Europe rejects regulations on e-cigarettes

European Parliament rejects regulations on electronic cigarettes, bans menthol and flavored tobacco cigarettes.

By KRISTEN BUTLER, UPI.com
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An electronic cigarette, or nicotine vaporizer. (CC/Sigismund von Dobschütz)
An electronic cigarette, or nicotine vaporizer. (CC/Sigismund von Dobschütz)

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.

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