 and § 33 penalty lists to confirm where direct fine exposure now applies.
