Cigarettes, vapes and other tobacco
products are damaging to peoples' health across the globe.
Smoking is among the leading causes for cancer and premature
deaths in the European Union, claiming around 700.000 lives each
year. The EU wants to combat the normalisation of tobacco use
and create a smoke-free generation by 2040 but differences in
tobacco rules across the bloc remain.
In early December, a majority of European Union health ministers
signalled their support for extending smoke-free areas in a bid
to reduce cancer deaths. The recommendation passed with all
countries voting in favour apart from Germany and Greece, which
abstained, underscoring some political divisions on the issue.
The aim of the new guidelines is to restrict smoking in public
areas where children or other vulnerable people gather outdoors,
like playgrounds, amusement parks, public swimming pools,
restaurant terraces and public transport.
The recommendations also target emerging tobacco products, like
electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products, to deter
young people from smoking. Reducing exposure to second-hand
smoke and aerosols would mean better protection for non-smokers,
an EU press release said.
A week prior, the European Parliament voted against a resolution
on the same subject, after lawmakers on the right passed
amendments to differentiate between traditional tobacco products
and electronic devices. The parliamentary resolution would have
only had symbolic value.
The European Commission proposed the overhaul of the current
guidelines from 2009 as every year around 700,000 people in the
EU lose their lives due to tobacco consumption, the new EU
Health Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi said ahead of the vote. "It
is the largest avoidable health risk in the EU," Várhelyi
stressed.
Tobacco use is estimated to kill more than eight million people
globally each year, including about 1.3 million non-smokers who
are exposed to second-hand smoke, World Health Organization
(WHO) statistics show.
According to EU figures, a quarter of cancer deaths in the EU,
Iceland and Norway can be attributed to smoking, making tobacco
the leading cancer risk. Health policy however is a competence
of EU member states, meaning that the new recommendations are
non-binding and capitals are free to implement them or not.
As part of the European "Beat Cancer" plan, the European
Commission set out to create a "tobacco-free generation" in
which less than 5% of the EU population uses tobacco by 2040. In
addition, the EU has allocated significant funding to support
Member States in implementing these measures.
Through the EU4Health programme, a 16 million Euro grant has
been awarded to promote anti-smoking policies, while the Horizon
programme has allocated 80 million Euro for research into
tobacco control and addiction prevention.
Decline in tobacco use but growing success of e-cigarettes
Tobacco consumption in the EU has declined in recent decades,
but the pace varies depending on the country.
According to a recent Eurobarometer survey on Europeans'
attitudes towards tobacco and related products, nearly a quarter
of the EU's population (24%) smokes - a drop of one percentage
point since a 2020 survey - but the proportions vary widely
across the countries. Bulgaria (37%), Greece (36%) and Croatia
(35%) rank highest while Sweden (8%) and the Netherlands (11%)
rank lowest.
Despite the growing success of e-cigarettes, consumed especially
by young people aged 15 to 39, boxed cigarettes remain the most
popular choice. Average consumption also remains the same
compared to 2020 figures, with 14 cigarettes smoked per day.
"Given the extensive marketing of vapes as healthier
alternatives to conventional smoking, they have gained
popularity among people trying to quit smoking," said Josef
Hamoud of Germany's University Medical Center Goettingen, lead
author of a study on the dual use of vaping and smoking. "There
is still a lot we don't know about the long-term health effects
of vaping," he explained.
Fearing young people taking up vaping en masse, some countries
have moved to ban e-cigarettes, or at least prohibiting
disposable versions or kid-friendly flavours.
In the Netherlands, in early November a court upheld the
government's ban on non-tobacco flavourings for electronic
cigarettes on the grounds that they encourage young people to
smoke. The court in The Hague ruled against tobacco giant
British American Tobacco. The flavour ban has been in force
since January 1, 2024.
Given the mass deaths caused by tobacco, many medical
researchers have called for vaping to remain legal as a tool for
quitting smoking - while doing everything possible to stop young
people from taking up either habit.
Stark differences across the EU when it comes to combating
smoking
Data from over 40 countries collected by the Smoke Free
Partnership, a European coalition of NGOs fighting for tobacco
control, show that in 2022 half of the countries on the European
continent had "good" or "very good" measures in place to protect
civilians from second-hand smoke, for example through bans on
smoking in certain places.
Some European countries have banned smoking in the vicinity of
schools, outside workplaces or in sports stadiums, but Sweden is
the only European country to have completely banned smoking on
restaurant and bar terraces.
In Sweden, the number of daily smokers is low which is mostly
due to the Swedish tradition of "snus" - a mashed tobacco
product that is placed under the lip, considered less dangerous
than smoking as it only harms the user. According to the latest
figures, 22% of Swedish men and 10% of women are using snus
daily.
Since 2014 tobacco-free snus - with added nicotine - is
available and has become extremely popular, especially among
young people, as it's often flavoured with anything from lemon
to licorice. Not officially a tobacco product, it is not banned
by the EU as such even though some national bans exist in this
context.
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