EU brings in new tobacco rules to deter young smokers
BMJ 2014; 348 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g1895 (Published 03 March 2014) Cite this as: BMJ 2014;348:g1895The European Parliament overwhelmingly endorsed European Union legislation on 26 February that will impose new rules on the manufacture, production, and presentation of tobacco products in a bid to deter young people from taking up smoking.
In future, manufacturers will have to place prominent picture and text warnings on cigarette packets; e-cigarettes will be regulated; and flavourings to make tobacco more attractive will be banned.
Welcoming the parliament’s seal of approval of the Tobacco Products Directive, Tonio Borg, the EU public health commissioner, said, “It is all the more significant considering the devastating effect tobacco has on the health of EU citizens: 700 000 premature deaths every year, 14 fewer years of life on average for smokers, more years spent in poor health.”
Linda McAvan, the British Labour MEP who helped steer the legislation through the parliament, noted that the legislation, which had been approved by 514 votes to 66 with 58 abstentions, had been passed “against the background of intense lobbying from the tobacco industry and its front groups.”
Pointing out that the overwhelming majority of smokers start before their 18th birthday, she predicted that the measures would “help to prevent the next generation of smokers from being recruited.”
Under the new requirements, manufacturers will have to present health warnings covering 65% of the front and back of cigarette packets. Existing legislation requires the warnings to cover at least 30% of the front and 40% of the back of a pack. Packs of fewer than 20 cigarettes, which are cheaper and more accessible to children, will be phased out.
Flavourings such as chocolate and strawberry that give a product a distinguishable flavour other than tobacco will be outlawed, and menthol will be banned from 2020.
The legislation introduces specific measures on electronic cigarettes for the first time. E-cigarettes may be regulated either as medicinal items if they are marketed as helping people to give up smoking or as tobacco products. In addition to producing them in line with clear rules on safety, quality, and packaging, manufacturers will have to notify national authorities when placing new products on the market and provide them with annual information on sales volumes, types of users, and overall trends.
The charity Cancer Research UK has welcomed the new clampdown. Alison Cox, its head of tobacco policy, said, “The Tobacco Products Directive sets standards of tobacco which will bring real benefits for people’s health in the UK and across Europe.”
The new measures should take full effect across the EU from the first half of 2016. They replace legislation in force since 2001, which was widely considered to have needed updating to take account of new scientific evidence on tobacco flavourings and the arrival of e-cigarettes.
Notes
Cite this as: BMJ 2014;348:g1895
Footnotes
For more information see www.ec.europa.eu/revisingtobacco.
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