World No Tobacco Day 2010 - "Setting the EU tobacco control agenda and celebrating the ’Pledge’"

The 2010 World No Tobacco Day event was chaired by Frieda Brepoels MEP (Greens/EFA, Germany) and Ryszard Czarnecki MEP (ECR, Poland).

Francis Grogna, European Network for Smoking Prevention, opened the presentations with an update on the Tobacco Free Europe Pledge which has been signed by 35 Members of the European Parliament so far. The Pledge calls for a comprehensive protection from tobacco smoke, strong measures to counter tobacco marketing, promotion and imagery, using taxation as a tool to reduce smoking prevalence, tough new measures to control tobacco smoking, promote effective stop smokig measuresn stopping the tobacco industry influence on government’s tobacco control policies and make the industry liable for its actions.

Andrew Hayes, past president of the European Public Health Alliance highlighted the role of the European Parliament in the tobacco control during the past ten years. He shared with the audience his experience as an MEP and gave some advices on how to target them.

Rob Cunningham, International Expert on Tobacco Health Warnings, Canadian Cancer Society, presented the Canadian experience as the second country worldwide to put pictorial warnings on tobacco packages. He also developed and illustrated the situation in other North and South American countries. Mr Cunningham emphasised in his presentation, based on scientific evidence, the need for pictorial warnings to appear on both sides of the package as well as on the top to be as effective as possible. He concluded his intervention by reminding the momentum existing on the issue and the need to further implement it as "it is the right thing to do".

Nedret Emiroglu, World Helath Organization, Regional Office for Europe, focused her presentation on the theme of this year World No Tobacco Day: gender and tobacco.

Nikos Siafakas, President of the European Respiratory Society (ERS), presented "2010 the Year of the Lung and Tobacco Control" after a quick presentation of the work done by ERS. While the lung health affects every country and every socio-economic group, it is still neglected among the population, in particular the health damages resulting from second-hand smoke on children’s health. Mr Siafakas therefore highlighted the need to raise awareness about the importance of lung health across Europe.

The European Parliament event ended with a panel discussion on the revision of the Tobacco Products Directive, the state of mandatory graphic warnings in the EU, standardised packaging and illicit trade and the attractiveness of additives within tobacco products.

Well attended, the 2010 World No Tobacco Day celebration brought interesting discussions and debates thanks to the wide range of participants present at the event.

For further information:

The Smoke Free Partnership report on the event

EPHA related articles:

World No Tobacco Day 2009 EPHA, ERS and ENSP call for picture warnings on tobacco

World No Tobacco Day 2008 - Call to ban all tobacco adverts

2010 Eurobarometer survey on tobacco

WHO publishes its 2009 Report on tobacco

Tobacco Free Europe campaign launched