MEPs tighten anti-tobacco laws aimed at young smokers
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 cigarette flavourings - but with a five-year delay in the case of menthol.
Slim cigarettes will not be banned. EU ministers must now consider the plans.
Among other measures, MEPs voted on Tuesday to put health warnings on 65% of each cigarette pack, as opposed to the proposed 75%.
Linda McAvan, the Labour MEP steering the legislation, said 65% was still "a long way towards plain packaging".
The current requirement for health warnings is for 30% minimum coverage on one side and 40% on the other.
Packs of 10 cigarettes, considered popular among younger smokers, will also be banned.
Fourteen EU states already have 20 as the minimum, four stipulate a minimum of 19, and in the UK and Italy the minimum is 10.
Smaller than normal packs of roll-your-own tobacco will still be allowed under the new rules. (...)
The proposals also include a ban on words like "light", "mild" and "low tar", deemed to be misleading, and a ban on oral tobacco - called snus - although Sweden would retain its exemption.
