The general message that smoking is bad for health rings truer than ever. The Community dimension of the problem is clear. The Treaty provides that the Commission may take any useful initiative to promote co-ordination of the Member States' policies in order to ensure a high level of human health protection. Strategies to combat smoking differ substantially from one Member State to another and the Community is well placed to draw the various strands together. The Council resolution of 26 November 1996 on reduction of smoking in the European Union calls upon the Commission to carry out surveys on best practices adopted in the Member States to reduce the prevalence of smoking with a view to determining suitable measures which could be taken at Community level.
Tobacco is a very heavily taxed product in most of the Member States.
However, this policy is of limited use in that it does not affect the addiction to nicotine of individuals who smoke. With smoking being the biggest single avoidable cause of death in developed countries, all the Member States give priority to measures aimed at reducing tobacco consumption. The Commission proposes to present each year a report on the progress achieved in relation to public health protection from the harmful effects of tobacco consumption. The Commission's aim in the report is to show the progress made by the Commission itself and the Member States in the fight against smoking. The Commission also wishes to improve cooperation between Member States by providing national policy-makers with an overview of all the different measures applied by Member States.