Tobacco kills 700,000 Europeans every year

The European Parliament Tuesday passed a draft law to make tobacco products less attractive to young people. All cigarette packs should carry a health warning covering 65 percent of their surface. Fruit, menthol flavours and small packs should be banned and electronic cigarettes should be regulated, said an European Parliament press release. "We know that it is children, not adults, who start smoking. And despite the downward trend in most member states of adult smokers, the World Health Organization figures show worrying upward trends in a number of our member states of young smokers", said rapporteur of the report Linda McAvan in press statements. To reduce the number of illegal tobacco products on the market, EU member states should guarantee that single packets and transport packaging are identified with a mark enabling them to be traced, says the draft text. Smoking remains the principal cause of death of 700,000 people in Europe each year, noted the press release. Over the years, measures taken to discourage smoking have helped to reduce the proportion of EU citizens who smoke from 40 percent in 2002 to 28 percent in 2012. Once the draft legislation is approved by the EU Council of Ministers and Parliament, EU member states will have 18 months in which to translate the legislation into their national laws