European
lawmakers have approved sweeping new regulations to curb smoking. The mandate
includes imposing bigger warnings on cigarette packs, banning most flavorings
and increasing regulation of electronic cigarettes.
The European Parliament voted Tuesday in Strasbourg for stricter rules on smoking regulations and tobacco marketing, after months of bitter debate.
The European Parliament voted Tuesday in Strasbourg for stricter rules on smoking regulations and tobacco marketing, after months of bitter debate.
Under the
new EU regulation, mandatory warnings would take up to 75 percent of tobacco
packaging and be more prominent, including gruesome pictorials in order to
discourage potential smokers. It also aims to stop young people from taking up
smoking by increasing regulation on cigarettes featuring flavors such as
menthol or fruit aromas.
Another big
change will be stricter conditions for electronic cigarettes, which vaporize a
nicotine-containing liquid. The battery-operated products look like real
cigarettes are often marketed as a less harmful alternative to tobacco.
European
Union members had already agreed in June to stricter rules for tobacco
products. Now, Parliament must negotiate with each EU member state's government
on certain details before the rules can enter into force.
Once that
process is completed, the governments will have two years to adopt the
directive into national law, therefore the new regulation is not expected to be
put in place before 2016.
Tobacco
lobbyists have criticized the regulation as disproportionate and limiting
consumer freedom, while European officials advocate the benefits to public
health.
Over the
past decade, smoking bans in public, limits on tobacco firms' advertising and
other measures have seen the number of smokers fall from about 40 percent of
the 28-nation bloc's 500 million citizens to 28 percent today.
However,
treatment of smoke-related diseases costs about 25 billion euros ($34 billion)
a year, and the EU estimates there are around 700,000 smoking-related deaths
across the European Union.
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