Smurfit Westrock wins Irish contract for tobacco IDs

A subsidiary of packaging company Smurfit Westrock has been awarded a contract by Ireland's tax and customs office to provide unique identifier codes for all tobacco-related products imported and sold into the country.

Smurfit Westrock Security Concepts (SWSC) will provide between 110m and 150m codes to help Ireland comply with EU regulations on tobacco traceability and authentication measures, governed by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/574.

The legislation – a companion to the 2014 Tobacco Products Directive – required all tobacco products to have traceability labels and security features from May 20, 2024 in order to monitor products across the supply chain, detect diversion, and identify counterfeits. The unique ID is an alphanumeric code that contains information like the origin of a tobacco product, its date of manufacture, and intended destination.

Earlier this year, Smurfit Kappa Security Concepts (SKSC) was awarded the contract for printing and supplying tax stamps that are used on tobacco packs to demonstrate that the products are legitimate and have had their duty paid. Smurfit Kappa completed a merger with US packaging firm WestRock last year in a deal reportedly worth $11.2bn.

SWSC said it will work with tech providers AKD and ENSESO on the unique identifier system and portal, which will be used by tobacco manufacturers to assign codes for products before their importation into Ireland.