A group of 12 European countries led by the Netherlands has urged the European Commission to amend tobacco laws to require coverage of new products such as vapes and nicotine packs, with sweeping restrictions on taste and nicotine content to make them less attractive to young people.
Key points:
1. A group of 12 European countries led by the Netherlands has urged the European Commission to amend tobacco laws, calling for updated regulations to cover vapes and nicotine packs, and proposing limits on taste. Nicotine content and packaging.
2. Ministers are concerned about young people’s use of new nicotine products. Calling for them to be made less attractive and for social media to be held more accountable.
3. The signatories also include Belgium, Estonia, Finland, France, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovenia and Spain.
12 European countries join letter to EU to update tobacco laws
A group of 12 European countries, led by the Netherlands, is urging the European Commission to amend tobacco laws. They warn that existing regulations fail to cover new nicotine products and need to be updated.
The ministers have written to Oliver Varhelyi. The European health commissioner, asking the Hungarian official to review the Tobacco Products Directive, which has been in place since 2014. The EU’s executive arm has pledged to revise the directive in line with its “Plan to Fight Cancer”.
In addition, ministers are concerned about the growing number of young people using vapes and nicotine packs, which are not currently covered by the directive.
“We therefore call on the Commission to develop, propose and implement future-proof EU legislation to make vapes and other emerging nicotine products, such as nicotine packs, less attractive, especially to young people,” the letter states. Such regulations should include comprehensive limits on taste, caps on nicotine content, and requirements for minimalist packaging.
At the same time, ministers also expressed concern about weakening national measures on cross-border sales and said social media platforms should take greater responsibility for marketing their products.
The Dutch Minister of Youth, Prevention and Sport, Vincent Karremans, stressed that the Netherlands has already banned flavored vapes.
Other signatories include Belgium, Estonia, Finland, France, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovenia and Spain.
