Mr. Chris Fitzgerald:

There is always the argument that the harder one goes on any tobacco product, the further one drives traffic towards the illegal trade. The Commission recognised this argument by including in the directive provisions on tracking and tracing. Obviously, member states still have an obligation to address the illegal trade, but the directive is trying to focus on young people in the first instance by removing the industry's attractive enticements aimed at giving them the smoking habit. The illicit argument needs to be addressed in parallel, but it would not be an argument for not doing what the Commission is trying to do.