Alemanno, Alberto; Bonadio, Enrico --- "Plain Packaging of Cigarettes under EU Law" [2012] ELECD 815; in Voon, Tania; Mitchell, D. Andrew; Liberman, Jonathan; Ayres, Glyn (eds), "Public Health and Plain Packaging of Cigarettes" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012)

Book Title: Public Health and Plain Packaging of Cigarettes

Editor(s): Voon, Tania; Mitchell, D. Andrew; Liberman, Jonathan; Ayres, Glyn

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9780857939425

Section: Chapter 10

Section Title: Plain Packaging of Cigarettes under EU Law

Author(s): Alemanno, Alberto; Bonadio, Enrico

Number of pages: 24

Extract:

10. Plain packaging of cigarettes under
EU law
Alberto Alemanno and Enrico Bonadio

I. INTRODUCTION
Despite its increased public rejection, smoking is the single largest cause of
preventable death and disease in the European Union (`EU'), accounting
for 650 000 deaths each year. In addition, over 13 million people in the 27
countries of the EU suffer from smoking-related diseases. For more than
a decade, however, the prevalence of smoking has been on the decline,1
reflecting a broader trend among industrialised countries that may be
observed since the 1980s.
The EU has been actively contributing to a reduction of tobacco con-
sumption during the last three decades, by acting at national, regional
and international levels. However, unlike other jurisdictions engaged in
tobacco control policies, the EU is not a nation-state and as such it has
limited competence in public health matters.2 In particular, EU tobacco
policy has historically been based on the competence to establish and regu-
late the European internal market. Although pursuing a public health goal
by promoting ­ rather than restricting ­ the free movement of cigarettes
in Europe might appear paradoxical, this is the legal logic dominating the
EU regulatory approach to tobacco.
In spite of these limitations, the EU has been one of the most active
players in tobacco control policies across the world and, as such, played
a significant role in the process that led to the conclusion of the World

1 The prevalence of smoking in the EU remains high compared ...