Unions to fight plans to cut strength of cigarettes
By David Litterick

UNION leaders are to fight a draft EU directive that unions claim will cost up to 3,000 manufacturing jobs by limiting the amount of tar and nicotine tobacco companies are allowed to put into cigarettes.

 They are to lobby the Government and MEPs over the weekend to try to remove one article of the draft directive on tobacco control which reduces the amount of tar allowed in cigarettes from 12mg to 10mg, and sets the amount of nicotine at 1mg.

 It will affect not only cigarettes made for consumption within the EU but also those made for world export. The MSF union claims if the article stands, production of higher strength cigarettes for export outside the EU will move abroad, threatening 3,000 jobs at BAT, Gallaher and Imperial Tobacco plants in the UK.

 Spokesman Dave McKee said: "The Government is pushing through legislation without thinking about the consequences. They are happy to sacrifice the legitimate livelihoods of people for the sake of political correctness." A spokeswoman for the Department of Trade and Industry said the Government was aware of the industry's concerns. 

She said: "The UK supports the policy but before giving final agreement we satisfied ourselves that it was consistent with our wider international obligations." MEPs are due to debate the directive on Tuesday.