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European Union Approves Tough Rules on Electronic Cigarettes European Parliament Approves Tough Rules on Electronic Cigarettes
(about 4 hours later)
The European Parliament on Wednesday approved rules that will for the first time regulate Europe’s fast-growing market for electronic cigarettes. PARIS — The European Parliament on Wednesday approved rules for the region’s fast-growing market for electronic cigarettes, regulations that could help set a benchmark for standards around the world.
Beginning in mid-2016, advertising for e-cigarettes is to be banned in the 28 nations of the European Union, as it already is for ordinary tobacco products. E-cigarettes will be required to carry health warnings, and must be childproof. The amount of nicotine will be limited to 20 milligrams per milliliter, similar to ordinary cigarettes. Beginning in mid-2016, advertising for e-cigarettes would be banned in the 28 nations of the European Union, as it already is for ordinary tobacco products. E-cigarettes would also be required to carry graphic health warnings and must be childproof. The amount of nicotine would be limited to 20 milligrams per milliliter, similar to ordinary cigarettes.
The e-cigarette regulation was part of an overhaul of European Union tobacco law that Parliament, meeting in Strasbourg, France, voted overwhelmingly to adopt, by a margin of 500-63, with 60 abstentions. Goverments across the globe are grappling with how to regulate e-cigarettes, which turn nicotine-infused propylene glycol into an inhalable vapor. As sales of e-cigarettes have ballooned, the debate over the public health implications has intensified.
The vote ratified an agreement reached in December between Parliament and member states to update tobacco rules that have been in place since 2001. The Food and Drug Administration in the United States is soon expected to issue regulations for the devices; some American cities have already acted independently to ban e-cigarettes in public places.
To become law, the tobacco legislation now awaits only the final imprimatur of member states, something that appears to be all but certain. In Europe, the tobacco legislation just needs the final approval of member states — something that appears all but certain. It is expected by April.
The rules adopted on Wednesday go further than United States laws, by requiring that the top 65 percent of all cigarette packs be covered with health warnings and warning pictures of things like diseased lungs. The regulation of e-cigarettes in Europe is part of a broader overhaul of the region’s tobacco rules, which have been in place since 2001.
They ban all cigarette-themed products that are specifically aimed at children, like chocolate cigarettes, and cigarettes that come in packages designed to look like lipstick or perfume containers. Menthol cigarettes are also to be prohibited, after a four-year delay. But the new rules stop short of an earlier proposal to regulate e-cigarettes as medical devices. The rules adopted on Wednesday go further than United States laws. Along with the e-cigarette changes, they will require that the top 65 percent of all cigarette packs be covered with health warnings and pictures of things like diseased lungs. They would ban all tobacco products specifically targeted at children, like chocolate cigarettes, as well as cigarettes that come in packages designed to look like lipstick or perfume containers. Menthol cigarettes would also to be prohibited, after a four-year delay.
“This is a victory,” said Linda McAvan, the British Labour party member who guided the legislation through the Parliament. “The original proposal was stricter, and I would have voted for that, but the new law is anyway a huge step forward in tobacco control.” But the new rules stop short of an earlier proposal to regulate e-cigarettes as medicines. Such oversight would have moved them out of the speciality shops that have sprouted across Europe and into drugstores, where they would have been subject to the same regulatory regime as pharmaceuticals. The European rules also stop short of the uniform packaging mandated in Australia, instead allowing tobacco companies to maintain their branding and logos on the bottom third of cigarette boxes.
“This is a victory,” said Linda McAvan, the British Labour Party member of the European Parliament who guided the legislation through the chamber in the face of determined opposition from the tobacco industry. “The original proposal was stricter, and I would have voted for that, but the new law is anyway a huge step forward in tobacco control.”
The fight will probably continue as Big Tobacco and e-cigarette start-ups looks to protect their business. For example, the tobacco companies’ case has previously been taken up by countries like Ukraine, Cuba and Indonesia in a challenge to Australia’s rules at the World Trade Organization, arguing that the regulations constitute “technical barriers” to trade and violate the companies’ intellectual property rights.
“I’m totally confident that we’ll be taken to court by the tobacco companies,” Ms. McAvan said, adding that it was “worrying that they may try to abuse trade treaties.”
Drago Azinovic, president for European operations at Philip Morris International, said in a statement on Wednesday that the revision to European law “represents a worrying departure from the E.U.'s basic standards of proportionate, evidenced-based policy making, which will further erode intellectual property rights and undermine the E.U. charter where these rights are protected.”
The question of how — or even whether — to regulate e-cigarettes has divided the policy-making bodies of the European Union, just as it has the medical community. The devices deliver the addictive nicotine of tobacco via a vapor and without the tar and other toxic chemicals of regular cigarettes. Some people claim that e-cigarettes are effective in helping smokers to quit, but there is little reliable data.
The European Commission, the Union’s executive body, had originally called for a much tougher line on electronic cigarettes. That proposal had the backing of the 28 European Union member states. But in October the Parliament, one of the three main voices in European policy, voted to keep the products regulated as tobacco, after intense lobbying from the tobacco industry and tens of thousands of “vapers,” or people who smoke e-cigarettes.
Ms. McAvan said the question of whether e-cigarettes were classified as medicines or tobacco products was really beside the point. “We needed a framework to allow them onto the market so we can see how it works,” she said.
She noted that, in theory, the final agreement allows member states the option of classifying e-cigarettes as medicines if they choose to do so. But she said that would prove complicated in practice. E-cigarette companies could also choose to claim medical status for the devices, she said, which would allow them to be advertised as smoking cessation aids.
Despite the determined battle by industry players, the final rules in Europe passed easily. The Parliament, which was meeting in Strasbourg, France, voted to adopt 500-63, with 60 abstentions.
Still, it was far from unanimous.
“This was a very bad agreement,” said Martin Callanan, a British Conservative Party politician who said he opposed e-cigarette regulation on the ground that the products help people stop smoking. “It’s a massive loss for public health in Europe.”
Mr. Callanan, who backed most of Wednesday’s tobacco law reforms, said the details on e-cigarettes were “still very murky” and added, “I’m sure a lot of this will end up in the courts.”