Menthol cigarettes, ten packs and small rolling tobacco pouches are to be outlawed. Bigger health warnings on packets and a ban on descriptions such as ‘light’, ‘mild’ and ‘low tar’ will also be introduced. There will also be new limits on advertising for electronic cigarettes although they will not be regulated as medicines. The clampdown was agreed by MEPs today and should be written into law next year. The decision was welcomed by anti-smoking campaigners who say it will save thousands of lives.
But Angela Harbutt, head of campaigns at pro-smoking group Forest, said: ‘This is prohibition. Menthols have been smoked by adults for decades who will now turn to the black market costing the treasury millions and putting smokers at risk.’ very year 700,000 people in Europe die of smoking-related disease. The vote clears the way for a European Union directive to be finalised next year. It is likely to take another two years to be imposed in the 28 member countries. It will lead to a ban on menthol cigarettes by 2022 and mean that 65 per cent of each cigarette pack has to be covered in gory images such as the inside of a cancer-riddled lung.
Menthol cigarettes have been targeted because studies show they appeal to younger smokers. The decision on e-cigarettes was widely welcomed as an attempt to ensure they remain readily available to those trying to quit. Expert Prof Peter Hajek said: ‘Current research indicates that the risks to health from using e-cigarettes are minimal.’
But UKIP MEP Paul Nuttall said: ‘This EU tobacco directive defies logic, even the EU’s twisted logic. Banning packs of ten will not stop people smoking, it will just make them buy more cigarettes and make them poorer.’
