8.4.4 Tobacco Directive

Directive 2001/37/EC (Tobacco Directive)1 concerns the sale, manufacture and presentation of tobacco products in the Member States of the EU. In particular, the Tobacco Directive regulates the use of warnings on cigarette packs, the prohibition of descriptions such as 'mild' or 'light,' the maximum tar, carbon monoxide yields and nicotine and the prohibition of tobacco for oral use.2 This Directive unified Community legislation on this subject,3 and contributes to a higher level of consumer health protection by stating that companies are to provide more information to consumers. The information has to appear on the cigarette containers, e.g. health warnings, product description, ingredients, and a traceability number. Article 6 states that manufacturers and importers of tobacco products have to submit a list of ingredients per product to the authorities. Ultimately Member States will ensure that the list of ingredients for each product, indicating tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide yields, is made public.4 However, a Commission report on the implementation of the Tobacco Directive reveals that only 13 Member States have provided information about the ingredients of tobacco products.5 Overall, it was concluded that the available information concerning the ingredients and its effect on consumers' health still remains incomplete and rather limited.

Article 5(9) of the Tobacco Directive also incorporates the traceability principle. It states that "to ensure product identification and traceability, the tobacco product shall be marked in any appropriate manner, by batch numbering or an equivalent hereof, on the unit packet enabling the place and time of manufacture to be determined." This means that each pack of cigarettes should have a traceable number through which the producer can be identified. For consumers, however, this does not have added value, because the codes on the pack are not understandable outside of the tobacco indus-try.6 A system which is comprehensible to consumers still has to be developed. Furthermore, similar to REACH and the General Food Law, the Tobacco Directive framework does not allow for CSR aspects relating to production to be traced.