Smoke -free zones: EU recommends protection for children and adolescents!

Smoke -free zones: EU recommends protection for children and adolescents!

The health ministers of the 27 EU member states accepted pioneering recommendations for smoke-free environments in Brussels on Tuesday. Minister of Health Johannes Rauch from Austria emphasized that these measures are not binding, but are important progress in the fight against passive smoke. In advance he had spoken of "fake news" that had been spread. Austria itself has already implemented many of the planned measures, including a planned smoking ban on children's playgrounds,, but this project had stalled due to the resistance of the ÖVP. The EU resolutions in particular keep an eye on the security of children, since smoking is to be severely restricted in places where young people are to be restricted, as Volksblatt

important measures and goals

The recommendations also include new products such as electronic cigarettes and other tobacco alternatives. According to a proposal from the Commission, Member States should be encouraged to expand their health policy measures in order to significantly reduce the effects of passive smoke. A central goal of this update of the guidelines is to create a "tobacco -free generation" by 2040, in which less than five percent of the population consume tobacco. This is closely related to the European plan against cancer, the progress of which is to be checked every five years, as reported.

In addition, the recommendation is expanded to implement smoke -free areas in important outdoor facilities such as playgrounds and swimming pools. It is even considered to define private vehicles in which children or people in need of protection drive as smoke -free zones. Passive smoking can therefore have serious health consequences, including increased risk of cardiovascular diseases and cancer. A WHO study shows that 32 percent of young people have already tried e-cigarettes, which underlines the urgency of these new recommendations.