New EU anti-smoking Directive: Health warnings to cover 65 percent of packs; flavored cigarettes banned

Cigarette producers will no longer be able to sell flavored cigarettes (like menthol for instance) in the EU member states and health warnings will cover up to 65 percent of product packaging. The new anti-smoking legislation will have to be adopted by all member states until May 2016.

Products that were packaged and introduced into circulation before the deadline can still be sold until May 20, 2017.

“However, products with specific aromas that sell in higher volumes should be eliminated gradually, in order to give the consumers a chance to get used to other products”, according to the legal document quoted by Mediafax.

In the case of flavored tobacco products that represent 3 percent or more from a particular category of products will be eliminated by May 20, 2020.

Specific flavors are defined as additives that grant cigarettes a different smell or taste from tobacco, and it includes fruits, spices, herbs, alcohol, sweets, menthol or vanilla.

The new legislation established that health warnings will have to cover up to 65 percent of external packaging, both on the front and the back of the cigarette pack.

Tobacco producers and traders argue that the new directive will only serve to generate losses for companies and state budget, on top of not improving health conditions for the population.

“The new legislation (…) will have a huge impact on thousands and thousands of businesses in the member states of the Union, starting with farmers, package producers and tobacco companies, all the way up to retailers. Given the unfair deadline and the costs these changes will carry, we need clarity and balance now more than ever. There is no doubt in my mind that these changes will not bring the health benefits the law-makers are arguing for. Enlarging and standardizing sizes for health warnings will make the packaging easier to reproduce on the black market and forbidden products will be available in countries that are not part of the EU”, according to Gilda Lazar, director Corporate Affairs & Communications al JTI România, Moldova and Bulgaria.

Since its early stages, the revised anti-smoking Directive has encountered firm opposition from several member states such as Romania, Poland, Spain, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Italy and Germany. The national authorities have accused the EU of forcing them to cut jobs and lose money.