Luxembourg: Tobacco companies including Philip Morris International Inc. and British American Tobacco Plc lost challenges at the European Union’s highest court against EU orders to cover cigarette packs with graphic pictures and warning signs.
The measures don’t go “beyond the limits of what is appropriate and necessary,” the EU Court of Justice said Wednesday. The Luxembourg-based court’s decision can’t be appealed.
The case stems from a UK court case. In 2014, British judges sought the EU tribunal’s view on whether the new European rules are valid. Philip Morris, BAT, and Japan Tobacco Inc. went to court again, this time claiming British measures violate the companies’ intellectual property rights.
The contested EU rules replaced a 2001 EU tobacco law forcing cigarette makers to put health warnings at the top of packages. Nations must ensure firms apply the measures, which also include a mandatory information message that tobacco smoke contains more than 70 cancer-causing substances.
Tobacco kills as many as 695,000 people a year in the EU, or one person every 45 seconds, according to the European Commission, which says a third of European adults still smoke. Smoking is the largest avoidable health risk in Europe, causing more problems than alcohol, drugs, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or obesity, according to the EU’s executive body, which proposed tougher rules in December 2012.
The court also backed less stringent EU measures for e-cigarettes and backed a ban on menthol cigarettes, saying their flavour may make the products more attractive.
The cases are: C-547/14 Philip Morris Brands and Others, C-477/14 Pillbox 38.
