Spanish regions oppose EU directive

The presidents of five Spanish regions with financial interests in tobacco are joining with tobacco manufacturers, traders and the hospitality sector in opposing proposed revisions to the European Commission’s Tobacco Products Directive, according to a blog at TobaccoRelated.org.

Altadis is said to have launched the campaign that is now being headed by the ‘Table of Tobacco’.

The blog said the campaign had been focused mainly on the finance commissions of the regional parliaments, with the result that the presidents of five Spanish regions – Cantabria, Canary Islands, Extremadura, La Rioja, and Navarra – were now campaigning against the directive.

These regions were opposing the directive because of varied economic interests. Cantabria, for instance, hosted the biggest Altadis factory in Spain while Extremadura was the main tobacco growing region in the country.