A key panel vote in the European Parliament backed changes to the Tobacco Products Directive that echo earlier Commission proposals for large package warnings, curbs on menthols, e-cigarettes, and a ban on slims.

“We stayed very close to the Commission text”, published last December, said the lead legislator for the panel TPD report, Linda McAvan. Approval by the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee came on a 50 to 13 vote, with eight abstentions. A plenary session vote is expected in September.
Last December, the European Commission proposed graphic warnings covering 75 per cent of a cigarette pack and a ban on characterising flavours such as menthol that mask tobacco taste. The Commission said e-cigarettes with more than a trace of nicotine should be regulated as medical products. It also proposed banning cigarettes narrower than 7.5 mm in width.
In June, European Union health ministers approved most of the Commission proposal, but struck the ban on slims and reduced the size of graphic warnings to 65 per cent for cigarette and roll-your-own packaging. Pack warnings vary in size from country to country, with the European average at about half the pack. The next step is to reconcile differences in the Health Council and parliamentary versions.