Breaking news: Lithuanian Presidency "successfully" concludes negotiations on Tobacco Products Directive

The Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union has announced it has "successfully concluded" negotiations on the Tobacco Products Directive.

You can read the full press release here but the core elements of the agreement include:

prohibition of tobacco products with a characterizing flavour
transitory period of four years for mentholated tobacco products, which will be banned from summer 2020

combined health warnings shall cover 65 per cent of the external area of both the front and back surface of the unit packet and any outside packaging

tobacco for oral use (“Snus”) remains banned in the EU, except for Sweden, where it can be marketed in accordance with Article 151 of the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden

Member States may ban cross-border distance sales of tobacco products

e-cigarettes included into the scope of the Directive

Member States which regulate the e-cigarettes as pharma products will be able continue

maximum permitted nicotine concentration level of 20 mg/ml, use of refillable cartridges for e-cigarettes allowed and the maximum size of the single use cartridges of 2 ml

concerning e-cigarettes strict safeguards have been introduced allowing the Commission to ban given types of electronic cigarette or refill container which has been banned "on justified ground by at least three Member States"

We are now waiting for an official response from the European Commission, Council and Parliament with the final text set to be approved on Friday (December 20).

Nothing, surely, is as tortuous as the EU in legislation mode.