EU calls for tougher measures to achieve a ‘tobacco free generation’

euronews (in English)

The European Commission recommends that member states extend smoking bans to outdoor areas, including for electronic cigarettes and nicotine-free products.

Transcript

00:00In some years, the sight of people smoking on bar terraces might be a thing of the past.

00:06This Tuesday, the European Commission presented a recommendation

00:09to extend smoking-free areas to playgrounds, swimming pools, bus stops, stations

00:15or outdoor areas from schools and hospitals.

00:19And for the first time, Brussels asks it to be applied to vapors and electronic cigarettes.

00:26I think it's a good idea because it's not nice for non-smokers, I can see that.

00:33But I'm a smoker myself.

00:35I don't think I will quit smoking when they ban it on terraces

00:39because that's not my motivation to quit.

00:43It doesn't really bother me, to be honest,

00:45because vapes, they don't really have that strong of a smell

00:48and I think bars should be the place.

00:51It's not the place where you would bring kids or something.

00:54The text is non-binding, which means that countries won't be forced to apply it.

01:00But still, for organizations against tobacco, it's good news.

01:08It expands the scope of the original recommendation from 2009

01:12to include outdoor spaces like parks, for example, and playgrounds,

01:16but also it includes new products which are extremely consumed among the youth, among teenagers.

01:23So we believe that this proposal has the power to reduce smoking prevalence,

01:29especially of new products with the youth.

01:32With the recommendation, the European Commission is trying to work towards its goal

01:36to achieve a smoke-free generation by 2040,

01:40with less than 5% of the population smoking.

01:43Today, it is at 24%.

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