Author: Staff Writer

The European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee has said that some of the European Commission’s proposals aimed at revising the Tobacco Products Directive raise significant legal concerns.

These concerns relate to the legal base chosen by the commission, to fundamental rights such as the right to property and to the principle of proportionality.

The committee said the commission had based its proposals on a provision that allowed for measures aimed at improving the conditions for the establishment and functioning of the internal market. However, some of the measures proposed by the commission did not aim to improve the internal market, but had as their only objective the protection of public health.

“For example, it is difficult to see how the proposed (de facto) ban on menthol and on slim cigarettes could improve the functioning of the internal market,” the committee said. The true aim of these measures was the achievement of a higher level of health protection, but, while the protection of health was of the utmost importance, it was up to the member states and not the European Union to take measures in that regard.

“Some provisions in the commission’s proposal also raise serious doubts as to their conformity with fundamental rights such as the right to property, the right to freedom of expression and information and the freedom to conduct business,” the committee said. “These rights are enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (“the Charter”) and may only be limited pursuant to Article 52(1) of the Charter if the limitation is necessary, genuinely meets objectives of general interest and is proportional.

“Certain of the proposed measures, especially regarding the packaging, do not meet these requirements.”

Later, in its opinion, the committee said that, bearing in mind the impact on intellectual property rights, it was more than surprising that the commission did not even consider less restrictive measures such as smaller health warnings.

“Other measures proposed by the commission regarding the size and appearance of unit packs and regarding the product description meet similar concerns regarding fundamental rights,” the committee said. “They deprive manufacturers of their intellectual property rights, reduce customer choice and do not contribute to a better functioning of the internal market.

“By prohibiting any labeling that suggests that a particular tobacco product is less harmful than others, the proposal causes an additional problem. The development and promotion of less harmful means of tobacco use is essential in order to support tobacco users to stop smoking cigarettes and the like. Manufacturers must be able to communicate that a certain product is less harmful than others if this is scientifically proven and if it is not misleading.

“This is not the only measure proposed that would make it more difficult to access reduced-risk products. Article 18 of the proposal prohibits nicotine-containing products (NCP) such as e-cigarettes containing a certain nicotine level if they are not authorized pursuant to Directive 2001/83/EC (the Medicinal Products Directive). It is, however, quite unclear if these products (which are much less harmful than tobacco products) even fall under the scope of the Medicinal Products Directive. For products which do not fall under the directive, this would effectively constitute a ban. Banning products which are less harmful than tobacco products and which can be a means of smoking cessation is certainly not in line with the public health aims of the proposal.

“Finally, the commission’s proposal contains a large number of provisions delegating powers to the commission. However, pursuant to Article 290 TFEU, a delegation of powers is only possible with regard to nonessential elements of the legislative proposal. Some of the proposed provisions providing for delegated acts do not fulfill this requirement. For example, Article 3(2) in conjunction with Article 2(19) would grant the commission to set the maximum yield of nicotine for cigarettes placed on the market to zero, effectively prohibiting cigarettes for good.”

China Tobacco International (CTI) has said that it intends to open an office in North Carolina, USA, according to a Southeast Farm Press story.

The office is expected to serve as the base for CTI’s North American leaf-buying operations, which is likely to include purchases from both leaf dealers and farmers.

“China Tobacco’s decision to open an office here is a major statement about how much it values North Carolina tobacco,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler.

“My staff and I have been working to boost exports of tobacco for several years now, and we think CTI’s presence in our state will mean even more opportunities for our farmers.”

Meanwhile, Zhanhua Liang, president of U.S. China Tobacco International, said that while CTI had investigated setting up office in various U.S. states, it was decided that it was better to be in North Carolina and therefore close to the farmers. In addition, Troxler’s department and the local governments had helped CTI make the decision to move to North Carolina.

Patrons of a handful of bars and private clubs in Casper, Wyoming, USA, will once again be allowed to light up cigarettes inside these establishments following the loosening of Casper’s smoking ban, according to stories by the Casper Star-Tribune and Associated Press.

But their freedoms might be short-lived. Smoke-free advocates are starting to collect signatures for a referendum to overturn the change.

Casper’s city council voted 5-4 earlier this month to repeal part of an indoor smoking ban in effect since September. The vote lifted the ban for bars, but kept it in place for restaurants.

Bar owners had complained they were losing business to competitors in two nearby towns that allowed smoking. Repeal supporters also said it was an example of government getting too involved in civic life, citing New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s efforts to ban super-sized soft drinks.

“Just like what Mayor Bloomberg has done, or tried to do, with sugared drinks,” said Pat Sweeney, owner of a hotel with a bar currently smoke-free because of the ban. “It’s just not going to stop unless somebody stands up and says, ‘Wait a minute,’ and ’Let’s use some common sense here,’” he said.

China Tobacco Hunan is this year donating CNY13 million to help students from financially impoverished families, according to a Tobacco China Online story.

This year, 500 new university students from financially impoverished families will receive aid under the 16th Furong Scholars program.

During the past 16 years—since the launch of the program—China Tobacco Hunan has donated CNY115.94 million to aid more than 20,000 university students in 28 Chinese provinces and provincial-level regions.

Animal rights campaigners in Britain have been banned from running a billboard campaign warning that eating meat increases the risk of cancer, according to a story by Mark Hennessy for The Irish Times.

A campaign picture showed a child smoking a cigar alongside the statement: “You wouldn’t let your child smoke. Like smoking, eating meat increases the risk of heart disease and cancer. Go vegan!”

Claiming that the “advertisement” was “misleading,” the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said claims that eating any kind of meat increased the risk had not been “proven beyond doubt.”

Reacting to the ban, a spokesman for the campaign group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said: “We are befuddled by the ASA’s ruling on our billboard highlighting the fact that eating meat increases the risk of heart disease and cancer. The link between meat consumption and the increased risk of heart disease and cancer has been repeatedly documented in studies and medical reports.”

Researchers from Oxford University had, he said, recently published an investigation into the diets of 45,000 people in England and Scotland, comparing heart disease rates between those who ate meat and those who didn’t.

The study, funded by Cancer Research UK and the U.K.’s Medical Research Council, “found that vegetarians had a 32 percent lower risk of becoming ill or dying from heart disease than [did] non-vegetarians,” even when adjustments were made to discount the effects of age, sex, weight and smoking habits.

In their deliberations over the EU’s proposed new Tobacco Products Directive, the various participants in this debate seem intent on falling into the trap of the committee that sets out to design a horse, which should be fine for those who like camels.

According to a story by Dave Keating for the European Voice, EU member states and members of the European Parliament are on a collision course. “On Friday (June 21), health ministers voted to slightly water down the European Commission’s proposal on tobacco rules,” Keating wrote. ‘”But MEPs want tougher rules that go further than the commission’s proposal.”

In fact, all sides seem bent on tinkering with the commission’s proposal. Ministers removed from the proposal a ban on slim cigarettes but said these products should be sold in regular-sized packs. And while they backed a proposal for large graphic warnings, they wanted them to take up less pack space (65 percent) than the commission had proposed (75 percent).

The compromises were apparently made to ease the concerns of central and eastern European member states that believe the commission’s proposals would harm their economies. But the ministers’ amendments failed to satisfy Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania, which voted against the council’s position.

Some MEPs, on the other hand, want tougher rules, with at least one demanding the introduction of standardized packs without logos or trademarks.

Four parliamentary committees want the bans on menthol and slim products expunged from the TPD revisions, but the environment and health committee, which is due to vote on July 10, is likely to take a stronger line.

In so far as the TPD revisions are meant to help protect the health of tobacco consumers, the real damage could be done by attacks on electronic cigarettes, which comprise the product with the most potential to help smokers quit their tobacco habit.

A plenary session of parliament is scheduled to vote on the TPD revisions during the first half of September.

Eight buildings in Jakarta, Indonesia, have been congratulated by the Environment Ministry for their success in implementing no-smoking policies, according to a story by Lenny Tristia Tambun for The Jakarta Globe.

Muhammad Tauchid, of the Jakarta Environmental Management Agency (BPLHD), said on Wednesday that while the agency had long listed the buildings that violated no-smoking regulations, it was time to express appreciation to those that complied with the regulations.

The regulations are based on a 2010 bylaw issued by former Jakarta governor Fauzi Bowo that put an end to special smoking rooms.

Imperial Tobacco has launched Smoke Spots in the UK, a new website aimed at supporting adult smokers and promoting smoker-friendly venues.

“With this great new initiative, we are giving our consumers the chance to interact and form an online community where they can share great smoking experiences with each other,” said Amy Kiss, head of consumer marketing.

Smoke Spots is already live in Germany and Austria, but is now being extended to the U.K., with London in the vanguard.

The website, at http://www.smoke-spots.co.uk, highlights smoker-friendly venues and events.

The key to the site is said to be its social aspect: forums, blog articles, competitions and links to local events that will help facilitate regular, experience-sharing conversations among smokers.

“The U.K. is a very important market for us,” said Andy Henwood, head of digital and marketing communications.

“We’ll be highlighting Smoke Spots through an integrated communication campaign, including social media and a mobile app, and we are confident awareness of this effective tool will quickly grow.

“We’ll be rolling Smoke Spots out to other cities in the U.K. in due course.”