The revised Tobacco Directive in Germany and North Rhine-Westphalia
The revised Tobacco Directive in Germany and North Rhine-Westphalia
Samenvatting
On May 20, 2016, the Member States of the European Union will have to transpose the 2014/40/EU revised tobacco directive. The dissertation in front of you provides an understanding of the revised tobacco directive and the transposition of the directive into North Rhine-Westphalian law. The historical, political and economic context in which the directive was decided and transposed will be analysed with a focus on the German and North Rhine-Westphalian context. The main research method for this dissertation was documentary analysis on a diverse range of sources, including European directives, German policy documents and debates. Tobacco control from the European level is regulated through directives. In 2001, the European Parliament and Council agreed upon the 2001/37/EC tobacco products directive. The directive brought new packaging rules for tobacco products and regulated the levels of emissions allowed in cigarettes. Since 2001, the European Union signed the WHO Convention on Tobacco Control, or FCTC, agreeing that stronger tobacco control measures are needed in order to discourage the use of tobacco and protect citizens of the harms of tobacco. Besides the FCTC, the tobacco market changed since 2001, with electronic cigarettes cannibalising a big portion of the traditional cigarette market. New regulations needed to be agreed upon in order to adapt the 2001/37/EC directive to the tobacco market of today. The German tobacco market remained the biggest on the European continent in 2015, with around 18 million cigarette smokers. In the past, an extensive lobbying campaign of the German tobacco industry resulted in tobacco control to remain limited in the Member State, even opposing European tobacco directives such as the 2003/33/EC directive. This, however, changed after Germany signed the FCTC and reformed its tobacco policy in order to give State governments more power in implementing tobacco control measures. After the reform, the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia introduced the Nichtraucherschutzgesetz in 2007, in which a smoking ban and an age restriction on tobacco products were decided. The state parliament had the right to comment on the proposal for the 2014/40/EU directive in the consultation phase of the Commission, but did not provide feedback on its own. On December 16, 2015, Germany transposed the 2014/40/EU directive into national law from the federal level, as the directive will be enforced through the Federal Ministry of Food and Safety. German states will therefore automatically comply with the directive, as no state legislation is required for the transposition. The transposition of the directive will go conjointly with a ban on outdoor tobacco advertising and limited tobacco advertising in cinemas. Tobacco stakeholders operating in North
Rhine-Westphalia responded with arguments stating the importance of smoking for the economy and the freedom of consumer choice. Stakeholders in the e-cigarette and liquid industry, though disagreeing with the categorisation of e-cigarettes together with tobacco products, welcomed the regulation of e-cigarettes, as they can now comply with rules that are the same in all the Member States.
Organisatie | De Haagse Hogeschool |
Opleiding | MO Europese Studies / European Studies |
Afdeling | Faculteit Management & Organisatie |
Jaar | 2016 |
Type | Bachelor |
Taal | Engels |