A call to action to achieve a tobacco-free environment & the first European tobacco-free generation by 2030

Key facts on Tobacco Smoke[1]

• Tobacco kills up to half of its users.
• Tobacco kills more than 8 million people each year. More than 7 million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while around 1.2 million are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke.
• Over 80% of the world’s 1.3 billion tobacco users live in low- and middle-income countries.
• In 2020, 22.3% of the global population used tobacco, 36.7% of all men and 7.8% of the world’s women.
• To address the tobacco epidemic, WHO Member States adopted the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) in 2003. Currently 182 countries have ratified this treaty.

The tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced. All forms of tobacco are harmful, and there is no safe level of exposure to tobacco. Tobacco use contributes to poverty by diverting household spending from basic needs such as food and shelter to tobacco.

[1] https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tobacco

Key Facts on Tobacco Smoke and Cancer[1]

Tobacco use is strongly associated with a number of malignancies. There are over 60 carcinogens in tobacco smoke that lead to the development of lung cancer, and at least 16 other types of cancer. Tobacco consumption continues to be the leading cause of preventable cancer, with 27% of all cancers attributed to tobacco use. By eliminating tobacco use, nine out of every ten cases of lung cancer could be avoided. Unless we take decisive action, lives lost to cancer in the EU are set to increase by more than 24% by 2035.

[1] https://ensp.network/🎗world-cancer-day🎗-special-edition/

The first steps to saving 8 million lives globally

To stop this trend Nonfumadores, in Spain, and the European Network of Smoking and Tobacco Prevention (ENSP), launched the “Tobacco-Free Environment and the First European Tobacco-Free Generation by 2030” initiative on January 26 2023.

With the support of many tobacco control and public health organisations they aim to collect 1 million signatures and reach the specific threshold in at least 7 different Member States within 1 year to have the European Commission act on the following recommendations:

1. Promote the first Tobacco-Free European generation by 2028, ending the sale of tobacco and nicotine products to citizens born since 2010.
2. Create a European Net of tobacco-free and butts-free beaches and riverbanks, making these spaces more healthy and environmentally sustainable.
3. Establish a European Net of tobacco-free and butts-free National Parks making them more healthy and reducing contamination and risk of fires.
4. Extend outdoor smoke and vapor-free spaces, especially those frequented by minors (parks, swimming pools, sports events, centers, shows, and restaurants terraces).
5. Eliminate tobacco advertising and presence in audiovisual productions, and social media, especially addressing covert advertising through influencers and product placement.
6. Finance R&D projects for diseases caused by tobacco use to improve their prognosis and make them curable.

Once the initiative reaches 1 million validated signatures, the European Commission is obliged to respond and take action.

Who can sign?

Any EU citizen old enough to vote in the European Parliament elections.

Prevention is better than cure and the health of the next generation is in our hands!

Take action now!

Take action now and sign here: https://eci.ec.europa.eu/029/public/#/screen/home

And please reach out to me in case you need any clarifications.

Antonella Cardone
Patient Advocate Inspire2Live