Romanian Parliament rejects anti-tobacco bill

Romania's Chamber of Deputies as the decision-making chamber rejected the draft law inked by reformist Save Romania Union (USR) MPs for banning tobacco advertising in supermarkets and placing the new tobacco products (heated tobacco) under the same restrictions as traditional cigarettes, Hotnews.ro reported.

USR accused the major political parties, the ruling Liberals (PNL) and the opposition Social Democrats (PSD), of colluding with the tobacco companies.

The initiator of the bill, Emanuel Ungureanu, stressed that the legislation does not prohibit smoking or the sale of cigarettes in supermarkets, but only their display in stores, adding that the main goal is to combat the intense promotion of tobacco products. The provisions extend to new tobacco products, which is a major stake for the industry.

Gilda Lazar, Director Corporate Affairs & Communications - JTI Romania, Moldova and Bulgaria, commented that the bill was hyper-regulatory and recommended the authors to focus on the education of vulnerable groups if they wanted to cut the tobacco addiction among youngsters as declared.

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