On Monday, the health minister admitted that Portugal has not complied with a European directive that requires the packaging of heated tobacco products to display shocking images as of this Monday, justifying that the government wants to present a “good law.”
“It is true that the directive should come today. [esta segunda-feira] came into force, but I think it is better for a good law to come into force in a few weeks than for us to be unambitious regarding a very important agenda,” said Manuel Pizarro.
“What we really want is to join the whole of Europe goal of having a tobacco-free generation of young people by 2040,” he added.
The Minister of Health spoke to journalists in Crato, Portalegre district, as part of the Open Health initiative.
The newspaper Público reports that according to a European directive, heated tobacco must have shocking images as of this Monday, but Portugal was “delayed” in implementing the measure.
Portugal “will not meet” a deadline to move a European directive that requires heated tobacco to display shocking images and not have flavors similar to packs of regular cigarettes, according to a newspaper.
“The deadline for this measure to come into force was this Monday. However, since the legislative process is still at an early stage, this and other changes to the tobacco law proposed by the government in light of the transfer of the directive, such as a ban on smoking outdoors around the perimeter of hospitals and schools, are also postponed,” reports Público.