Expand smoke-free areas to places such as bar terraces or bus stops and extend the ban to vaping. These are the new recommendations from the European Commission to protect public health. With a view primarily to the side effects in children and to combat addiction among young people, Brussels has updated the foundations laid down by the EU in 2009 to combat, among other things, cancer, which is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. continent.
The European Commission’s proposal involves extending smoke-free zones. Thus, it suggests that they be extended to places where children usually gather, such as playgrounds or swimming pools; as well as in educational or health areas, as well as in public buildings, train stations or bus stops. Likewise, it includes in its recommendations to the Member States, which are those competent in matters of public health, the ban on smoking on the terraces of bars or restaurants.
Similarly, Brussels is committed to extending the restrictions on vapes and heated tobacco devices, which have become fashionable in recent years as alternatives to conventional cigarettes, but which have harmful effects on health. The Community government recalls that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned against these products because of the respiratory and cardiovascular problems they cause.
“Every year in the EU, 700,000 people lose their lives due to tobacco use, including tens of thousands due to second-hand smoke. In a European Health Union, we have a duty to protect our citizens, especially children and young people, from exposure to smoke and harmful emissions,” said Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides.
The recommendations of the Community government are part of the target set to ensure that less than 5% of the population consumes tobacco by 2040. “The Commission also encourages Member States to exchange good practices and strengthen international cooperation to maximise the impact of the measures adopted throughout this period.” the EU. “The Commission will provide its support, in particular through a direct grant of €16 million from the EU4Health programme and €80 million from the Horizon programme, to strengthen tobacco and nicotine control and the fight against addictions,” it said in a statement.
The initiatives of the European Commission are, however, only recommendations since health policy is the responsibility of the Member States. The Ministry of Health led by Mónica García has recently put on the table a strategy in line with what the European Commission has now proposed by proposing the equation of vapers with conventional cigarettes in the anti-tobacco strategy that the new minister He took it out of the drawer when he arrived at the stand.
