WIREDGOV

On 8 October, the European Parliament granted a mandate by an overwhelming majority to begin negotiations with the Council of the European Union on a new tobacco directive, which would subject tobacco products to stricter regulations. This paved the way for further steps to protect European citizens from the harms of tobacco. 

In 2001, the EP and Council adopted the Tobacco Products Directive. The main goal of the directive was to harmonize the legal acts of Member States regulating the composition of tobacco products, and prepare warnings about tobacco’s harmful effect on health.

More than 10 years have passed since the adoption of the directive, and the situation is still very troubling: 28% of EU citizens (29% aged 15–24) smoke. The result: 700,000 premature deaths. The statistics are ruthless: 94% of those who began smoking under the age of 25 are still smoking, and over 50% of smokers die approximately 14 years sooner than average life expectancy. Tobacco is the main (avoidable) cause of premature deaths in the EU.

Thus a decision was made to tighten the control and sales of tobacco products. In December 2012, Tonio Borg, Commissioner for Health, proposed amendments to the Tobacco Products Directive on behalf of the European Commission. The amendments are a result of extensive discussions with the general public: EU citizens submitted almost 82 000 suggestions on how to regulate the tobacco industry and the use of tobacco products. The suggested regulations were reinforced by the EP Environment, Public Health, and Food Safety Committee.

Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis, Minister of Health of the Republic of Lithuania, had numerous meetings with MEPs regarding the directive. Representatives of many Member States expressed the hope that perhaps the biggest progress in renewing the Tobacco Products Directive could be made during the Lithuanian Presidency. Before the voting at the EP, Minister Andriukaitis spoke about how he had lost two brothers because of smoking-related diseases, and asked MEPs to remember the prematurely deceased smokers who would’ve chosen life over freer tobacco sales.

The voting was a turning point – it became clear that both the EP and Council were in favour of renewing the directive, so now the two institutions only have to agree on the provisions. According to Mr Andriukaitis, the tobacco industry's actions posed a threat to the directive's renewal: “In order to counter this, we maintained constant contact with MEPs, and our Permanent Representation to the EU worked hard as well”. The EP decided that 65% of the surface area of cigarette, pipe, and rolling tobacco product packages had to be used for warnings about the harm of these products, and also agreed to ban mint and other flavoured cigarettes. However, the MEPs didn’t support the proposals to ban slim cigarettes or to regulate electronic cigarettes as medical devices.

Despite divided opinions, Minister Andriukaitis thinks that the Tobacco Products Directive has united Europe: “EU citizens want their right to live in a healthy environment to be respected, that governments ensure the best possible healthcare. People obligated their representatives to deal with the tobacco industry. Various citizen pressure groups and NGOs worked together. MEPs did what voters expect from them. In other words, Europe acted as one – it decided to tackle the tobacco industry and promote life. I’m glad that the Lithuanian Presidency was part of it.”

The EP’s voting paved the way for trilogues – negotiations between the Council, Parliament, and Commission, to harmonize the compromise legal act according to the Commission’s project and the Council and Parliament’s discussed positions, including possible amendments or revisions.

Lithuania’s goal is to conclude negotiations with the EP regarding this directive before the end of the year.