An Italian anti-smoking organization is today staging an event at the EU Parliament during which experts and policymakers are due to discuss the benefits of electronic cigarettes.
In a press note issued through Business Wire, the Lega Italiana Anti Fumo (LIAF) said that while the use of e-cigarettes was growing continuously, worldwide, Europe was falling behind.
It was essential that Europe exploited the potential of this technology to reduce the impact of smoking on European public health, it said.
The LIAF is being hosted by the Italian MEP Giovanni La Via, who is a former chairperson of the parliament’s Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee.
It is intended that the event will provide the opportunity for an exchange of views on the potential of e-cigarettes to help reshape European health.
‘Though this is a very important public health issue, the discussion has been absent from the European agenda,’ the LIAF said in a press note.
‘With cigarettes killing more than half a million smokers a month globally and almost six million Europeans now using e-cigarettes to move away from smoking, providing scientific evidence to shift the balance from an “abstinence-only” agenda to a harm reduction strategy is vital in bringing down smoking deaths.’
“Europe is at a crossroads in the fight against smoking,” La Via was quoted as saying. “A growing body of evidence shows that there is a huge opportunity for public health in promoting the use of e-cigarettes to help people stop smoking. Health policymakers in Europe have a duty to provide the public with all of the facts on e-cigarettes, and to provide the best regulatory environment to help smokers quit completely.”
The press note said that recent reports had led key public health institutions to take a positive stance on e-cigarettes.
‘Well-respected bodies, such as Public Health England (PHE), Cancer Research UK and Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), recognise the potential of e-cigarettes to reduce the health effects of smoking,’ the note said. ‘PHE’s recent report on e-cigarettes (February 2018) concludes that vaping or using e-cigarettes are 95 percent safer than smoking tobacco.
‘Moreover, the report shows that while smoking rates among young people continue to fall, there is no evidence that e-cigarettes are a gateway to smoking. The same research found that e-cigarettes are used almost exclusively by those who have already smoked.’
Tag: European Union
Italian e-cig initiative
Smoke and deliver
A French member of the European Parliament has asked the EU Commission how it intends to check that tobacco manufacturers are complying with maximum cigarette delivery levels.
In a preamble to two questions, Philippe Juvin said that Article 3 of the Tobacco Products Directive laid down maximum emission levels for tar, nicotine, carbon monoxide and other substances.
‘With the same goal of curbing the harmfulness of tobacco products, Article 5 sets out that member states must require manufacturers to submit a list of the ingredients and emissions in their tobacco products.
‘In France, the National Committee Against Smoking (Comité national contre le tabagisme – CNCT) filed a complaint on 18 January 2018 against a number of cigarette manufacturers for ‘endangering’ the lives of others. The CNCT suspects that cigarette emission levels, which are duly regulated in the above directive, have been rigged.’
Juvin asked:- ‘How will the Commission check that manufacturers are complying with Article 3 of the Tobacco Products Directive?
- ‘With a view to preventing emission levels from being rigged in any way and in accordance with Article 4 of that directive, does the Commission intend to adopt any delegated acts on measurement methods?’
The Commission is due to answer these questions in writing.
‘Filtergate’ question raised
Thirty-seven members of the European Parliament have expressed concern about what they describe as the ‘Filtergate scandal’; and they are seeking assurances from the Commission about compliance with the Tobacco Products Directive.
In a preamble to their question, the MEPs said that Articles 3, 4 and 5 of Directive 2014/40/EU concerning the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco and related products had specified maximum emission levels for tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide in tobacco products, the measurement methods to be used for determining those levels, and requirements concerning the reporting of ingredients and emissions.
‘More specifically, Article 3 stipulates that the emission levels from cigarettes placed on the market or manufactured in the member states may not be greater than 10 mg of tar, 1 mg of nicotine and 10 mg of carbon monoxide per cigarette.
‘Article 4 stipulates that tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide emissions from cigarettes must be verified by laboratories which are approved and monitored by the competent authorities of the member states.
‘Article 5 stipulates that member states must require manufacturers and importers of tobacco products to submit to their competent authorities information concerning ingredients and quantities thereof and the emission levels referred to in Article 3.
‘All these requirements had already been in force since the adoption of Directive 2001/37/EC.’
The MEPs asked whether, following the submission by the National Anti-Smoking Committee to the State Prosecutor in France of a complaint against the French subsidiaries of four cigarette manufacturers (British American Tobacco, Philip Morris, Japan Tobacco and Imperial Brand) citing “deliberate endangerment of persons unknown”, a complaint that was based on the allegation that the manufacturers in question placed on the market cigarettes whose filters had been manipulated, with the result that their actual emission levels for tar, nicotine, carbon monoxide were significantly higher than those officially verified, ‘can the Commission give assurances that all the provisions of Directive 2014/40/EU, and in particular those referred to above, are being enforced in all the member states and complied with by cigarette manufacturers?’
The Commission is due to reply in writing.Tracking an export ban
A German member of the EU parliament has asked the Commission what measures it is taking to prevent its track-and-trace system creating a de facto ban on the export of tobacco products from EU countries to certain other countries.
In a preamble to three questions, Werner Langen said that on December 15, 2017, the Commission had adopted an implementing act introducing an EU-wide track-and-trace system for tobacco products.
The system was intended to cover also products manufactured for markets outside the EU, he said, before asking:
1) ‘Is the inclusion of goods for export within the scope of the track-and-trace system compatible with EU legislation, and how does the Commission therefore view the fact that, in principle, it lacks the power to regulate product specifications for markets outside the European internal market?
2) How does the Commission intend to get around the resulting de facto export ban in third countries such as Australia that, owing to strict packaging and labelling regulations, will not allow track-and-trace coding?
3) ‘What specific measures will the Commission take to prevent this de facto ban?’EU in denial over snus
The uptake of snus in Norway is being credited with almost eliminating cigarette smoking among young people living there.
In a note published on its website today, the New Nicotine Alliance (NNA) said that government figures showed the incidence of smoking among women aged 16-24 was down from 30 percent in 2001 to 0.1 percent, while the incidence of smoking among young men was down from 29 percent to three percent.
The NNA said that the fall in smoking among Norway’s young people did not appear to be the result of their switching to vaping because nicotine-containing electronic-cigarettes were only now being legalised.
A more likely explanation seems to be presented by a sharp increase that has occurred in the use of snus. During 2008-14, snus use among young women grew from five percent to 14 percent.
In neighbouring Sweden, where snus is also legal, 20 percent of the population use snus and there the adult smoking rate has fallen to five percent.
Last month the European Court of Justice held a hearing on whether the EU ban on snus outside Sweden should be lifted, an action that has been supported by the NNA.
Its trustee Professor Gerry Stimson was quoted as saying that any reasonable person looking at the spectacular graph for smoking among young Norwegians would be struck by how the fall accelerated after snus became available in 2002.
“This is no fluke,” he said. “The end of smoking is in sight in Norway and Sweden as people choose far safer snus instead.
“So reasonable people will ask why the UK government decided to urge the European Court of Justice to maintain the snus ban in the rest of the EU.”
His comments were echoed by the smoking-substitutes expert Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos who said there was absolutely no doubt that access to snus in Sweden and Norway had played a crucial role in the rapid reduction of their smoking rates.And the answer is?
The EU Commission has said it supports a Council recommendation that, in part, calls on member states to prohibit all tobacco advertising in cinemas, ‘as well as practices which directly or indirectly promote tobacco products’.
However, it said the portrayal of smoking in films was not regulated at EU level.
The Commission was responding to a question by the French member of the European Parliament, Marie-Christine Arnautu, who had asked whether the Commission was officially in favor of banning smoking in films.
Arnautu, said in a preamble to her question that the idea of banning smoking in films, inspired by a fanatical obsession with public health, was absurd, patronising, invasive, disproportionate and a threat to freedom of artistic expression.
‘However, during a French Senate debate held on 16 November 2017 on the latest increase in cigarette prices, a Socialist senator complained that films were shamelessly encouraging smoking,’ Arnautu said. ‘The Minister of Health, Agnès Buzyn, then immediately expressed her wish to “end the trivialising of smoking on social media and in films”, an assertion that raises questions about a possible ban on cigarettes on the silver screen.
‘If we were to take such moralising to its logical conclusion, we would also have to censure all the “deviant” behaviour on display in so many films, such as driving over the speed limit, fighting, stealing and other crimes. But why stop there when we could also ban misogynist remarks, unhealthy meals, alcohol, high-polluting cars and, while we’re at it, the cult dialogues of Michel Audiard’s films?
‘In response to the controversy, Commission spokesperson Anca Paduraru said that “the Commission welcomes all measures taken by EU countries that de-glamorize smoking and reduce uptake, particularly amongst young people” (Euractiv, 21/11/2017).’
Arnautu asked, ‘Is the Commission officially in favour of banning smoking in films?’
In its written answer, the Commission said the issue of smoking in films was of concern from a public health perspective. ‘Some studies funded by the Commission in the past indicate, for example, that in the EU young people’s exposure to smoking in films is much higher than it is to the same age group in the US,’ it said.
‘This is why, as the Commission pointed out in its answer to written question E-000981/2016, tobacco advertising in films is prohibited at EU-level by the Audiovisual Media Services Directive.
‘This Directive also prohibits product placement of tobacco products in films and sponsorship by undertakings whose principal activity is the manufacture or sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products.
‘In addition, the Commission supports the Council recommendation on the prevention of smoking and on initiatives to improve tobacco control. This recommendation calls on member states to further prohibit all advertising in cinemas, as well as practices which directly or indirectly promote tobacco products.
‘However, the actual portrayal of smoking in films is not regulated at EU level.’E-cig, HNB excise opposed
The EU Commission believes that excise tax should not be applied to electronic cigarettes or heat-not-burn (HNB) products, according to a story by Sarantis Michalopoulos for euractiv.com.
Given the tobacco market’s shift away from traditional tobacco and toward new generation products such as e-cigarettes and HNB devices, and in the light of new developments in the illegal tobacco trade, the EU Council asked the Commission in March 2016 to come up with a proposal on the revision of the Tobacco Excise Directive.
This legislation sets out harmonised rules on the rates of excise duty applied to manufactured tobacco across the EU.
E-cigarettes and other novel products are not covered by the directive and the member states asked the Commission to conduct a study to explore the possibility of imposing excise taxes on them.
But, due to the availability of only limited data on these products, the Commission decided not to propose a harmonised approach until further information was available.
The Commission said that it would re-examine the situation in the next regular report on tobacco taxation, which is due in 2019.Snus challenge imminent
A legal challenge against the EU’s ban on snus outside Sweden is due to be heard at the European Court of Justice on January 25, according to a note posted on the website of the New Nicotine Alliance (NNA).
The case was originally brought by Swedish Match, but the NNA, which is a charitable organization concerned with improving public health through a greater understanding of new, risk-reduced nicotine products and their uses, joined the case because it concerned the health of smokers in the EU.
‘It is not about markets and commerce, but about the right to be able to choose a safer alternative to smoking,’ the NNA said in its note. ‘For the NNA this case is about whether some 320,000 premature deaths from smoking can be saved in future years, as detailed by Dr Lars Ramström in his statement to the court.’ Since 1990, Ramström has been director of the Institute for Tobacco Studies, Stockholm, Sweden, an independent research institute focusing on the epidemiology of tobacco use and related policy matters.
The NNA says that the core of its case is that the ban on snus is both disproportionate and contrary to the right to health. ‘There is no need for the ban, and the ban, if upheld, will continue to contribute to excess mortality from smoking in Europe,’ it said.
‘This is the first time that a “right to health” argument has been used to challenge a bad tobacco law: we argue that the Court needs to examine the compatibility of the Tobacco Products Directive with both the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the harm reduction obligation under the [World Tobacco Organization’s] Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.’
Last year the ECJ asked all EU states and the EU Institutions to comment on the case, and it received five responses.
On January 25, all parties to the case will be given 15 minutes or so to expand on their arguments.
After the hearing, the Advocate General assigned to the case is due to examine the arguments and evidence, and to come up with a preliminary opinion for the court.
The court is due to reach a final decision later this year.
The NNA note is at: https://nnalliance.org/blog/223-campaign-to-legalise-snus-update-on-the-ecj-case.Belarus upping production
A Lithuanian member of the EU Parliament has asked whether the European External Action Service (EEAS) is going to address the issue of cigarettes manufactured in Belarus being sold in EU member states.
In a preamble to her questions, Laima Liucija Andrikienė said the government of Belarus had recently announced that a private investor would increase the manufacturing capabilities of the Grodno Tobacco factory.
According to the announcement, the increase in production was due to start in January 2018, in response to a growing demand for Belarusian cigarette brands.
The EU was among the target markets.
The MEP alleged that Belarusian cigarette brands manufactured at the Grodno factory were smuggled into more than 20 member states where they could not be legally sold.
They already represented around EUR1 billion in yearly tax losses.
Andrikienė asked:- Will the EEAS address this issue with the government of Belarus?
- Will the EEAS request information about the member state markets on which Belarusian cigarette brands can legally be sold and how the exports will be tracked to avoid ruptures in the supply chain?
- Will the EEAS point out that low taxes applied in Belarus on cigarettes are the incentive for smuggling into the EU?
The EU Commission is due to answer these questions in writing.
Child-labor issue raised
A Maltese member of the European Parliament has asked what is being done to help prevent children working on tobacco farms.
In a preamble to her question put to the EU Commission, Marlene Mizzi said that today, thousands of child workers spent summers working on tobacco farms, often to earn money needed for books, school supplies and backpacks, or to help their parents pay the bills.
‘Many experience symptoms of acute nicotine poisoning, including nausea, vomiting, headaches, and dizziness,’ she said.
‘Public health studies have shown that tobacco farmworkers have nicotine levels in their bodies equal to smokers in the general population. ‘Moreover, it is dangerous for children to work 12 hours a day in the sun and high heat while absorbing nicotine and pesticides.
‘Working in tobacco can be perilous for adults, but it is especially harmful to children whose bodies and brains are still developing.’
Mizzi then asked: ‘Can the Commission clarify what measures it plans to take with regard to the tobacco industry, in order to protect the health of children by preventing hazardous child labour on tobacco farms?’
The question is due to be answered by the Commission in writing.
