A ruling by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg means that cigarettes sold in the European Union (EU) will carry stronger warnings about the dangers of smoking, and tobacco companies will no longer be allowed to use terms such as “light” or “mild” to describe their products. The court rejected a challenge by 2 tobacco companies against last year's EU directive on the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco products.
That directive provides for cigarette packets to carry health warnings covering 30% of the front and 40% of the back of each pack. Every pack must include 1 of 14 advisories, such as “Smoking clogs the arteries and causes heart attacks and strokes.”
The warnings will be framed in black, and usage will be rotated so that all appear regularly. The directive also lowers the maximum tar yield from 12 mg to 10 mg. As well, EU health ministers have banned tobacco advertising in newspapers and on the radio and the Internet.
Antitobacco groups praised the ruling concerning the use of “light” and “mild,” saying that it would help correct the misperception that these cigarettes cause less harm. “Every day Europe's doctors come face to face with the suffering and death caused by tobacco,” said Dr. Sinead Jones, director of the British Medical Association's Tobacco Control and Resource Centre. “Smokers have the right to clear, accurate information about the health effects of tobacco, and to be protected against misleading claims that some cigarettes are safer than others.” — Mary Helen Spooner, West Sussex, UK