COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 18.12.1996 
COM(96) 609 final 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 
on the present and proposed Community role 
in combating tobacco consumption 

Communication to the Council and the European Parliament 
on the present and proposed Community role 
in combating tobacco consumption 
I. INTRODUCTION 
1. The Community and its Member States have their respective and complementary 
roles to play in promoting an effective anti-smoking strategy. Already, several of the 
most effective measures aimed at reducing the damage caused by smoking are of 
Community origin. These are outlined later in this Communication. The Community 
is also in a position to act as a catalyst for measures across all Member States, 
ensuring that information on the most - and least - effective strategies is swiftly 
exchanged. To this end, a series of national anti-smoking initiatives are also 
described. The purpose of the Communication is to contribute to a review of existing 
and possible future anti-smoking strategies both at Community and at Member State 
level, aimed at reducing the public health impact of smoking on European citizens. 
2. The Communication then sets out possible options for further action at the 
Community level and by way of improved cooperation between the Member States. 
The Commission will subsequently consider the necessity for proposing further 
specific measures and actions in the light of the response to this Communication. 
n. FACTUAL BACKGROUND 
3. The damage to public health caused by tobacco consumption is considerable. Half a 
million persons die in the Community each year from its effects. The death rate will 
continue to rise sharply into the next century and smoking will remain the biggest 
single form of avoidable death in the Community according to statistics from the 
World Health Organisation and the International Centre for Cancer Research. Almost 
half of these deaths occur in persons aged between 35 and 69 years of age and thus 
well below average life expectancy. This puts tobacco in the first rank of causes of 
mortality. Yet the resulting human and economic costs can be effectively reduced. 
There is a very wide range of options available to reduce the incidence of smoking. 
These include, for example, health education measures, a taxation policy aimed at 
discouraging consumption, improved consumer information and restrictions on the 
advertising and marketing of tobacco products. Progress to date in reducing smoking 
incidence is nevertheless disappointing. Deaths from smoking will rise substantially 
over the coming decades as changes in the population structure and the delayed 
impact of smoking on health come fully into effect. 
Over 40% of the Community adult population continue to smoke 
4. The incidence of smoking in the Community has been in decline for a number of 
decades but the rate of fall has slowed in recent years. In May 1994, an estimated 
42% of the adult population smoked compared to 46% in 1987. Men continue to 
smoke substantially more than women though the gap has been closing for some 
time. Greeks are the heaviest smokers in the Community, followed by the Danes, 
Spaniards and Austrians. Conversely, the lightest smokers are the Finns, Swedes and 
Portuguese. Behind these headline figures are some important data, which are briefly 
outlined below. 
4.1. Women are increasingly taking up smoking 
Far fewer women than men smoke. However, the gap is narrowing as the rate 
of uptake among younger women rises. One statistic bears this out. The rate 
of smoking amongst women aged over 55 years, at 14%, is only one third of 
the corresponding figure of 42% for women aged between 25 and 39 years of 
age. The corresponding figures for men are 31% and 51% respectively. This 
trend is even more apparent in Member States such as Spain and Portugal 
where the incidence of smoking among women has risen from negligible 
levels to 25% and 15% respectively in a generation. 
Changes in lifestyles and successful niche marketing are the principal factors 
behind this rise. If unchecked, this trend could lead to a narrowing of the 
current higher life expectancy of women over men. At present women are up 
to 40% less likely to contract cancer than men but this gap is narrowing as 
the higher incidence of female smoking begins to impact on their health and 
especially on their susceptibility to cancer. Figures for the incidence of lung 
cancer among women already reflect this trend. In addition it will impact on 
womens' susceptibility to heart disease, respiratory diseases and infertility. 
4.2 Many young people continue to ignore the dangers of smoking 
There is a remarkable rise in smoking among young people from a rate of 
around 1% at age 11 to between 20% and 33% at 15 years of age. Many 
young people are clearly ignoring the evidence of the harmful effects of 
tobacco. The older the person, the less likely they are to commence smoking. 
Marketing activities therefore concentrate on young people in their formative 
years. There is a pressing need from a public health perspective to discourage 
young people from taking up the habit. 
4.3 The better-off increasingly avoid smoking 
A further notable trend is the higher prevalence of smoking in lower*socio­
economic groups as better educated, better paid and more health conscious 
individuals increasingly avoid smoking. This has very important socio­
economic implications. Persons on lower incomes spend a disproportionate 
amount on tobacco as, due to its addictive properties, it often takes priority 
over other household expenditure. Expenditure on other items important to 
health, such as food and housing, suffers accordingly. 
4.4 Non-smokers are increasingly demanding protection from smoking 
Many non-smokers object to being exposed to the inconvenience and dangers 
of other people's smoking. For various reasons, non-smokers traditionally are 
less well catered for than smokers. Smoking is long established and evidence 
of the damage caused by passive smoking has only come to light in recent 
years. There is a period of adjustment therefore as society adapts to these 
changed circumstances. Nonetheless, non-smokers have every right to expect 
that their health is not impaired by smokers. This is especially the case for 
persons with respiratory diseases, pregnant women and children, all of whom 
are particularly vulnerable to secondary smoking. 
5. All the above trends highlight the need for a targeted approach towards combating 
smoking. The generic message that smoking is bad for you remains valid but needs to 
be supplemented by measures targeted at sectors especially vulnerable to smoking. 
m. WHY A COMMUNITY DIMENSION? 
6. The Treaty provides in Article 3(0), that "the activities of the Community shall 
include a contribution to the attainment of a high level of health protection". Article 
129 of the Treaty also provides that Community action shall be directed towards the 
prevention of diseases, in particular the major health scourges. It also provides that 
health protection requirements shall form a constituent part of the Community's other 
policies. This Article also states that Member States shall co-ordinate among 
themselves their policies and programmes towards ensuring a high level of human 
health protection and that the Commission may take any useful initiative to promote 
such co-ordination. The scale of the problem of the damage to health from tobacco 
consumption calls for the mobilisation of every effort to reduce it. 
7. The Community is in a good position to promote a better and more coherent overall 
strategy to combat smoking. All Member States pursue measures to combat smoking 
but these strategies differ substantiaUy. Clearly, there are lessons to be learned from 
these differences. Why do fewer people smoke in some Member States than others? 
Why are there divergent trends in the incidence of smoking between males and 
females and amongst young people between Member States? Which strategies have 
been most successful in reducing the incidence of smoking? What is the appropriate 
strategy for countering tobacco marketing which continues to attract large numbers 
of new consumers? The answers to many of these questions can be effectively, even 
if not exclusively, addressed at a Community level. 
IV. EXISTING COMMUNITY PROVISIONS TO COMBAT SMOKING 
8, The Community has already adopted a range of measures which help to counter 
tobacco consumption. Seven specific initiatives merit attention, namely: 
• the Europe against Cancer Programme which has acted as a major focus for 
measures aimed at reducing tobacco consumption. Surveys of the public, in 
particular through the Eurobarometer reports, have consistently shown a very 
positive appreciation of the Community's actions in relation to combating cancer 
and in prevention of smoking; 
• the recent formal establishment of the Advisory Committee for Cancer Prevention 
to enable it to strengthen its advisory role to the Commission in its pursuit of anti-
smoking measures. The Commission's public health strategy can benefit greatly 
from the invaluable expertise which is available from the cancer experts as regards 
combating smoking; 
• the Council directive on television without frontiers (89/552/EEC), which 
harmonised a ban on television advertising of tobacco products. 
• the Council directives (89/622/EEC and 92/41/EEC) on the approximation of the 
laws relating to the labelling of tobacco products. These have alerted consumers 
to certain of the dangers of smoking through the display of health warnings and 
information on tar and nicotine content; 
• the Council directive (92/41/EEC) which banned the marketing of certain types of 
tobacco for oral use. This measure was specifically aimed at the protection of 
young people since oral tobaccos have served as a precursor for other tobacco 
products; 
• the Council directive (90/239/EEC) on the approximation of the laws concerning 
the maximum tar yield of cigarettes. This has served to alert consumers to tar 
content which is a major risk factor for cancer and provides for a progressive 
reduction in tar content to a maximum of 15 mg per cigarette from 31 December 
1992 and 12 mg from 31 December 1997. 
• the Council Resolution of 26.11.96 on reduction of smoking in the European 
Union, which outlines the various strategies adopted in the Member States to 
reduce the prevalence of smoking and recognises that, by cooperating and 
coordinating their policies and programmes to prevent illness and death 
associated with smoking and addiction to smoking, in liaison with the 
Commission, the Member States can contribute to the reduction of smoking-
induced diseases across the Community. This Resolution calls on the Commission 
to take particular account, in Community policies, of the detrimental effect of 
smoking on the health and quality of life of citizens of the Community; 
- to carry out surveys on best practices conducted in the Member States towards 
reducing the prevalence of smoking, and the evaluation of their impact; 
- to examine, in the light of its assessment of measures taken by Member States, the 
possible further measures which might be taken by the Community to support 
actions taken by Member States directed towards the reduction of smoking;" 
- to support the efforts of Member States to reduce smoking and to present reports 
on a regular basis on the progress achieved by the Community in promoting 
coordination by Member States of their policies and programmes and on the 
potential for further initiatives. 
9. Most of these measures were introduced under the Community's programme of 
actions aimed at the harmonisation of the Single Market. Others were adopted under 
the Treaty provisions governing public health. 
10. Tobacco is a very heavily taxed product in most Member States. This is justified on 
public health grounds as it helps discourage consumption. High tobacco prices are 
particularly effective in discouraging young people from smoking due to their limited 
disposable income. They also serve to raise very substantial revenues which, in 
several Member States, help finance the health care costs arising from tobacco 
consumption. However, high taxation policy for tobacco is limited in its effect by 
several factors: in particular, it does not affect addiction to nicotine of individuals 
who smoke. Thus, to have a satisfactory preventative effect, a high taxation policy 
needs to be accompanied by flanking measures, such as smoking cessation assistance 
provided to consumers, curbs on promotion of tobacco products, health education 
and information campaigns. 
The Community has taken initiatives under the Single Market programme in relation 
to the taxation of cigarettes and other forms of manufactured tobacco. However, 
unlike the internal market measures outlined above, these were initiated under Article 
99 of the Treaty rather than Article 100a. This is an important distinction as the 
Council acts on the basis of unanimity in relation to the former, whereas decisions in 
relation to the latter are on the basis of qualified majority. 
11. At present, three principal forms of taxation are levied on tobacco products in the 
Member States - value added tax, a fixed specific excise duty and a variable ad 
valorem excise duty. The relevant Council directives provide for a limited degree of 
approximation of these taxes. Consequently, Member States continue to enjoy a very 
considerable degree of flexibility in fixing taxes on tobacco. This accounts, together 
with the differences in ex-factory prices and retailers' margins, for the very 
substantial variation in the retail prices of cigarettes between Member States. 
12. These differences in retail prices are very significant, ranging from a low of ECU 39 
per 1000 cigarettes in Greece to a high of ECU 186 in Denmark and with a 
Community average of ECU 119. Indeed no other common everyday product varies 
so substantially in price throughout the Community. Price differences are especially 
pronounced in the case of rolling tobacco. 
13. It must be recognised that the comparatively high tax levels on tobacco products 
make them very susceptible to fraud. The higher the tax levels, the greater the 
incentive to smuggle. Present estimates are that up to MECU 400 is lost each year in 
Member State and Community receipts through such activity. This needs to be borne 
in mind in the context of any possible increases in tax levels. 
V. OPTIONS FOR ADDITIONAL FUTURE ACTIONS AT THE COMMUNITY LEVEL 
14. Clearly, there are limitations, including the principle of subsidiarity, (3n the 
Commission's possibilities to propose further actions to combat tobacco 
consumption. Nonetheless, it is opportune to consider a new Community strategy 
aimed at encouraging reduced tobacco consumption. The Commission has already, 
under Article 129 of the Treaty, secured Council and Parliament approval for a 
programme of action on cancer prevention. Measures to combat smoking will 
continue to be a priority objective of this programme, given that one third of all 
cancer deaths are smoking-related. 
15. In addition, the following policy options are open at the Community level. These 
options can only be realised with the active support of other Community institutions 
and of the Member States: 
15.1 Data Collection and epidemiological studies 
• Propose a system to monitor tobacco consumption throughout the 
Community, using as a basis the programme of action on health 
monitoring currently before the Council and the Parliament. This would 
facilitate closer monitoring of trends in consumption and thus better 
targeting of prevention activities. Information on existing trends is often 
both inadequate and out-of-date and thus a very serious impediment to an 
effective strategy. 
15.2 Children 
Develop a code of practice on the right to a smoke-free environment for 
children, based on the existing European Code Against Cancer. Young 
children are especially vulnerable to the secondary effects of smoking. 
They are also very vulnerable to the advertising and marketing of tobacco 
and need to be informed of the harmful health effects of the habit. 
Promote studies and pilot projects in the framework of existing 
Community public health programmes and under the Community Fund for 
Research and Information on Tobacco to improve understanding of why 
young people commence smoking; on the impact of health education 
programmes on young people in schools; on the factors which motivate 
young people to smoke and on the development of a comprehensive 
smoking prevention approach aimed at adolescents. Such measures are 
considered necessary as it is clear that existing measures are not working 
sufficiently well to curb smoking incidence among young people. 
15.3 Classification 
Propose that nicotine addiction be considered as a dependency, thus 
allowing it to be tackled through the relevant Community public health 
programmes. 
15.4 Additives 
• Evaluate possible toxicity and health consequences arising from additives 
to tobacco products. Community legislation on consumer protection 
already provides for extensive information on additives and ingredients in 
a very wide range of products where they have health consequences. 
Paradoxically, however, there is no such provision in relation to tobacco 
and this oversight could usefully be reviewed, if certain additives prove 
harmful to human health. 
15.5 Carcinogenic agents 
Consider the case for a further progressive reduction in the maximum tar 
content of 12 mg per cigarette permitted under Council Directive 
(90/239/EEC). Medical science is virtually unanimous in advocating that 
further reductions should be introduced1. Similarly, a maximum level of 
nicotine in cigarettes could also be considered. 
15.6 Consumer information and protection 
Review the implementation of the existing labelling directive with a view 
to the evaluation of its efficacity in informing consumers on the dangers of 
smoking and whether improvements in the content and form of warnings 
could be introduced. The possibility of requiring bigger and more visible 
health warnings already exists in the labelling directive and the 
Commission could examine this possibility with the Member States. 
Consider definition of the description "light" or "low" tar tobacco 
products, as such descriptions are presently undefined and may mislead 
consumers by understating the dangers to health of such products. 
Promote measures to increase awareness among the public and especially 
pregnant women of the dangers of smoking - both active and passive - to 
the unborn. 
Update, at regular intervals, the present Council Resolution on smoking in 
public places, with a view to identifying best and worst practices in the 
Member States. This could encourage an improvement in the overall level 
of protection. Discussion could also be initiated in the framework of the 
Agreement on Social Policy in order to consider this issue in the context 
of improving the working environment and improving workers' health and 
safety. 
In the interests of public health protection, encourage Member States to 
exploit the flexibility available to them to increase their taxation levels on 
tobacco. The Commission is required to submit to the Council every two 
See Recommendations on tobacco, adopted by the High Level Cancer Experts Committee, Helsinki 
02.10.96 in annex. 
years a report, and where appropriate a proposal, on the operation of the 
existing Council directives on the approximation of excise duties on 
tobacco products. The report must take into account not only the proper 
functioning of the internal market and the actual value of excise taxes but 
the wider objectives of the Treaty. The Commission could pay particular 
attention to these wider objectives, especially the health dimension, in 
future reports. 
• In the context of its report on the common organisation of the market for 
raw tobacco, the Commission is indicating certain orientations for 
substantial reform. Among these is the proposal to increase from 1% to 
2% the proportion of the premium reserved for the Tobacco Research and 
Information Fund, the tasks of which are firstly to search for varieties and 
cultivation methods which are less harmful to human health, and secondly 
to inform the public at large about the harmful effects of smoking. 
VI. OPTIONS FOR IMPROVING COOPERATION BETWEEN THE MEMBER STATES 
16. Given that smoking is the biggest single avoidable cause of death in the developed 
countries, all Member States afford a high priority to measures aimed at reducing 
tobacco consumption. The content of these programmes and their future 
development are of course a matter for the Member States. Nonetheless, the 
Commission has an obligation under Article 129 of the Treaty to encourage 
cooperation between the Member States in this area and to lend support to their 
action. The following measures, which are operated to varying extents in the 
Member States, appear to offer the best prospects for such cooperation: 
16.1 Measures aimed at protecting non-smokers, especially children, 
pregnant women and persons suffering from respiratory diseases, from the 
harmful effects of passive smoking. Hospitals, schools, public buildings, 
public transport and commercial airline flights are increasingly careful to 
ensure that non-smokers are protected from the harmful effects of smoking. 
16.2 The setting of specific targets for a reduction in smoking in the 
population. The example of Ireland, where the target is for a reduction in 
smoking to 20% of the population by 2000, has acted as a very positive focus 
on anti-smoking measures and could usefully be considered by other Member 
States. 
16.3 The reinforcement of national rules aimed at limiting the sale of 
tobacco products to adults and at restricting access of young people to 
cigarettes. For example, some Member States have limited sales through 
automatic vending machines or self-service counters to secure areas. 
16.4 Increases in the price of tobacco products in real terms (i.e. in 
excess of the rate of inflation) as a further means of deterring consumption. 
The decision of the United Kingdom authorities to raise prices in real terms 
by 3% annually serves as an example, as does the French approach. 
Furthermore, the impact of such increases is omitted from price indexation 
measures in Belgium in order to ensure that they do not have an inflationary 
effect. 
16.5 . The encouragement of measures to provide for greater protection 
for workers who are exposed to above-normal levels of environmental 
tobacco smoke (ETS). Incentives to install improved ventilation facilities, 
especially in entertainment premises, are one important element of this 
strategy. 
16.6 The limitation of tobacco sponsorship and merchandising of 
tobacco products at major sporting, musical or cultural events which are 
likely to be televised in order to avoid indirect publicity for tobacco products 
on television. 
16.7 The increased funding of health education measures targeted at 
smokers and of voluntary organisations engaged in protecting the interests of 
non-smokers and in smoking cessation activities. 
16.8 The provision of smoking cessation medications (nicotine chewing 
gums, nicotine "patches" etc) at minimal or no cost to smokers. Such a 
measure would represent a progressive aid to smokers to quit the habit. 
Similarly, the provision of a toll free number to inform and help consumers on 
the dangers of smoking. 
VII. INTERNATIONAL ROLE 
17. Article 129, paragraph 3, of the Treaty provides for closer co-operation with third 
countries and the competent international organisations in the sphere of public health. 
Clearly, co-operation in the field of combating tobacco consumption offers such 
scope. Smoking has been endemic in the Community Member States for centuries 
and the costs are now well known. 
18. However, many other countries, especially in the developing world, are only now 
beginning to suffer the full impact of tobacco consumption. Indeed as smoking rates 
in the developed world remain stagnant, the principal growth markets for cigarette 
manufacturers are in developing countries. There are a number of areas where the 
Community could cooperate with third countries to reduce the impact on public 
health of tobacco consumption. A reduction in the tar content of tobacco products 
manufactured in the Community and exported to third countries is one such area. 
9 
The Community could also assist in developing anti-cancer strategies, involving 
measures to combat tobacco consumption, in the context of the existing public health 
or cooperation programmes. 
19. In addition, the Community Member States could boost anti-tobacco campaigns 
through active support for the World Health Organisation's proposed tobacco 
Convention. A code of practice on the marketing of tobacco products in developing 
countries, especially aimed at protecting vulnerable groups, would be a particularly 
progressive step. The Community could also consider the World Bank approach of 
refusing aid to tobacco related projects in the context of its own development aid 
policies. 
vm. FOLLOW-UP 
20. The Commission will examine the reactions to this Communication and in the light of 
it's examination may bring forward appropriate proposals for actions and measures. 
21. The Commission proposes to present a report each year on the progress achieved in 
relation to public health protection from the harmful effects of tobacco consumption. 
It will include comparative figures on price developments in relation to tobacco 
products and figures for trends in the incidence of smoking. The report will serve to 
inform Member States and the public of the Community's progress in combating 
tobacco consumption. 
22. The intention is that the above-mentioned report will provide a highly transparent 
mechanism for the evaluation of the smoking prevention strategy at both the level of 
the Community and of the Member States. In particular it will provide policy makers 
with the options available to reduce tobacco consumption and analyse their 
effectiveness. The first such report will be presented to the Council in the second half 
of 1997. The Council and Parliament will have the possibility to examine this report 
and to suggest further additional measures which could contribute towards the 
reduction of smoking in the Community. 
10 
ANNEX 
High Level Cancer Experts Committee 
Recommendations on Tobacco 
Recommendation 
The High Level Cancer Experts Committee of the "Europe Against Cancer" Programme 
of the European Commission (hereafter referred to as the Cancer Experts Committee), 
taking into account the advice of the Helsinki Tobacco Consensus Conference, 
unanimously recommends to the European Union that measures to reduce Tobacco 
Consumption be the top health priority for the European Union for the quinquennium 
1997-2001. 
Recommendation 
The Cancer Experts Committee considers that there is no rationale for the promotion of 
a known carcinogen by any means, direct or indirect. It therefore recommends in the 
strongest possible terms that the measures, relevant to this issue, already agreed to by 
the European Parliament be implemented without delay. There is widespread agreement 
among health education authorities that tobacco advertising plays a role in encouraging 
the uptake of smoking and should be banned. 
Recommendation 
Historically, the composition of the cigarette, unlike any other marketed poison, has been 
basically unregulated. In recent years some limits have been recommended or mandated for tar 
and nicotine contents of cigarettes. Manufacturers are nevertheless allowed to introduce 
additives without demonstrating their freedom from toxicity either before or after combustion. 
Government Departments have avoided taking responsibility for authorising the inclusion of 
substances to a mixture which changes upon combustion and is carcinogenic. They have had 
no qualms about controlling manufacturers of diverse agents including antibiotics and soft 
drinks by formal regulation. 
Therefore, the Cancer Experts Committee recommends that cigarette content should be 
the subject of regulation throughout the European Union. From 31st December 1997 
onwards : 
(i) Only tobacco, tobacco paper, filter materials and tobacco extracts should be 
permitted in cigarettes sold or manufactured in the European Union. Any 
additives to be included should be demonstrated free of toxicity and other 
harmful effects on health, in burnt and unburnt form. Additives to cigarettes 
should be monitored and included on the labelling as with other drugs and 
foodstuffs on the market. The tar content of cigarettes should be limited to a 
M 
maximum of 12mg as currently mandated for 31st December 1997. The nicotine 
content of cigarettes should be limited to lmg from 31st December 1997. * 
(ii) The maximum allowable limits of the tar (12mgs) and nicotine (lmg) contents of 
cigarettes sold or manufactured in the European Union should be decreased by 
10 per cent per annum until levels of 5mgs tar and 0.5mg nicotine are met. 
(iii) By 31st December 1997, labelling requirements similar to those currently 
applicable in Australia should be in force. In particular, the health warning 
should be strengthened, made more prominent and the labelling should include a 
toll-free, telephone number from which accurate information about smoking, its 
health consequences and smoking avoidance can be obtained. By 31st December 
2000, generic packaging of cigarettes and tobacco products should be mandatory. 
Recommendation 
The Cancer Experts Committee notes that smoking begins in adolescence or earlier and 
that reduced availability is an anti-smoking influence. On this basis it is recommended 
that steps should be taken aiming to reduce the availability of tobacco products to 
children and adolescents. Self service displays and vending machines should be 
withdrawn. 
Recommendation 
In the light of evidence that price increases are a deterrent to smoking, have a greater 
effect on children and, further, that regular price increases are necessary to maintain the 
effect, the Cancer Experts Committee recommends that the European Union pursues a 
tax policy aimed at the upward harmonisation of the retail price of tobacco products 
Recommendation 
Regardless of the right of the smoker to smoke, non-smokers have the right to breathe air that 
is as unpolluted as possible. Pollutants such as asbestos and benzene are limited by law to the 
lowest practical level attainable. The lowest level attainable of tobacco smoke is zero. While 
cancer risk is not perhaps as immediate as that of triggered asthma attacks, orthodox Public 
Health practice requires that non-smokers be protected from tobacco smoke in the workplace 
and public places in the broadest sense. The common-sense of this recommendation is 
emphasised by various legal precedents which show that employers in some countries are 
vulnerable at law for breach of the elementary requirement to provide a safe workplace. 
To protect the rights of non-smokers and prevent involuntary exposure to environmental 
tobacco smoke, the Cancer Experts Committee recommends that smoking be banned in 
public places and in the workplace. Separate smoking sections may be introduced in the 
workplace, and in places such as restaurants and bars. Smoking should be prohibited on 
air flights within the European Union. 
/il 
Recommendation 
The Cancer Experts Committee considers there is a clear and obvious need for comprehensive 
education programs to inform professionals, the public and children of the dangers of smoking, 
as well as to explain the rationale for the anti-smoking measures recommended here. Education 
programmes obviously need to be culture and language specific. 
With this in mind the Cancer Experts Committee recommend the following general proposals, 
aware that some have already been adopted and implemented :by the European Commission in 
the context of the on-going "Europe Against Cancer" Programme; 
• That each country be encouraged to form a coalition of groups involved in 
public health and education to be charged with organising appropriate 
national programmes whose principal aim is to initiate action to reduce 
tobacco consumption and its serious effects. 
• That national groups be encouraged to join in a Europe-wide 
collaborative network aimed at sharing information and expertise. 
• That the European Commission continue to sponsor regular, at least 
annual, meetings of this collaborative network. 
• That relevant public health/education/behavioural research be a function 
of the national and European groups. , 
• That surveillance and monitoring of education programmes, behavioural 
trends, smoking prevalence, knowledge and relevant attitudes be a 
priority and be funded as part of the comprehensive programme. 
• That programmes directed specifically at health professionals be 
supported and further developed in those countries where smoking 
prevalence is high in these groups. 
• That there be a designated centre whose objectives should include the 
continual evaluation of the scientific literature of the association between 
tobacco usage and disease and the patterns of tobacco-related disease 
within the European Union. This Centre should be mandated to prepare 
an Annual Report for submission to the European Parliament. 
Recommendation 
The Cancer Experts Committee welcomes the phasing out of the sale of duty free 
cigarettes and other tobacco products. 
m 
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