煙草在線據RTE在線報道編譯　　歐盟執行委員提出在卷煙包裝上放置更大的健康警語，并完全禁止諸如薄荷等加香口味。

　　這個提議停止強迫所有卷煙以帶有圖片健康警語的平裝出售，而澳大利亞從本月開始要求這樣做。

　　但是歐盟各國政府如果選擇這么做的話，將可以自由地堅持采取這樣的包裝。

　　擬議的規則，是為了防止青年人沾染吸煙的習慣，有可能激怒煙草公司，它們擔心更嚴厲的包裝規則將降低已經下降的歐洲銷量，并為亞洲和非洲的增長市場樹立一個令人擔憂的先例。

　　據世界衛生組織的數據顯示，在27個歐盟國家中，近年來卷煙銷售急劇下降，約在33%左右，但是與全球其他任何地區相比，歐洲的吸煙者比例更高。

　　該委員會稱，在歐洲，煙草是導致過早死亡的首要原因，每年奪去70萬人的生命。

　　“該提議預測，應在煙草產品包裝兩面75%的面積上展示合并的警語(圖片加上文字)，”來自歐盟委員會的立法草案顯示。

　　該草案規定包括禁止“細長”卷煙和銷售低于20支卷煙包裝的計劃。該草案維持現有對卷煙焦油、尼古丁和一氧化碳含量的最高限制，并維持目前歐盟在瑞典以外禁售鼻煙的禁令。

　　咨詢公司畢馬威于6月在煙草公司菲莫公司的報告中表示，去年，歐盟卷煙的銷量共計5760億支，比2007年的減少了1000多億支。

　　生產日益向亞洲和非洲市場擴展，以彌補歐洲銷售的下降，這些市場收入的增加，導致近年來諸如萬寶路等卷煙品牌銷售的大幅增加，使這些市場成為煙草公司收入增長的主要來源。

　　計劃在12月19日周三公布的這些提案，必須得到歐盟各國政府和歐洲議會的共同批準才能成為法律，這個過程可能需要兩年的時間。

　　“一旦這些提議公布，將會有很長的路要走，”帝國煙草的發言人西蒙·埃文斯說。“我們相信在未來的許多年中，歐盟將是我們業務可持續增長和發展的地方。”

Europe: EU Proposes Tougher Rules on Tobacco Packaging and Marketing

　　The European Union's executive Commission is to propose larger health warnings on cigarette packets and a total ban on flavourings such as menthol.

　　The proposals stop short of forcing all cigarettes to be sold in plain packets carrying graphic health warnings, as required in Australia from the start of this month.

　　But individual EU governments will be free to insist on such packaging if they choose to do so.

　　The proposed rules, which are aimed at preventing young people from taking up smoking, are likely to anger tobacco firms who fear tougher packaging rules will reduce already dwindling European sales and set a worrying precedent for growth markets in Asia and Africa.

　　Cigarette sales in the 27-nation EU bloc have fallen sharply in recent years but - at about 33% - Europe still has a higher proportion of smokers than any other region of the globe, according to data from the World Health Organization.

　　The Commission said tobacco was the number one cause of premature death in Europe claiming 700,000 lives every year.

　　"The proposal foresees that combined warnings (picture plus text) of 75% should be displayed on both sides of the packages of tobacco products," the draft legislation - from the European Commission - said.

　　The draft rules include plans to ban "slim" cigarettes and the sale of packets containing fewer than 20 cigarettes. They maintain existing maximum limits on the amount of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide produced by cigarettes, and would keep the current EU sales ban on snus outside Sweden in place.

　　EU cigarette sales totalled 576 billion last year, a fall of more than 100 billion since 2007, consultants KPMG said in a report for tobacco company Philip Morris in June.

　　Manufactures have increasingly looked to developing Asian and African markets to compensate for falling European sales where rising incomes have led to a big increase in sales of cigarette brands such as Marlboro in recent years, making those markets a major source of revenue growth for tobacco firms.

　　Due be published on Wednesday, the proposals must be jointly approved by EU governments and the European Parliament before they can become law, a process that could take up to two years.

　　"There's going to be a long way to go once these proposals are published," said Simon Evans, a spokesman for Imperial Tobacco. "We are confident looking many years into the future that the EU will be an area where we can sustainably grow and develop our business." Enditem