The future of tobacco product regulation and labelling in Europe: implications for the forthcoming European Union directive

The European Commission has announced that it is considering legislation concerning further restrictions on cigarette tar and nicotine yields, as well as new provisions to regulate additives and the labelling of tobacco products. This report considers these issues and their relation to public health. In particular, we argue that further reductions in tar and nicotine yields as measured by the International Standards Organisation/Federal Trade Commission (ISO/FTC) method will be largely cosmetic and certainly misleading to consumers. If a new directive uses the ISO/FTC methodology as a basis for regulation, it risks lending further official support to the concept of "low tar" cigarettes, which may be used by smokers as an alternative to smoking cessation. Although new regulations based on the ISO/FTC methodology may appear to offer health gains, these will be illusory and there may even be negative health consequences, as has been the case with these tests up to the present. We therefore make the following recommendations for the way forward.