On 19 December 2012 the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco and related products (Proposal). The Proposal, under scrutiny via ordinary legislative procedure, envisages a repeal of the Tobacco Products Directive 2001 by introducing new EU rules on packaging, composition and sale of tobacco and non-tobacco products. The Proposal’s aim is to secure a high level of health protection for European citizens – especially youth, while counterbalancing the legal requirements of an internal market measure under Article 114 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
This article describes and analyses important legal aspects of the Proposal. Given the wide range of the proposals, for example extending regulatory scope to harmonise non-tobacco products, a comprehensive analysis is not provided here. We focus on packaging and labelling in the context of legal governance and competence, amid procedural law-making aspects. We intermittently draw on market data, and non-legal theory in our assessment of the need and source for EU intervention.