EN    EN  
 EUROPEAN  
COMMISSION 
Brussels, XXX   
[…](2015) XXX  draft 
  
COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION 
of XXX  
on the technical specifications for the layout , design and shape of the combined health 
warnings for tobacco products for smoking 
  
EN 2   EN COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION 
of XXX  
on the technical specifications  for the layout, design and sh ape of the combined health 
warnings for tobacco products for smoking 
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, 
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Having regard to Directive 2014/40/EU of the Eu ropean Parliament and of the Council of 3 
April 2014 on the approximation of the laws, regul ations and administrative provisions of the 
Member States concerning the manufacture, pres entation and sale of tobacco and related 
products and repeali ng Directive 2001/37/EC
1, and in particular Article 10(4) thereof, 
Whereas: (1) Directive 2014/40/EU establis hed new rules on health warn ings, including combined 
health warnings, to be placed on tobacco products for smoking. The combined health warnings should contain one of the text warnin gs listed in Annex I to that Directive, a 
corresponding colour photograph specified in the picture library in Annex II to that 
Directive, and smoking cessation in formation. They should cover 65
 % of the external 
front and back surfaces of unit p ackets and any outside packaging. 
(2) The technical specifications for the layout, design and shape of the combined health 
warnings, taking into account different pack et shapes, should be established. In 
particular, the positioning of the photogra ph, the text warning and the cessation 
information within the combined health warning, the size of those elements, the 
format, colours and fonts to be used should be  specified in order to  ensure that each 
element is fully visible. 
(3) Given the different packet shap es and sizes on the market, it  is appropriate to require 
that combined health warnings be laid out in a stacked or side-by-side format. Where 
the height of the combined hea lth warning is greater than 70  % of its width, a stacked 
format should be used. Where the height of  the combined health warning is greater 
than 20  % but less than 65  % of its width, a side-by-side format should be used. Where 
the height of the combined health wa rning is greater than or equal to 65  % but less than 
or equal to 70  % of its width, manufacturers of tob acco products should be allowed to 
choose which format to use, as long as all the elements of the combined health warning remain fully visibl e and are not distorted. 
(4) In order to ensure that th e photograph is the most salient element of the combined 
health warning, it should be positioned at the top of combined health warnings in the stacked format and on the left half of comb ined health warnings in the side-by-side 
format. The photograph should also be the la rgest element in th e combined health 
warning.  
(5) Where, due to the shape of the unit packet or outside packaging, the combined health 
warning is significantly wider than it is hi gh, it is, however, appropriate to provide for 
                                                
 
1 OJ L 127, 29.4.2014, p. 1.  
EN 3   EN special rules concerning the size of the el ements of the combined health warning, in 
order to ensure that the phot ograph is not distorted upon scaling and that the text 
warning and cessation information remain fully visible and readable. 
(6) In order to ensure visibility and clarity of  the combined health warning, rules should 
be laid down concerning colours, minimu m resolution, font and space between lines. 
(7) It is appropriate to provide for special ru les concerning combined health warnings to 
be placed on the front of unit packets with a flip-top lid where the photograph would be split upon opening because the flip-top lid is  too small. On the front of those unit 
packets, the text warning should be placed at  the top of the combined health warning, 
with the cessation information and phot ograph underneath. Manufacturers should 
moreover ensure that the opening of such unit packets does not cause a split within any of the three elements of the combined he alth warning. It is th erefore appropriate to 
provide for more flexible rules as regards th e size of each of the three elements of the 
combined health warning. Manufacturers shou ld also be allowed to reduce the font 
size and the space between lines in the text warning and in the cessation information where the combined health warning on the front of such packets is in more than one language, provided that all elements remain fully visible.  
(8) The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the 
Committee referred to in Article  25 of Directive 2014/40/EU, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 
Article 1 
Subject matter and scope 
 
This Decision establishes rules on the layout, design and shape of combined health warnings 
for tobacco products for smoking.  
 
Article 2 
Layout and shape of the co mbined health warning 
 
1. Where the height of the combined health warning is greater than 70
 % of its width, 
manufacturers shall lay out the combined health warnings in a stacked format as illustrated in 
section 1 of the Annex. 
Where the height of the combined health warning is greater than 20  % but less than 65  % of its 
width, manufacturers shall lay out the combined health warnings in a side-by-side format as 
illustrated in section 2 of the Annex. 
Where the height of the combined health warning is greater than or equal to 65  % but less than 
or equal to 70  % of its width, manufacturers may choose whether to use the stacked or side-
by-side format, as long as all the elements of the combined health warning remain fully visible and are not distorted. 
2. Where a stacked format is used, the photograph shall be placed at the top of the combined 
health warning, with the text warning a nd cessation information printed underneath as 
illustrated in section 1 of the Annex. The photograph shall occupy 50
 %, the text warning  
EN 4   EN 38 % and the cessation information 12  % of the surface area of th e combined health warning 
inside the outer black border.   
Where the side-by-side format is used, the phot ograph shall be placed on the left half of the 
combined health warning, with the text warning at the top right and the cessation information at the bottom right of the warning as illustrated in section 2 of the Annex. The photograph shall occupy 50
 %, the text warning 40  % and the cessation information 10  % of the surface 
area of the combined health warning inside the outer black border.   
3. Where, due to the shape of the unit packet or  outside packaging, the height of the combined 
health warning is less than or equal to 20  % of its width, the combined health warning shall be 
laid out in a side-by-si de extra-wide format as illustra ted in section 3 of the Annex. The 
photograph shall occupy 35  %, the text box 50  % and the cessation information 15  % of the 
surface area of the combined health wa rning inside the outer black border. 
 
Article 3 
Design of the combined health warning  
 
1. The combined health warning shall be printe d in four-colour CMYK. All elements in black 
shall be C0, M0, Y0, K100 and those in warm yellow shall be C0, M10, Y100, K0. 
The combined health warning shall be repr oduced at a minimum resolution of 300dpi when 
printed in actual size. 
2. The text warning shall be prin ted in white on a black background.  
Where tobacco products for smoking are intended to be placed on the market in Member 
States with more than one official language, th e text warning in the first language shall be 
printed in white, the text warni ng in the second language shall be  printed in warm yellow and 
the text warning in the third language, if applicable, shall be printed in white.  
The cessation information shall be printed in black on a warm yellow background, as 
illustrated in the Annex. 
3. Where a side-by-side, stacked reversed as pr ovided for in Article 4(1), or side-by-side 
extra-wide format is used, a 1 mm black bor der shall be printed between the cessation 
information and the photograph within the cessation information panel. 
4. The manufacturer shall en sure that the photograph: 
(a) is reproduced without applying effect s, adjusting the colours, retouching, or 
extending the background; 
(b) is not cropped too close or too far fr om the focal point of the image ; and 
(c) is scaled proportionally without being stretched or condensed.   
5. The manufacturer shall ensure that: 
(a) the text warning and cessation informati on are left aligned and centred vertically; 
(b) the text warning and cessation informati on are printed in Frutiger Neue Condensed 
Bold; 
(c) the text warning is printed in a uniform font size;  
EN 5   EN (d) the font size of the text  warning and of th e cessation information is as large as 
possible to ensure maximum visibility of the text; 
(e) the minimum font size of the text warni ng is 6 pt and the minimum font size of the 
cessation information is 5 pt; 
(f) the space between lines is 2 pt larger than  the font size of the text warning and is 1 
to 2 pt larger than the font si ze of the cessation information; 
(g) the text warning is reproduced as se t out in Annex I to Directive 2014/40/EU, 
including as regards the use of cap ital letters, but ex cluding the numbering.  
Article 4 
Special rules for certain unit packets with a flip-top lid 
1. By way of derogation from the first subparagr aph of Article 2(2), the following rules shall 
apply to combined health warnings to be pl aced on the front of unit packets having a flip-top 
lid where compliance with that provision w ould result in the photograph being split upon 
opening: 
(a) the text warning shall be placed at the top of  the combined health  warning, with the 
cessation information and photograph underneath as illustrated in section 4 of the 
Annex.  
(b) the photograph shall occupy at least 50  % of the total surface area of the combined 
health warning, the text box at least 30  % and the cessation information at least 10  % 
but no more than 12  % of the surface area of  the combined health warning inside the 
outer black border. 
Manufacturers shall ensure that non e of the three elements of th e combined health warning is 
split upon opening of the unit packet. 
2. By way of derogation from Ar ticle 3(5), manufacturers may re duce the font size or space 
between the lines of the text warning and ce ssation information where the combined health 
warning is in more than one language, provide d that all elements of the combined health 
warning remain fully visible.  
 
Article 5 
Addressees 
This Decision is addressed to the Member States. 
Done at Brussels, 
 For the Commission 
 […] 
  (PE/PO/PH)  The President (choose the correct position)  
 Vice-President (choose the correct position)  
 Member of the Commission (choose the correct)   
EN 6   EN