European Union health ministers agreed on Friday to ease tough planned restrictions on tobacco products to overcome opposition from some governments to the draft rules, Reuters reported. The ministers rejected a ban on slim cigarettes proposed by the bloc's executive, the European Commission, but said they should be sold in normal-sized packets to reduce their appeal. They also agreed to outlaw menthol cigarettes and other tobacco flavourings. The bloc's health commissioner said that, despite the need for compromise in order to reach an agreement, the spirit of the Commission's original proposals has been retained. Cigarette sales in the 27-nation EU bloc have fallen sharply in recent years but - at about 33 percent - Europe still has a higher proportion of smokers than any other region of the globe, according to data from the World Health Organization. The Commission proposed a crackdown on attractive tobacco branding in December, saying such branding was designed to recruit a new generation of younger smokers to replace the estimated 700,000 Europeans who die of smoking-related illnesses each year. The discussions pitted western European nations that favour tough tobacco controls against a group of central and eastern member states led by Poland - one of Europe's top cigarette producers - who fear the impact on tobacco industry jobs. -- SPA 19:04 LOCAL TIME 16:04 GMT تغريد
