Two British cigarette firms have begun a legal challenge to a European Union law aimed at cutting tar and nicotine in cigarettes and forcing manufacturers to emblazon bigger health warnings on packs.
British American Tobacco, the world's second biggest cigarette group, and Imperial Tobacco said they were filing their challenge at Britain's High Court and asking judges to refer the issue to the European Court of Justice.
The firms argue that Brussels is overstepping its powers and want European judges to set out the boundaries of EU law. A spokesman for BAT, which is already caught up in a US lawsuit against the tobacco industry, said the case could take years.
"Legal action is a last resort. We acknowledge the health risks associated with smoking and we support sensible regulation achieved through dialogue. However, the EU has gone beyond its powers and bad law doesn't become good law just because it's tobacco law," BAT Chairman Mr Martin Broughton said in a statement on today.
Under the EU directive, passed in February national governments will be able to insist that graphic images of rotting lungs and diseased hearts are portrayed on packs.
The aim is to cut the number of adult Europeans that smoke from one in three to US levels of less than one in five. According to the EU, half a million people die each year from smoking related illness - around one death a minute.