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The new law would reduce tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide in cigarettes and require manufacturers to declare non-tobacco ingredients, including additives.

"Smoking kills half a million citizens in the EU every year," EU Health Commissioner David Byrne told the European Parliament.

"It's the single biggest preventable cause of death. If adopted, these proposals would provide the highest level of protection against tobacco-related diseases in the developed world," he added.

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The proposed EU law would reduce the maximum tar level from 12mg to 10mg per cigarette, and create ceilings of 1mg of nicotine and 10mg of carbon dioxide per cigarette.

Cigarette packets would also have to carry the slogan "Smoking Kills", printed in bold black letters on a white background surrounded by a thick black margin.

Additional health warnings would be revised to take account of the latest scientific advice, with warnings ranging from "Smokers die younger" to "Smoking causes cancer".

Cancer

The proposal also targets the use of labels such as "light" and "mild". Mr Byrne said they had been shown to mislead consumers into thinking that the products concerned were less harmful to health.

"Such products have in fact been linked in recent research to new and more deadly forms of cancer, particularly in women smokers," he said.

Mr Byrne added that there was evidence that increasing numbers of young people, especially young women, were taking up smoking.

The plans, adopted by the European Commission, the EU's executive, still require the approval of EU governments and the European Parliament, which could take up to two years.

The proposals complement a 1998 EU law to phase out tobacco advertising from 2001. Tobacco companies are challenging the ban in the courts.