SINN Féin MEP Martina has welcomed the introduction of plain packaging for cigarettes and tobacco products.
Cigarettes must be sold in standardised green packaging bearing graphic warnings of the dangers of smoking from this weekend, as rules designed to prevent young people taking up the habit come into full effect in the UK.
All packs must contain at least 20 cigarettes to make sure they are big enough for health warnings to cover 65% of the front and back, with the brand name restricted to a standard size, font and colour.
The EU tobacco products directive has allowed the UK to go further with its regulations to require all tobacco packaging to be uniformly green with large images showing the harmful effects of smoking.
Packaging of hand-rolled tobacco must also be in the same colour and pouches must contain a minimum of 30g of tobacco.
The directive extends to e-cigarettes, restricting tank sizes to no more than 2ml and the nicotine strength of liquids to no more than 20mg/ml.
There must be a 30% health warning on the front and back reading: “This product contains nicotine which is a highly addictive substance.”
Martina Anderson said: “The introduction of plain packaging for cigarettes and tobacco products this weekend is a welcome development.
“It means that advertising and branding on cigarettes will be banned from today in a bid to deter people from taking up smoking.
“This is a result of the Tobacco Products Directive which I spearheaded in the European Parliament as the lead MEP on the report.
“We have far too many deaths from smoking and research has shown that plain packaging will help prevent young people taking up this deadly habit and ultimately save lives.
“This legislation, which comes into effect today, shows the importance of the EU and the impact we can have at the European Parliament.”
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