EU agrees ban on menthol cigarettes

[sex]

EU health ministers have agreed a ban on menthol cigarettes as part of a strategy aimed at preventing young people from becoming addicted to tobacco.
The decision was taken at a meeting in Luxembourg, which was chaired by Minister for Health James Reilly.
Mr Reilly said ministers had to ensure more people did not become enslaved by tobacco.
He said he believed it was as "an important step" as it would help stop "the next generation from ever getting hooked".
EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Affairs Tonio Borg also said ministers had taken "an important first step".
He thanked Mr Reilly for his "charm and acumen" over the Irish presidency of the EU.
Commissioner Borg said if everything worked out in a "clockwork fashion", the implementation of the directive would be within three-and-a-half years.
He said he looked forward to engaging with the European Parliament on the matter.
Last year, the European Commission published its proposed Tobacco Directive, which it said aimed to prevent young people from starting a smoking habit that kills 700,000 people every year in the EU.
The main strategy was to ban cigarettes, such as slims and menthols, which are deemed to be either attractive to young people or make it easier for them to start smoking.
However, proposals by the European Commission for a ban on slim cigarettes were not passed.
Countries such as Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic had opposed the plan.
They argued that the move would make tens of thousands of tobacco producers unemployed and only boost the smuggling trade.
However, there was no opposition to increasing the size of the warning on the packets themselves.

am so upset right now. hope this won't affect the ones i smoke sometimes though probably will (since there's a little click button to make them mentol) i dunno why they just banned a specific type :S. most young people i know find menthol disgusting

[Jake]

Menthols are vile. This is beginning to become a joke, No *** machines on display. No **** on display. That junk about changing the color of the packets.

Why are they so worried about people starting anyway? Swear its getting people spending millions of pounds each year.

[FlyingJesus]

COMMISSIONER BORG what a cool name but how is this gonna help anything idgi

[velvet]

bit stupid lol
don't know a single teen who likes menthol tho

[dbgtz]

Well done, banning these cigarettes will certainly boost growth and stimulate the economy, along with cutting death rates by 100%.

[Negativities]

I definitely not a big fan of this. How can you ban something that can be taxed so highly and provide such income towards the government and provide jobs.

[beth]

ACTUALLY as a 15 year old emo i remember all my friends smoking menthols to try and be "healthier"

[-:Undertaker:-]

Thank god we have people like EU Commissioners (people who really know what their doing, I mean just look at the success of the Euro) to look after us and tell us what is right and what is wrong. Indeed, so glad am I that we have these men of wisdom in positions of power that i'm really glad that the European Commission isn't elected and thus isn't accountable to the great unwashed - I mean can you imagine? normal people thinking they can take decisions like whether to smoke a cigarette on a personal level or even a democratic national level?

And to think some maniacs think we'd be better off outside the EU? how on earth would we cope without it?