MEPs have backed stricter EU rules on tobacco products.<br /><br />Cigarettes containing flavours such as vanilla or menthol will be banned from 2020.<br /><br />The vote comes after a fierce lobbying campaign from the tobacco industry.<br /><br />“Seven hundred thousand Europeans die prematurely because of cigarette and tobacco use,” said Swedish Green MEP Carl Schlyter. <br /><br />“That’s four times more than suicide, drugs, workplace accidents and traffic accidents combined with AIDS,” he added.<br /><br />Cigarette packs will now have to carry graphic pictorial warnings that cover 65 percent of the box.<br /><br />“The effect will be that tobacco products will looks like tobacco products, not like cosmetics,” EU Health Commissioner Tonio Borg told euronews.<br /><br />Electronic cigarettes will be regulated for general sale at the EU level, but member states can decide if they want to classify them as ‘medicines’ or tobacco products.<br /><br />The tobacco industry said the new rules will lead to job losses, encourage smuggling and cut government tax revenues.
