European Union Approves Tough Rules on Electronic Cigarettes
The European Parliament on Wednesday approved rules that will for the first time regulate Europe’s fast-growing market for electronic cigarettes.
Beginning in mid-2016, advertising for e-cigarettes is to be banned in the 28 nations of the European Union, as it already is for ordinary tobacco products. E-cigarettes will be required to carry health warnings, and must be childproof. The amount of nicotine will be limited to 20 milligrams per milliliter, similar to ordinary cigarettes.
The e-cigarette regulation was part of an overhaul of European Union tobacco law that Parliament, meeting in Strasbourg, France, voted overwhelmingly to adopt, by a margin of 500-63, with 60 abstentions.
The rules adopted on Wednesday go further than United States laws, by requiring that the top 65 percent of all cigarette packs be covered with health warnings and warning pictures of things like diseased lungs. They ban all cigarette-themed products that are specifically aimed at children, like chocolate cigarettes, and cigarettes that come in packages designed to look like lipstick or perfume containers. Menthol cigarettes are also to be prohibited, after a four-year delay.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/27/business/european-union-approves-tough-rules-on-electronic-cigarettes.html
Good news.