European Union health ministers on Thursday were going over tough new rules on cigarette marketing passed by the European Parliament that could force force graphic pictorial health warnings on cigarette packets.
By a close vote,the parliament meeting in Strasbourg on Wednesday opened the door for EU member states to force tobacco manufacturers to put graphic photos on cigaratte packs -- including those of diseased lungs -- portraying the ill effects of smoking, a practice Canada has adopted.
The directive being scrutinized by ministers here sets out such health warnings as "Smoking kills half a million people each year in the European Union."
Other suggested warnings: "Smoking can cause a slow and painful death," and "Smoking can damage sperm and decreases fertility."
Such marketing labels as "light" and "low tar," considered by health experts to be misleading, would be prohibited.
The big-print health warnings would cover 30 percent of the front of a pack of cigarettes, or more in countries such as Belgium and Luxembourg where there are two or more official languages.
Even bigger warnings of up to 50 percent would appear on the back.
The tone of the warnings is stronger than those accepted earlier by the EU Council of Ministers, which brings together the governments of the 15 member states.
So, too, is the size of the messages; the council preferred a minimum of 25 percent.
Steered through parliament by Dutch Liberal Democrat MEP Jules Maaten, the legislation -- opposed by the tobacco industry -- also sets tar and nicotine limits to take effect from 2004.
"This is not about persecuting smokers or about banning tobacco," Maaten said after the parliamentary vote. "It's about giving individuals the facts they need to make informed choices about a drug which in Europe kills one person every minute."
British American Tobacco -- one of the world's biggest tobacco conglomerates, had warned earlier that thousands of jobs would be lost if the new measures became law -- BRUSSELS (AFP)
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