With #WorldNoTobaccoDay on May 31st, Lung Cancer Europe joined with European scientific, healthcare professional and other civil society organisations to demand an EU ‘Endgame on Tobacco’.
The other organisastions calling for this are the European Respiratory Society, the European Cancer Organisation, the European Society for Medical Oncology, the European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention, Smoke Free Partnership, the European Lung Foundation, the European Society of Cardiology and Lungs Europe.
We are jointly seeking an acceleration of policy action to make the delivery of a tobacco-free generation a reality.
We – along with these public health organisations – have been disappointed at delays and stalled activity on previous pledges.
To correct this loss of momentum, the organisations are calling for the next European Commission to:
1. Ensure that the update of the Council Recommendations on smoke-free and aerosol-free environments are included in the political agenda of the next Presidency of the Council of
the European Union to protect citizens from secondhand smoke in outdoor locations such as playgrounds, restaurants, beaches etc;
2. Bring the taxation of new tobacco products and nicotine in line with that of cigarettes and increase the minimum tax rates on cigarettes and fine cut tobacco;
3. Ban flavours in both tobacco and vaping products and prohibiting flavour accessories and additives;
4. Introduce an annual public monitoring mechanism for tobacco control policies to measure Member States’ fulfilment of EU legislation and recommendations to ensure the achievement of a Tobacco Free Generation by 2040; and,
5. Implement the COP10 commitments, and ensure better alignment in tobacco policy across Europe with the objectives and political efforts promoted by the WHO.

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