Industry furious as MEPs vote for stronger EU tobacco control

"The focus is to prevent the industry from recruiting new smokers among the young" said British MEP Linda McAvan from the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) who is steering the legislation through Parliament.

"The smoking trend is down, as action by public authorities has reduced the number of smokers over the years. However, there is a worrying drift: 29% of young people smoke. The World Health Organisation has shown that since 2005, the trend has been going up amongst young boys and girls in some countries" she added.

Michael Jäger, general secretary of the Taxpayers Association of Europe (TAE), said:

"It is a debatable point whether the measures discussed such as the introduction of shocking images covering 75% of the package are expedient. Standardisation of packages and bans of whole product segments are serious market interventions and are excessive from the view of the TAE.

“Prevention is the right way, but interventions that destroy jobs unfoundedly and that lead to serious tax losses are wrong. This is even more valid at this time when Europe has to solve so many other problems. Therefore, the TAE claims a comprehensive and transparent impact assessment progress of the Tobacco Products Directive which is pending to be decided. We do not need more regulations in Europe but a consequent implementation and control of the existing ones."

Health organisations and advocates such as the European Heart Network, the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) and the Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME) said in a joint statement:

"Tobacco is not just a matter of lifestyle choice for adults, over two thirds of European smokers start before the age of 18. The truth is that tobacco is a deadly, addictive product that kills half of its users when used as intended. In this respect, the European public health community welcomes these proposals as a step in the right direction towards reducing the attractiveness of tobacco, particularly to young people. The public health community maintains though that this directive could and should go further."

Belgian MEP Frédérique Ries who is leading negotiations for the Liberal and Democrat group (ALDE) on the revision of the Tobacco Products Directive said:

"There is no disguising the fact that smoking kills. Short of banning tobacco products per se, MEPs opted today to give consumers the clearest possible warnings about the health risks of smoking. Health NGOs from across Europe are united in the view that clear and visible warnings on cigarette packets do play a role in making consumers think twice before purchasing cigarettes. This is also the view of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control."

Commenting on the vote, Green public health spokesperson and Swedish MEP Carl Schlyter said:

"We are delighted that the public health committee, which has the lead responsibility in the European Parliament, clearly resisted the huge lobbying pressure from the tobacco industry and voted for an ambitious revision of the tobacco directive. Importantly, the public health committee went further than the European Commission's initial proposal with regard to additives. According to its position, all additives will need to be authorised for use ("positive list"), with any substance that is inherently hazardous or hazardous upon combustion being disqualified from the positive list. This list would place the burden on manufacturers to prove that the additives comply with the list's strict criteria."