Tobacco firms launch legal bid against EU regulations

3rd Nov 2014 17:00

Philip Morris International (PMI) and British American Tobacco (BAT) have launched a legal bid to have new European Union (EU) health warnings and a ban on menthol cigarettes overturned.PMI and BAT, the two biggest tobacco firms in the world, received the backing of companies such as Imperial Tobacco and Japan Tobacco International as they launched the case in London, where High Court judge Justice Turner referred the case to the Court of Justice of the EU, after hearing legal argument.The European Parliament voted earlier this year in favour of a series of reforms, labeled EU Tobacco Products Directive, making it compulsory for cigarette producers to have health warnings covering 65% of front and back packaging.The directives, which are aimed at cutting the number of smokers in Europe, also call for a ban on menthol cigarettes and small "lipstick-style" packs aimed at female customers.The European Commission said it hoped the new directives will "deter young people from experimenting with, and becoming addicted to, tobacco" and see the number of smokers fall by 2% in the next five years.The reforms have been criticised in some quarters, with detractors accusing the EU of wanting to enforce a "nanny state mentality", while cancer charities and health organisations have supported the decision, citing an estimated 700,000 premature deaths in the continent as a strong argument in favour of the new regulations.Legal action was filed in England as it allows for a "fast and efficient forum for private litigants" to reach the European courts, the tobacco firms said on Monday, with PMI senior vice president Marc Firestone describing the London court's referral decision as "an important first step" in their legal bid."We believe the directive disrupts the balance that the EU treaties establish between the Union and the member states, and we are looking forward to a thorough, objective review by the EU's highest court," he said.Europe's highest court will now have to determine, in a process which could last over two years, whether the EU has misused its powers while introducing the reforms or whether it had taken "proportionate" measures.