19 September, 2024
The European Commission has released long-awaited Council Recommendations on smoke-free environments. These recommendations would help to protect the public from the effects of second hand smoke by creating a baseline for smoke and aerosol free environment measures across the European Union.
If accepted, the recommendations would direct EU Member States to extend smoke-free spaces to include those popular with children such public playgrounds, amusement parks and outdoor swimming pools, and to extend these policies to include novel tobacco products such as electronic cigarettes.
A joint statement from ERS, the European Lung Foundation, Lungs Europe, and the European Cancer Organisation welcomes this as a positive step, following the disappointment of inaction on this issue seen earlier in the year. The organisations are hopeful that the Council swiftly adopts these recommendations, and urge further tobacco legislation under Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, to be evaluated and updated in the coming mandate and stand ready to support the Commission in safeguarding public health.
Dr Filippos Filippidos, Chair the ERS Tobacco Control Committee responded to the recommendations:
“Smoking in public places such as children’s play areas, outdoor pools, amusement parks, and terraces, must continue to be denormalised. Evidence shows that smoke-free areas prevent the uptake of tobacco smoking among children and young people. With emerging tobacco product use on the rise, their inclusion is a crucial step in protecting the European population from exposure to harmful substances.”
Read the ERS statement on the delayed release of recommendations, from January 2024