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IN A CONTINUING tightening up on the manufacture and sale of tobacco products the European Commission has proposed a directive which would reduce the amount of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide in cigarettes. It also specifies stronger labelling. Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom the government has had its plans to implement a previous EU directive delayed by the courts. Commissioner David Byrne, presenting the proposal which is the outcome of a long consultation process between the Commission, the Parliament and the Council of Ministers, said 'Smoking kills half a million citizens in the EU every year. It's the single biggest preventable cause of death'. 'If adopted, these proposals would provide the highest level of protection against tobacco-related diseases in the developed world,' he added.
The maximum tar level per cigarette would be reduced from 12mg. to 10mg. with new ceilings of 1mg. of nicotine and 10 mg. of carbon monoxide. He also underlined that the proposed measures will ensure that the harmful components of tobacco smoke are subject to a maximum limit across the Community, meaning that both the public and authorities will now know that the contents of cigarettes will not vary between Member States. Other measures announced include the compulsory declaration of non-tobacco ingredients and the labelling of packs with 'Smoking Kills' in a clearer and bigger typeface using black on a white background surrounded by a black margin. Additional health warnings would be revised to take account of the latest scientific advice, with warnings ranging from 'Smokers die younger' to 'Smoking causes cancer'. Terms such as 'light' and 'mild' will be authorised and regulated by Member States.
Meanwhile in Britain the attempt to implement a 1998 EU directive which bans tobacco advertising from 2001 has been held up by the High Court. Whilst the tobacco manufacturing companies object to the directive in the European courts they want to prevent individual Member States from anticipating the Europe-wide ban in their own countries. In November they won a judgement stopping the U.K. government from outlawing advertising of cigarettes on hoardings and in cinemas, newspapers and magazines from December 10.
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION is expected to use emergency procedures to ban the use of phthalates in baby items designed to be sucked or chewed. After a report from the Scientific Committee of Toxicity, Ecotoxicity and the Environment (SCTEE) on 28 September 1999 the Commission proposed the immediate banning of the chemical substances used to plasticise, or soften, PVC. They have been shown to be liable to cause liver, kidney and testicular damage. The phthalates are released in dangerous quantities when soft PVC teethers or dummies, rattles and other toys for young children are sucked and chewed over extended periods by babies. After the Commission issued a Recommendation on 1 July 1998, 8 Member States decided to restrict the use of phthalates in toys and childcare articles and about 70% of teething-style toys for the young are now made without the use of phthalates.
The reaction in Britain, where the industry is worth nearly £2billion. annually was at first an assurance by the government that all toys manufactured here are safe and from some manufacturers such as 'Tommee Tippee' and 'Chicco' that they are using alternatives. This was quickly followed by an immediate ban agreed by the Department of Trade and Industry and the British Toy and Hobby Association. Consumers' campaigners said that neither ban went far enough. The European Consumers' Association (ECA) asked the EU to impose a Europe-wide ban on the use of softeners in all toys for children under the age of three. Jim Murray, ECA director, said: 'We think the proposal does not go far enough because it is restricted to objects intended to be put in the mouths of children under three, and of course children under three do not know what they are supposed to put in their mouth, and what they are not'. While Greenpeace toxins campaigner Mark Strutt agreed: 'Young children naturally put things in their mouth. It will be virtually impossible for parents and carers to stop them. All soft PVC toys for children under three should be removed from the shelves now'.
The European Parliament adopted a resolution in October which aims to support the EU strategy of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in line with the protocol agreed at the 1997 World Environmental Conference at Kyoto. The goal of reducing emissions by 15% by 2010 was reaffirmed. Various problems were mentioned by MEPs during the debate. Emissions trading, the system whereby one country (developed) buys rights to higher emission levels from another country (less developed) was condemned by Jonas Sjöstedt (Nordic Greens) but welcomed by Karl Erik Olsson for the Liberals. For the Commission, Margot Wallström emphasised that there was still no agreement at EU level for an energy tax while for the Council of Ministers Satu Hassi pointed out that rising temperatures in Europe and the USA could have a negative impact on health with diseases such as malaria spreading to both continents.
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