Follow EU institutions, tobacco and nicotine legislation, and cross-border policy debates. Our coverage separates proposals, negotiations and adopted measures; national stories appear here when an EU dimension is substantial.
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The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), the EU advisory body representing trade unions and other civil society, had planned to adopt an opinion on the proposal, but was instructed by the Commission to cancel it.
The CEO of German publishing powerhouse Axel Springer lashed out at the European Commission’s proposal to ban vaping everywhere, saying that it’s causing voters to lose respect for the EU - an argument Clearing the Air’s co-founder has also made.
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - a well known self-help book - has thoughts on scheduling. “The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule”, according to its author Stephen Covey, “but to schedule your priorities”.
The EU’s proposals to ban vaping in all public spaces “lack a robust scientific basis” and “should not have been included” in the European Commission’s proposal for Smoke Free Environments
Rebecca Taylor was a Member of the European Parliament for the UK Liberal Democrats in 2013, when the EU agreed its current rules on vaping.
Spanish vape consumers group ANESVAP has filed an official complaint against the EU Commission, claiming that Europe’s executive should have conducted an impact assessment before proposing a ban on vaping in outdoor public spaces.
The European Commission did not disclose meetings it had with the European Network on Smoking Prevention (ENSP) to the European Ombudsman.
Clearing the Air has now seen the full version of the EU Commission’s smoke free environments recommendation after Euronews got the initial scoop, but before the document was made public, expected tomorrow morning.
The European Network on Smoking Prevention declared that its staff members “have not…had any professional involvement in any project related to tobacco in the last four years”.
If you weren’t paying close attention, you’ll probably have missed the release on Monday (24th June) of the latest EU survey on tobacco and nicotine use. And that suits the European Commission just fine.
Friday, 21st June, Luxembourg. As previously reported by Clearing the Air, a meeting of the Council of the European Union was held today where a ban on flavoured nicotine products was discussed, and supported by a number of key EU Member States.
The European Council - the most powerful legislative body in the European Union - will debate proposals for an EU-wide flavour ban for all nicotine products in a session on 21st June.
