Tobacco testing methods may disparage tar, nicotine content and court rules

Photo: DutchNews.nl

There are “strong indications” that filter cigarettes sold in the Netherlands may break official EU limits on tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide. Judge of Rotterdam said on Friday.

ruling derived from Judgment of the European Court of Justice In February, the Dutch Food and Product Safety Commission, the NVWA, was given six weeks to ensure that the law was properly complied with and tobacco did not exceed EU limits.

The lawsuit follows tests conducted by public health agencies RIVM in 2018 The amount of tar in cigarettes can be up to 26 times the official standard, and nicotine and carbon monoxide levels were also shown to be too high for most brands.

The RIVM test was performed by covering the small vents with filter paper. This is a method close to the actual smoking method of cigarettes. Current official testing methods are left pitted by the tobacco industry.

The Court of Rotterdam said, “It is not the court’s responsibility to determine whether the methods used by RIVM comply with EU directives, but it is up to the European Commission to come up with a compliant measurement method.” “Until the European Commission does this… there is no guarantee that filter cigarettes sold in the Netherlands comply with the Directive.”

EU standards

The former smokers and doctors association said in 2018 it would appeal to the courts to ban cigarettes that exceed European standards for nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide.

Wanda de Cantor of anti-youth smoking group Stichting Rookpreventie Jeugdsaid the ruling was “very important” and the court effectively ended its use Fraudulent measurements of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide emissions.

“While this has allowed the tobacco industry to keep people addicted for years, this ruling makes it clear that this practice will not last,” she said. . ‘NVWA must immediately remove all tobacco from its shelves.

NVWA has not yet commented on this ruling.