Philip Morris International Inc.’s (PMI) (NYSE/ Paris Euronext: PM) EU
Region President Drago Azinovic made the following comment regarding the
adoption by the Council of the European Union of the Tobacco Products
Directive (TPD):
“The Tobacco Products Directive adopted by the Council of the
European Union today represents a worrying departure from the EU’s basic
standards of proportionate, evidenced-based policymaking, which will
further erode intellectual property rights and undermine the EU Charter
where these rights are protected.
“Instead of further harmonizing the internal market, a stated
objective of the Directive, measures in the TPD will do little to
improve public health and will make the EU less competitive, pushing
even more consumers to the unregulated black market in tobacco. This
will be a blow to the hundreds of thousands of people working in the
legal industry and member state governments now faced with filling
budget gaps.”
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About Philip Morris International Inc.
Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) is the leading international
tobacco company, with seven of the world’s top 15 international brands,
including Marlboro, the number one cigarette brand worldwide.
PMI’s products are sold in more than 180 markets. In 2013, the company
held an estimated 15.7% share of the total international cigarette
market outside of the U.S., or 28.2% excluding the People’s Republic of
China and the U.S. For more information, see www.pmi.com.
Copyright Business Wire 2014