Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have rejected a plan to regulate e-cigarettes as medicinal products, which would have restricted their sales and subjected them to different taxes.
The highly-anticipated decision came during a broader round of tobacco votes, including a vote to ban menthol and other flavored cigarettes within five years -- a ban meant to reduce cigarettes' appeal to minors.
A proposal to outlaw boxes of ten cigarettes -- popular in the UK and Italy -- failed, though MEPs voted to "recommend" boxes of 20 cigarettes or more.
The final major vote decided that cigarette manufacturers will have to cover 65 percent of each box with EU-approved warnings, the minimum increase settled on after members proposed 75 percent.
Despite the rising popularity of e-cigarettes as an alternative to smoking, some countries are more alarmed than others. France and other countries are considering bans on public "vaping" -- the term for smoking the smokeless cigarettes.
Meanwhile, e-cigarette sales are set to outpace traditional cigarette sales by 2047.
While some are concerned that the tobacco-free nicotine-delivery devices may not be entirely healthy, many doctors are recommending them as a comparatively healthy alternative to traditional cigarettes for people who have trouble kicking the habit.
