29.9.2015   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 252/49

(1)

Directive 2014/40/EU establishes new rules on health warnings to be placed on tobacco products for smoking including general warnings and information messages, and specifies in particular that both are to cover 50 % of the surfaces on which they are printed. The exact positioning of these warnings on roll-your-own tobacco marketed in pouches should be established. Pouches may either take the form of a rectangular pocket with a flap that covers the opening (‘rectangular pouch’) or a standing pouch.

(2)

Rectangular pouches may either take the form of a pouch with a wraparound flap that is typically opened in two steps or a flat-bottomed pouch with a fold-over flap that is typically opened in one step. Many of these pouches are made of a transparent plastic cover with a paper insert on which the health warnings can be printed. In some cases, pouches with a wraparound flap are made of polyethylene, polypropylene or laminate material which, according to the industry, would need to be redesigned in order to allow printing on both sides of the flap, in particular if the pouch is not multilayer.

(3)

In order to ensure that health warnings are positioned in the same place on all rectangular pouches and that the general warning and information message are easily visible, they should be printed on the surfaces that become visible when the unit packet is fully opened.

(4)

For packets made of polyethylene, polypropylene or laminate material where there is a risk of ink migration if the inside of the wraparound flap is printed, it should be allowed for a transitional period to reposition the general warning and information message, in order to avoid printing on surfaces that come into direct contact with tobacco. This should allow the industry sufficient time to adapt their production process to the new rules. The costs associated with these adaptations are not considered disproportionate in the light of the advantages in terms of improved visibility of the warnings when the packet is fully opened.

(5)

The most appropriate positioning for the general warning and information message on standing pouches is on the surfaces at the bottom of the pouch, in particular as the inside surfaces are obscured by the contents of the pouch.

(6)

The dimensions of the warnings are to be calculated in relation to the dimensions of the surfaces when the packet is closed, in accordance with Article 8(5) of Directive 2014/40/EU.

(7)

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee referred to in Article 25 of Directive 2014/40/EU,

(a)

the information message may be positioned on the surface that becomes visible when the unit packet is partly unwrapped;

(b)

the general warning may be positioned on the bottom surface, which becomes visible when the unit packet is fully opened;

(c)

the inside of the flap, which becomes visible when the unit packet is fully opened, shall not be printed upon or used in any other way;

(d)

the general warning and information message shall be positioned at the top edge of the respective surfaces on which they are printed.