Antonyia Parvanova (ALDE). - Mr President, I would like to thank Linda McAvan and my colleagues for the amazing work accomplished on this file supporting an ambitious line towards effective public health policy. We must recognise that this is not an easy task, especially with all the cynical tobacco industry lobbying going on. Public health will continue to be our main guiding principle and the free choice of consumers does not mean supporting anti-public health behaviour or practices.

Electronic cigarettes, the debate on which unfortunately has been hijacked by the core elements of this directive, should be as available as other tobacco products and they are a healthier alternative to smoking, but this does not justify a lighter regulatory framework for these products or a double standard compared to other nicotine-containing products aimed at quitting tobacco, such as gums and patches. Let us not forget that the fight against tobacco is a fight against addiction, not only against one type of product, real or electronic, so let us be consistent and keep in mind our public health objective and not play the devil’s advocate.