8th Oct 2013 08:55
STRASBOURG, FRANCE (Alliance News) - European Union governments and the bloc's top health official appealed to the European Parliament to vote for stricter tobacco rules Tuesday, amid concerns that the legislature could hold up the measures aimed at curbing smoking.
The governments agreed in June to set minimum requirements for health warnings on tobacco products, restrict flavourings such as menthol and regulate so-called e-cigarettes.
But the parliament now has to set out its position on the new rules, which are meant to make smoking less attractive particularly for young people.
"We're not prohibiting tobacco. Everyone is free to smoke as much as he likes," EU Health Commissioner Tonio Borg told parliamentarians as they debated the new rules at their plenary in Strasbourg, France, ahead of a vote later Tuesday.
"But at least the tobacco product should look like tobacco and it should taste like tobacco," Borg added.
Lithuanian Health Minister Vytenis Andriukaitis, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency, beseeched the lawmakers to keep in mind the estimated 700,000 Europeans who die of tobacco-related diseases every year. He said two of his brothers were among them.
"If we diminish the life-saving health measures in the interest of the tobacco industry, what can Europeans think about our reputation?" Andiukaitis said. "The revision of this directive would send an important signal that Europe is ready to take the lead in tackling the problem of smoking, which is such a blight on our society."
But those at the other end of the spectrum - chief among them the tobacco industry and related businesses - argue that the reforms will limit consumer choice, fuel the illegal trade in cigarettes, cut government revenues and cause job losses.
"We need to take into account the social consequences for those people who actually depend on tobacco production for their living," Bulgarian lawmaker Metin Kazak said as he spoke on behalf of the EU parliament's committee on international trade.
The committee on legal affairs has also raised concerns that the new rules may not pass legal muster.
Given the deeply split opinions in the parliament, some have argued that it should not on Tuesday grant its negotiators a mandate to start talks with EU governments on a final deal.
But observers have warned that this would likely make it impossible for the new rules to be agreed before European elections next year, and could thus push them back to at least 2015.
Copyright dpa
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