Proposed revisions to the European Union’s Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) could cost 175,000 jobs, according to a study commissioned by Philip Morris International.

Poland and Bulgaria would be particularly hard hit, with job loss in Poland as high as 50,000 and potentially another 29,000 in Bulgaria, according to the study done by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. Tax revenue loss in the EU could be as high as EUR 5 billion, according to the study.
“Standardizing packaging and banning 10 per cent of the EU cigarette market, without any credible scientific evidence that this will reduce smoking rates or improve public health, risks fueling the black market, which already costs Member States EUR 12.5 billion annually,” said Julie Soderlund, PMI vice president for communication. “We hope the EU will reconsider these proposals and replace them with a regulatory framework that is not politically driven, but science-based.” (ci)