European lawmakers vote to ban additives in cigarettes, require larger warning labels

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The European parliament voted Tuesday to ban most additives and flavorings used in cigarettes and to require warning labels to cover 65 percent of surface packaging, up from 40 percent.

This decision is hitting one demographic particularly hard: Kentucky burley growers. The farmers export 43 percent of the state’s burley crop, which is regularly mixed with additives to make cigarettes, to Europe.

But some health critics say the new tobacco regulations are not tough enough.
European lawmakers voted against health officials proposals to regulate e-cigarettes as medical devices.

McClatchy reports that the number of smokers in the region has gone down over the last decade. Roughly 28 percent of Europeans smoke, down from 40 percent in 2002.

H/T Cindy Huang