A non-binding opinion to the European Union’s top court upheld the validity of EU regulations to take effect in May, 2016 that would ban menthol cigarettes and require much larger product warnings, the court said.

Although the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg has not issued a final ruling on complaints filed by Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco, the court usually follows the opinions. The opinion was authored by high court Advocate General Juliane Kokott, the court said in a 23 Dec statement.
Kokott’s opinion also supports the advertising ban on e-cigarettes in the revised EU Tobacco Products Directive (TPD), limits on nicotine content in e-liquids, product warnings and other restrictions. The rules are “relatively moderate” in comparison to traditional tobacco products, the opinion said. Those regulations are being challenged by the UK e-cigarette company Totally Wicked.
“The EU legislature did not exceed the considerable latitude to be given to it in ensuring that tobacco and related products may be placed on the market under uniform conditions throughout the EU without losing sight of the fundamental objective of a high level of health protection,” the statement says.