Philip Morris International cited marginal improvements in the Tobacco Products Directive give provisional approval by the European Parliament this week, but warned the proposed legislation will harm tobacco company property rights.

In a statement following the vote on 8 Oct, PMI EU Region President Drago Azinovic said, “members of the European Parliament have voted to ban an entire segment of the legal market despite the inevitable increase in illegal trade that this will fuel. They have failed to provide a workable framework for reduced harm products and have also continued to include oversized graphic health warnings and pack standardisation – even though the risks of smoking are already well known – and without apparent concern for property rights that the EU Charter protects.
“There remain several important steps before this Directive passes into law, and we hope that decision makers will take the opportunity to apply common sense and adopt a directive that is – as any EU legislation must be – necessary, proportionate and supported by credible evidence,” Azinovic said.