[Intl-tobacco] EU May Tone Down Tobacco Warnings

[Robert Weissman]

EU May Tone Down Tobacco Warnings
Source: AP, Thursday, 12/14/00

BRUSSELS, Belgium –– European Union health ministers declined Thursday to
endorse European Parliament proposals for bigger, more graphic health
warnings on cigarette packages, saying they will seek to tone these down
in negotiations with the EU assembly.

In a related development, EU Health Commissioner David Byrne told the
ministers he will propose a new bill to curb tobacco advertising to
replace EU legislation the European Court of Justice voided in October
saying it was legally flawed.

"We will have new legislation on advertising and sponsorship for tobacco
... in the next couple of months," Byrne told reporters.

On Oct. 5, the EU high court said the commission had exceeded its
authority by drafting legislation to regulate a health matter but
disguising it as a fair trade issue.

Byrne said the ruling was not a setback for it did not dispute the aim of
the legislation, only the fact it was based on the wrong section of the EU
treaty.

Byrne said the health ministers registered "disappointment" with some
proposals of the European Parliament to curb smoking by forcing cigarette
makers to put bigger, scarier health warnings on their products.

On the eve of the health ministers meeting, the EU assembly proposed
tobacco makers devote up to 40 percent of cigarette packages to graphic
health warnings, including pictures of a diseased mouth or a cancerous
lung; ban distinctions between "low tar," "mild" or "light" cigarettes;
and prohibit cigarette exports from the EU to countries that have no tar
and nicotine limits.

Byrne declined to say what proposal in particular was unacceptable yet
called the proposed ban on terms like "mild" and "light" cigarettes
"really problematic." He said the issue would be discussed anew with the
European Parliament.