Brussels, 07/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament is preparing to vote on Tuesday 8 October on the tobacco directive and the debate preceding the vote looks like it is going to be heated, particularly on the key provisions in the directive on electronic cigarettes, health warnings, slim and flavoured cigarettes (particularly menthol). No fewer than 102 amendments were submitted and substantial disagreement exists between the political groups and Parliamentary committees.
The European Commission proposal was presented on 19 December 2012 and its main priority is to make smoking less attractive to young people by banning fruit flavoured, sweetened and slim cigarettes. It is also planning on providing health warnings that take up 75% of the packet surface area and classify electronic cigarettes as pharmaceutical products. The Council of Ministers just managed to reach a general approach on 21 June, which includes more reduced health warnings but which also recommend classifying E-cigarettes as pharmaceutical products. The debates at the Parliament are expected to be heated, in a context of intensive lobbying from the tobacco industry, which has been denounced by the Greens Group. Rebecca Harms, the co-president of the Greens (Germany) and Carl Schlyter from Sweden, who co-chairs the ENVI committee of the Parliament, denounced the list of amendments submitted by a majority of the centre-right MEPs, conservatives and liberals, who they believe are influenced by the tobacco lobby. These involve the removal of the ban on menthol flavoured cigarettes, a watering down in the restrictions on new generation products such as E-cigarettes and the reduction in health warnings.
Electronic cigarettes: tobacco products or medicine? Discussions on the tobacco directive have come to a head over recent months over the classification of e-cigarettes: should they be considered as pharmaceutical or tobacco products? Some believe they should be classified as medical products because they are considered as an efficient way of helping to stop smoking and should exclusively be sold in chemists and subject to strict conditions. The report by Linda McAvan, adopted by the ENVI committee on 10 July and proposed by the European Commission and Council, would like electronic cigarettes to be considered as medicine, which is also the position of the Greens/EFA and S&D. The EPP, supported by many MEPs at the ALDE and ECR, submitted an amendment that went in the opposite direction and would like electronic cigarettes to be considered as a tobacco product. They are hoping to obtain the support of the majority of MEPs in ensuring that this amendment is adopted. Peter Liese from Germany, deputy president in charge of health issues at the EPP argued that, “by switching to E-cigarettes, many (health) problems can be reduced, although they contain nicotine. So far, it appears that any negative consequences provoked by other tobacco products do not occur when electronic cigarettes are 'smoked'”. According to Liese, it is total nonsense to get worked up about the sale of electronic cigarettes while at the same time allowing much more dangerous tobacco products to be sold. According to the EPP, E-cigarettes should be subject to the same restrictions as other tobacco products in terms of health warnings and should not be sold to minors. On Monday 7 September on the eve of the vote, the Independent Association of Users of Electronic Cigarettes (Aiduce) handed in a petition to MEPs demanding, “an impartial examination of this new tobacco alternative”. It had been signed by 40,000 people.
Health warnings: 75%, 65%, 55% or 50% of packet surface? The question of how much space should be given to health warnings on cigarette packets also caused a lot of division. The Commission proposed 75% of packet surface area, the Council 65%, with the McAvan report on the same lines as the Commission proposal. MEPs are, however, very divided according to their political allegiance: the EPP would like 50%, ALDE 65%, whereas the Greens and the S&D are calling for 75%. In a last-ditch attempt to guide the debate on this question, the Irish Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, sent a letter, co-signed by the Irish minister for health, James Reilly, to all EPP and Irish MEPs from all the different groups to reject Amendment 97 advocating health warnings reduced to 50% of the packet surface. Ireland warned that big advertisements are more efficient because they underline the negative effects of tobacco and would make negotiations with the Council more difficult and put in danger the possibility of obtaining an agreement before the European elections.
For or against menthol and slim cigarettes? The Commission would like to ban them but the Council has lifted the ban on slim and menthol cigarettes by introducing a three-year transition period. Jolanta Hibner MEP (EPP) submitted an amendment calling for the ban to be lifted on menthol cigarettes and said that this flavouring is used as a food additive and is free from any restrictions. Poland is a significant producer and consumer of menthol cigarettes and has done its utmost to ensure that menthol was authorised during the Health Council on 21 June. The EPP remains isolated on this question and the other political groups believe that menthol (which young smokers particularly like) should remain banned. (IL/transl.fl)