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EU Court Rules on Filter Cigarettes, ISO Standards, and Directive Compliance

The CJEU ruled in Case C-155/24 that individuals must have free, effective, non-discriminatory access to ISO standards referenced in EU tobacco directive 2014/40/EU to verify whether filter cigarettes comply with maximum emission levels for tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide. The Court held that the EU legislature must bear the costs of free access to such standards, particularly where they are protected by intellectual property rights. The foundation cannot rely on measurement methods other than those prescribed by the ISO standards, even though those standards have not been published in the Official Journal.