CELEX: 51987PC0720
Language: en
Date: 1988-01-28
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DIRECTIVE ON THE APPROXIMATION OF THE LAWS, REGULATIONS AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS OF THE MEMBER STATES CONCERNING THE MAXIMUM TAR YIELD OF CIGARETTES

No C 48/10                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                    20. 2. 88
                                                                 ANNEX
                                                         List of health warnings
              I. Which must be included in the list of warnings to be drawn up by Member States:
                 (a) Smoking causes cancer;
                 (b) Smoking causes heart disease.
             II. Which may be included in the list of warnings to be drawn up by the Members States:
                 (a) Smoking causes fatal diseases;
                 (b) Smoking can kill you;
                 (c) Smoking when pregnant can injure your baby;
                 (d) Stopping smoking reduces the risk of serious disease;
                 (e) Smoking causes lung cancer, bronchitis and other chest diseases;
                 (f) More than (. . .) people die each year in (name of the country) from lung cancer;
                 (g) Smokers die younger.
             Proposal for a Council Directive on the approximation of the laws, regulations and adminis-
                 trative provisions of the Member States concerning the maximum tar yield of cigarettes
                                                          COM(87) 720 final
                             (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 4 February 1988)
                                                             (88/C 48/10)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                                European Council held in Milan on 28 and 29 June 1985
                                                                        stressed the importance of launching a European action
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European                   programme against cancer;
Economic Community, and in particular Article 100
thereof,                                                                Whereas in their resolution of 7 July 1986 ('), the
                                                                        Council and the Representatives of the Governments of
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                      the Member States meeting within the Council
                                                                        considered that measures to combat smoking were a
In cooperation with the European Parliament,                            priority;
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and
                                                                        Whereas this Directive contains minimum provisions
Social Committee,
                                                                        which will be reviewed on the basis of experience gained,
Whereas there are differences betwen the laws, regu-                    the development of techniques and medical knowledge in
lations and administrative provisions of the Member                     this area, the objective being to achieve greater
States on the limitation of the maximum tar content of                  protection of individuals,
cigarettes; whereas such differences are liable to
constitute barriers to trade and to impede the estab-                   HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
lishmend and operation of the internal market;
Whereas those obstacles should accordingly be elim-                                               Article 1
inated; whereas to that end the marketing and free
                                                                        The objective of this Directive is the harmonization of
movement of cigarettes must be made subject to uniform
                                                                        the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the
rules concerning maximum tar content;
                                                                        Member States concerning the maximum tar yield of
                                                                        cigarettes, taking as a base a high level of health
Whereas such common rules must take due account of
                                                                        protection.
public health protection;
Whereas the higher the tar content of smoked tobacco,
the greater the risk of lung cancer; whereas the                        0) OJ No C 184, 23. 7. 1986, p. 19.
 ---pagebreak--- 20. 2. 88                             Official Journal of the European Communities                             No C 48/11
                          Article 2                              committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft, within a
                                                                 time limit which the chairman may lay down according
1.    For the purposes of this Directive, 'tar' means the        to the urgency of the matter, if necessary by taking a
raw anhydrous nicotine-free condensate of smoke.                 vote.
2.    The tar yield of cigarettes marketed in the Member         The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes; in
States shall not be greater than 15 mg on 31 December            addition, each Member State shall have the right to ask
1992 and 12 mg on 31 December 1995.                              to have its position recorded in the minutes.
                          Article 3                              The Commission shall take the utmost account of the
                                                                 opinion delivered by the committee. It shall inform the
The tar yield of cigarettes shall be measured under the          committee of the manner in which its opinion has been
authority of the Member States by method ISO 4387 or             taken into account.
any other method giving equivalent results.
                                                                                          Article 7
                          Article 4                              The Member States may not prohibit or restrict the sale
                                                                 of products which conform to this Directive.
Adaptation to technical progress in accordance with     the
procedure provided for in Article 6 shall be limited to the                               Article 8
tar yield values specified in Article 2 (2) and to      the
methods of measuring the tar yield referred to           in      1.    Member States shall bring into force the laws,
Article 3.                                                       regulations or administrative provisions necessary to
                                                                 comply with this Directive within 18 months of its notifi-
                          Article 5                              cation. They shall forthwith inform the Commission
                                                                 thereof. However, a supplementary period of two years
With a view to the adaptation to technical progress              is hereby granted for the sale of existing products which
referred to in Article 4, the Commission shall be assisted       do not comply with this Directive.
by a committee of an advisory nature composed of
representatives of the Member States and chaired by the
                                                                 2.    Member States shall communicate to the
representative of the Commission.
                                                                 Commission provisions of national law which they adopt
                                                                 in the field governed by this Directive.
                          Article 6
                                                                                          Article 9
The representatives of the Commission shall submit to
the committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The           This Directive is addressed to the Member States.