Brussels, 17 September 2024
Today, the Commission has recommended to better protect people from the effects of second-hand smoke and aerosols through the revision of the Council Recommendation on smoke-free environments.
The new initiative recommends that Member States extend smoke-free environment policies to key outdoor areas, to better protect people in the EU, particularly children and young people.
These areas include outdoor recreational areas where children are likely to congregate such as public playgrounds, amusement parks and swimming pools; outdoor areas connected to healthcare and education premises; public buildings; service establishments; and transport stops and stations.
The Recommendation also recommends that Member States extend smoke-free environment policies to emerging products such as heated tobacco products (HTPs) and electronic cigarettes, which increasingly reach very young users. This comes after the World Health Organisation (WHO) highlighted the negative effects of exposure to second-hand emissions from these emerging products, including significant respiratory and cardiovascular problems.
The Commission is also encouraging Member States to exchange best practices and strengthen international cooperation to maximise the impact of the measures taken across the EU. The Commission will provide support, including through a direct grant worth €16 million from the EU4Health programme and €80 million from the Horizon Programme, to reinforce tobacco and nicotine control as well as addiction prevention. The Commission will also develop a prevention toolkit to support the protection of children and young people’s health.
Today’s recommendations to better protect people from exposure to second-hand smoke and aerosols are addressed to the Member States. Given that health policy is a Member State competence, they are invited to implement these recommendations through their own policies, as they see fit, i.e. taking into account their national circumstances and needs.
Background
Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan set the goal of creating a ‘Tobacco-Free Generation’ by 2040, where less than 5% of the population uses tobacco. Today’s proposal represents another step forward in efforts to improve preventive health. It also supports the de-normalisation of the use of tobacco and emerging products.
Tobacco is the leading risk factor for cancer, with more than a quarter of cancer deaths attributed to smoking in the EU, Iceland, and Norway. Deaths and other health indicators (such as heart attacks in the general population and improvements to respiratory health) have improved thanks to smoke-free environments.
In particular, today’s Recommendation covers emerging products such as heated tobacco products (HTPs) and electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes). These products have heavily increased their market share. They are often branded with misleading claims related to their supposed safety or usefulness as smoking cessation tools. However, their potential harmful effects are serious, and their users can become addicted to nicotine as well as often ending up using both traditional tobacco and emerging products.
The Recommendation also extends the coverage of smoke-free environment policies to key outdoor areas. These include public playgrounds, amusement parks, swimming pools, transport stops and stations, outdoor areas connected to healthcare and education premises, and public buildings.
For more information
Quote(s)
Many cancers and other diseases can be prevented entirely through simple changes to our lifestyles and environments. Today’s Recommendation marks another key step in achieving the objectives of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and ensuring that the health of citizens is at the heart of EU policy. We’ve already seen the benefits of smoke-free environments; today’s Recommendation takes these benefits to a new level and improves our overall efforts in preventive health.
Margaritis Schinas, Vice-President for Promoting our European Way of Life
Every year in the EU, 700,000 persons lose their lives due to tobacco consumption, among which tens of thousands are due to second-hand smoke. In a European Health Union, we have a duty to protect our citizens, in particular children and young people, against exposure to harmful smoke and emissions. Today we are delivering on yet another key action of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and taking an important step towards achieving our objective to create a “Tobacco Free Generation” in the EU, by 2040.
Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety
Source – EU Commission
EU Commission Q&A on the updated Recommendation on smoke-free environments
Brussels, 17 September 2024
Why is the Commission putting forward a new Recommendation on smoke and aerosol-free environments?
The Commission is proposing to update the 2009 Council Recommendation on smoke-free environments, in line with new market developments and trends in emerging products.
The Recommendation has a wider scope, to cover emerging products, such as electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and heated tobacco products (HTPs). These products have increased their market share, appeal and use, especially among young people in recent years.
The Recommendation also extends the coverage of smoke-free environment policies to key outdoor areas. These include public playgrounds, amusement parks, swimming pools, transport stops and stations, outdoor areas connected to healthcare and education premises, and public buildings.
The aim of this update is to better protect people across the EU, in particular children and young people, from exposure to second-hand smoke and aerosols. At the same time, the update also supports the de-normalisation of the use of traditional tobacco and emerging products and discourages young people from smoking or becoming addicted to nicotine. The update also aims to positively contribute towards achieving a ‘Tobacco-Free Generation‘ in Europe as set in Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan.
Why should smoke-free environments be extended to more areas, including outdoor spaces?
There is often a very significant exposure to second-hand smoke and aerosols in outdoor and semi-outdoor spaces. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), both second-hand smoke and emissions from emerging products can have significant adverse health effects.
Exposure to second-hand smoke from tobacco products poses significant health risks that include lung cancer and chronic respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. For example, estimates suggest that around 9% of all cases of cardiovascular diseases and over 2% of cardiovascular deaths in Europe are due to exposure to second-hand smoke. The risk of developing heart disease increases by up to 25-30% for non-smokers who breathe in second-hand smoke at home or in work. Second-hand smoking may also increase the overall risk of cancer by up to 16% for those who have never smoked before.
Emerging products also expose bystanders to quantifiable levels of key contaminants and the exposure to second-hand aerosols is potentially associated with respiratory and cardiovascular abnormalities.
In a recent Eurobarometer report, 74% of all respondents said they have experienced people smoking in outdoor terraces. Concerningly, 42% of the respondents said that they have experienced people smoking in outdoor spaces intended for use by children and adolescents. In addition, 49% of respondents experienced people using emerging products (e.g. e-cigarettes) in spaces intended for children and adolescents.
The revised Recommendation therefore recommends Member States to better protect people, especially children and young people, from the effects of second-hand smoke and aerosols in specific outdoor areas.
Is there evidence that products such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco have negative health effects?
Exposure to second-hand aerosols has potentially harmful health effects. The WHO, in its reports, on the global tobacco epidemic, finds that second-hand emissions from emerging products is associated with significant respiratory and cardiovascular abnormalities in bystanders. This can also expose bystanders to unhealthy levels of toxic substances and contaminants.
In addition, the use of emerging products is associated with an increased risk of nicotine addiction and can act as a gateway to traditional tobacco products. De-normalising the use of tobacco and nicotine-releasing products alongside preventing young people from starting to smoke is critical in achieving a Tobacco-Free Generation by 2040.
How will the Commission support Member States in implementing this Recommendation?
The recommendations to address risks from exposure to second-hand smoke and aerosols are addressed to Member States, who are recommended to implement them through their national policies.
However, the Commission is committed to supporting Member States in every possible way to better protect citizens from the harmful exposure to smoke and aerosols, as well as to de-normalise the use of traditional tobacco and emerging products such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products.
Through the EU4Health programme, the Commission is providing funding to support Member States in implementing the recommended measures – including a direct grant of €16 million. The Commission will also support research in tobacco and nicotine control, as well as addiction prevention, under the Horizon Programme, with a total budget of more than €80 million.
The Commission will also promote cooperation and exchange of best practices between Member States on national smoke-free programmes and strategies, and will support national measures to ensure the recommended measures are implemented and enforced.
In addition, the Commission will develop a prevention toolkit to support the better protection of children and young people against the harmful effects of smoking and nicotine, which will also address the interlink between physical and mental health.
Was the economic impact of the revised Recommendation adequately assessed?
Through an Impact Assessment and evaluation study, the Commission found that the potential negative impacts (loss of tax revenue, implementation costs, etc) were outweighed by the positive economic impacts of such bans in public spaces.
The positive economic impacts include such things as an increase in customer numbers and customer satisfaction for the hospitality sector, and public health gains, such as reduced medical costs and health system expenditure.
The Commission, in the impact assessment, looked at the economic impact of smoke-free environment policies on the hospitality sector in several Member States, and these were considered overall positive or neutral. This was further validated by the 2021 evaluative study.
For example: in Hungary, stronger national measures to minimise exposure to second-hand smoke in 2012 resulted in an increase in the number of hospitality venues (i.e. restaurants, drink shops, music clubs), an increase in the income of the hospitality industry, as well as an increase in guest flow and income from accommodation.
In Ireland, which was the first country to pass a comprehensive smoke-free law in 2004, the overall economic impact of the ban on bars was negligible following implementation.
The economic assessment of the 2009 impact assessment accompanying the Commission proposal for a Council Recommendation on smoke-free environments remains a valid basis for the current revision of the Recommendation, as the proposed revision is partially extending its scope. The same overall economic logic can be applied to the extension of the Recommendation. It has also been supported by the findings of the 2021 evaluative study.
The reinforced conclusion is that any potential negative economic impacts will be outweighed by the public health, social and environmental gains.
What other actions has the Commission taken to reach the goal of a Tobacco-Free Generation by 2040?
Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan is the most ambitious EU agenda against cancer to date. It reflects a very strong political commitment to tackle cancer. It aims to reduce the cancer burden in the EU by focusing on prevention, early detection, treatment and survivorship. In the specific area of tobacco, the Plan sets the objective of achieving a Tobacco-Free Generation by 2040, where 5% of the EU population uses tobacco products compared to the 25% in 2021.
The EU-funded Healthier Together initiative also addresses tobacco use, by tackling common risk factors for cancer and other non-communicable diseases.
In 2022, the Commission adopted a ban on heated tobacco flavours and introduced mandatory labelling requirements for heated tobacco products, in line with the Tobacco Products Directive.
The Commission is currently conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the legislative framework on tobacco control, which includes the Tobacco Products Directive, the Tobacco Advertising Directive and other related tobacco control policies across the EU. Any decisions regarding a revision of the Tobacco Products Directive will depend upon the findings of this evaluation.
For more information
Proposal for a Council Recommendation on smoke and aerosol-free environment
Factsheet on Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan
Source – EU Commission