Europe MEPs tighten anti-tobacco laws aimed at young smokers

[dipsydoodle]

Source: BBC News

Euro MPs have voted to tighten tobacco regulations aimed at putting young people off smoking, but some measures do not go as far as originally planned.

They rejected a European Commission proposal to treat electronic cigarettes as medicinal products - a move that would have restricted sales.

They backed a ban on menthol cigarettes - but with a five-year delay. And slim cigarettes will not be banned.

There will be more negotiations with EU governments before the law is adopted.

Among other measures, MEPs voted on Tuesday to put health warnings on 65% of each cigarette pack, as opposed to the proposed 75%.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24439474

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One of our UK comedians did point a while ago that instead of the health warning a note saying "one of these cigarettes has been poked up a dog's bum" might be more productive.

[Recursion]

1. I remember the warning labels in Austria:

"Rauchen kann zu einem langsamen und schmerzhaften Tod fuehren."

"Smoking can lead to a slow and painful death."

Much more direct and to the point than US warnings.

OTOH, almost all of Europe completely outlaws smokeless tobacco, which remains my (disgusting, I know) vice and requires a certain finesse with customs agents to sneak in.

[Trillo]

2. I remember the days when TV shows showed doctors and everyone else smoking.

I'm honestly not sure why the powers that were used the 2nd most powerful educational tool in existence, TV, to convince us smoking was normal and good for us, only a few years later to decide smokers need to be punished with every opportunity.