Following a legal challenge of Directive 2001/37/EC on the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco products, the European Court of Justice ruled on 15 December 2004 that the prohibition on the marketing of tobacco products for oral use is valid.
The Court stated that the existence of obstacles in the internal market in those products authorised the Community legislator to intervene and such a prohibition was not disproportionate to the objective of health protection.
The Directive prohibits the marketing of tobacco for oral use also known as ‘Snus’.
Swedish Match, a manufacturer of a tobacco product for oral use based in Sweden, and a German company that markets tobacco products filled a legal complaint against the prohibition to market ‘Snus’ across the EU on the grounds of freedom to pursue a trade or profession and the right to property.
