Packaging News sister magazine Independent Retail News has reported that the proposals from the EU Public Health Committee also include larger 75% health warnings on all tobacco packaging, the introduction of a standardised pack shape and size, and a ban on menthol and slim cigarettes.
Tobacco manufacturer JTI said the proposals were a "mishmash of ideas" that would not deliver the public health benefits supporters claim they are intended to achieve and would have a "serious negative effect" on retail outlets.
Nielsen data shows 77% of RYO packs purchased in the UK are 25g or under, while more than one-third of cigarette sales would be affected.
Jeremy Blackburn, head of communications at JTI, said: "The proposals will also reduce visit frequency and the number of tobacco transactions, as well as the number of ancillary non-tobacco purchases made by tobacco shoppers."
If adopted, the proposals would provide a "huge incentive for criminals to further target the UK with counterfeit and contraband cigarettes".
He added: "This proposal makes no sense at all and has the potential to drive community stores across the UK out of business and at the same time play straight into the hands of local gangs who profit from the illegal cigarette trade.
"Banning 10s and smaller packs of RYO will mean the lowest price will now be the street price sold by criminals who peddle to anyone, even children. The UK will be an even more obvious target for illegal cigarettes."
Imperial Tobacco said the directive, if implemented, would have severe consequences for job preservation, job creation, and (most importantly) retailers' incomes.
Colin Wragg, head of UK corporate and legal affairs for the company, said: "Retailers will lose a valuable part of their revenue and adult smokers' choice will be reduced. Coupled with lost sales due to the illicit tobacco trade, this represents a double whammy."
The proposals, he added, amounted to the "supersizing" of tobacco products – a practice that was discouraged by health campaigners in categories such as soft drinks and chocolate bars for promoting excessive consumption.
He said: "Should half bottles of spirits be banned? Or selling half pints of beer? Or allowing the sale of wine by the glass rather than the bottle? All these give consumers important choice in managing their consumption. This should also be extended to adult smokers."
Smokers' lobby group Forest has launched a campaign to fight the EU proposals. Campaigns manager Angela Harbutt said: "Retailers will be robbed of income from outlawed products and, denied choice; consumers will be driven to the black market, where there will be a flourishing trade in banned goods.
