Dear Commissioner Andriukaitis,
On 30 November 2009, the Council Recommendation
on smoke-free environments was adopted, as the result of a consultation
and legislative process, calling on Member States to act in three main
fronts:
Despite not
having any specific directive from the European Commission or strong
obligations, the majority of EU countries have adopted comprehensive
national smoke-free laws in public and workplaces. Among these, Ireland,
the UK, Romania, Bulgaria, Malta, Spain and Hungary have the strictest
smoke-free provisions with a complete ban on smoking in enclosed public
places, on public transport and in workplaces, with only limited
exceptions allowed. Belgium, Spain and Poland are undeniable examples of
countries where the adoption of comprehensive legislation led to very
significant drops in tobacco smoke exposure within a short time period.
But this incredible progress and fantastic
results are currently being threatened at national level by the tobacco
industry, which you are fully aware, is pushing for the normalisation
and the widespread use of tobacco and related products (including
electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco) in public and workplaces.
In addition to the increased number of
industry-sponsored events to lobby policy makers, tobacco companies are
writing directly to government representatives misinforming them about
the effectiveness of those new products as smoking cessation tools,
minimising their negative health effects[i]and pushing for a review of
existing smokefree legislations[ii]. Also, loopholes in existing
smokefree legislations are being used to advertise those falsely so
called “safer products” to young people[iii]and to renormalise tobacco
use in public and work places.
Indeed, in many countries where there is a
smoking ban, tobacco companies are advocating for governments to allow
the use of novel products in public and workplaces, as they do not
produce smoke. This would be totally counter productive and would defeat
the purpose of all smokefree legislations, which have the objective to
protect the citizens from exposure to second-hand smoke and therefore to
any other hazardous substances such as heated tobacco vapour.
Despite claims from the tobacco industry that
those new products can reduce harm up to 90-95% compared to conventional
cigarettes, independent research has confirmed high levels of
carcinogenic substances[iv]and similar levels of nicotine and tar than
conventional cigarettes[v].
With the current scientific evidence, national
and international organisations including the European Respiratory
Society or the French Alliance Against Tobacco[vi]have demonstrated that
heated tobacco products are shown to: 1) be harmful and addictive; 2)
undermine smokers’ wish to quit; 3) undermine ex-smokers’ wish to stay
smoke-free; 4) be a temptation for non-smokers and minors; 5) impose a
risk of re-normalisation of smoking; and 6) impose a risk of dual use
with conventional cigarettes.
In order to protect European citizens’ health as
well as preserving the vital progress achieved through the adoption of
comprehensive tobacco control legislations in most of EU members states,
the European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention (ENSP) and its
60 members are strongly urging the EU Commission to initiate the
legislative process in order to adopt a European Union Directive for a
total ban of the use of tobacco and related products in public and work
places, with clear indication for heated tobacco products and electronic
cigarettes to be treated as conventional cigarettes.
European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention - ENSP
[iv]Auer R, Concha-Lozano N, Jacot-Sadowski I, et al. Heat-Not-Burn Tobacco Cigarettes: Smoke by Any Other Name. JAMA internal medicine2017;177(7):1050-52. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2017.1419 [published Online First: 2017/05/23]
[v]Li X, Luo Y, Jiang X, et al. Chemical Analysis and Simulated Pyrolysis of Tobacco Heating System 2.2 Compared to Conventional Cigarettes. Nicotine Tob Res2018 doi: 10.1093/ntr/nty005 [published Online First: 2018/01/11]